DOE to put off implementing Biden-era energy efficiency standards

The US Energy Department will postpone implementation of seven Biden-era updates to federal energy efficiency standards, including a new standard for natural gas water heaters that has drawn congressional and court challenges.

The Trump administration said the updated standards -- including ones for natural gas instantaneous water heaters, central air conditioners, and clothes washers and dryers -- were "restrictive." The DOE actions were "a key step in undoing the previous administration's burdensome policies that have driven up costs, reduced choice and diminished the quality of Americans' home appliances," the department said in a news release issued after US markets closed Feb. 14.

The compliance dates for most of the standards finalized by the Biden administration have not yet arrived. In many cases, manufacturers do not have to comply with the standards for several years.

The Biden administration increased the energy efficiency standards for 28 product classes, proposed updates for eight more and declined to make changes to 14 others, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. This was a marked change from the first Trump administration, when the DOE faced legal action for delaying updates and declining to review more than two dozen standards.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the decision aligned with President Donald Trump's priority to lower costs for American households.

"The people, not the government, should be choosing the home appliances and products they want at prices they can afford," he said.

Energy efficiency advocates said efforts to undo the Biden-era policies would actually raise household costs.

"Efficiency standards updated in recent years will save the average household more than $100 every year while ensuring a wide range of high-performing product choices," ASAP Executive Director Andrew deLaski said in a statement Feb. 14.

The DOE actions also delayed implementation of new energy conservation standards for general service lighting, walk-in coolers and freezers, commercial refrigeration equipment and air compressors. The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the length of the postponement.

Delay reflects focus on gas appliances

Some industry groups and many Republicans framed the DOE updates to energy conservation standards under Biden as an assault on gas appliances. The administration supported electrification and decarbonization as part of an overarching policy to reduce fossil fuel use.

The new standards for gas furnaces and instantaneous water heaters, also known as tankless water heaters, drew particular scrutiny because they would effectively end the sale of appliances that use less-efficient noncondensing technology.

On Jan. 17, 21 Republican state attorneys general, gas and housing industry trade groups and tankless water heater maker Rinnai America petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to review the instantaneous gas water heater standard.

Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer, a Republican, introduced a resolution Jan. 15 to disapprove the tankless water heater rule under the Congressional Review Act. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz followed suit Jan. 23.

"This rule is the latest of several impacting gas-fired appliances in which the agency has failed to appropriately evaluate the negative impact that it will have on American consumers and manufacturers," the American Public Gas Association said in a news release Jan. 23.

Trump administration renews strategy

The DOE intends to create a new energy efficiency category for gas tankless water heaters, the agency said Feb. 14. This would exempt the products from the Biden administration's "onerous rules," the DOE said.

The first Trump administration attempted a similar strategy for clothes washers and dryers and dishwashers in 2020. Creating new categories for appliances would effectively exempt them from energy and water use standards required by federal laws, the Natural Resources Defense Council said at the time. These laws bar the DOE from passing new rules that lower energy or water conservation standards.

"During the first Trump administration, we saw them try various gimmicks to get around anti-backsliding" provisions in the laws, deLaski told Platts, a part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, in a recent interview.

The DOE also highlighted the Trump administration's decision to overhaul all of the Biden administration's specifications through WaterSense, a US Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program to identify water-efficient products.