The Biden administration has once again introduced new regulations targeting a popular and commonly used household appliance, likely leading to another legal dispute.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Department of Energy announced a rule that imposes new standards for home gas furnaces in an effort to reduce “greenhouse gas emissions,” as reported by the Daily Caller.
The Department of Energy stated that it has either proposed or finalized regulations for improving the efficiency standards of 24 appliances as part of its initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this newly established regulation faced opposition from the American Gas Association (AGA), which expressed concerns that it could render 40-60 percent of gas furnaces in households non-compliant.
The regulation is set to take effect in 2028 and requires residential furnaces to achieve an annual fuel efficiency rating of 95 percent.
“At the direction of Congress, DOE is continuing to review and finalize energy standards for household appliances, such as residential furnaces, to lower costs for working families by reducing energy use and slashing harmful pollutants in homes across the nation,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said, according to the press release.
“Today’s measure, along with this Administration’s past and planned energy efficiency actions, underscores President Biden’s commitment to save Americans money and deliver healthier communities,” Granholm continued.
In a June letter to DOE, the AGA said that gas furnaces are generally much cheaper to operate than electric models and are more efficient.
The department has allocated $225 million to support state and local governments in implementing building codes that promote electrification while moving away from gas-powered appliances. Additionally, in June, the Biden administration put forth a proposal that would mandate gas generators be shut down once they reach a specific emission threshold.
“They’re going to have to, in many cases, install new equipment to exhaust gas out of their home. These higher efficiency units, or so-called condensing units — a lot of consumers have them in their home, but a lot of consumers don’t. So, this rule would require additional retrofits for a lot of consumers. And those retrofits can be extremely cost prohibitive,” Richard Meyer, the vice president of energy markets, analysis and standards of AGA said.
The Daily Caller adds:
The Biden administration also announced a new proposed rule going after water heaters in July to curb greenhouse gas emissions, as well as proposing new rules in March for refrigerators and laundry machines that could impose billions of dollars of costs on consumers.
The push to crack down on appliance efficiency standards is a part of a broader push by the Biden administration to electrify all appliances in pursuit of its climate agenda.
The DOE proposed a rule in February to create new energy efficiency standards for gas stoves in the U.S. A Biden administration official previously told Bloomberg the Biden administration was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves, citing a December 2022 study that has been disputed alleging stoves were responsible for nearly 12.7% of childhood asthma cases.
