DOE Suspends Energy Efficiency Mandates on Key Home Appliances

In a move supported by NAHB, the Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it will postpone the implementation of the latest round of restrictive energy efficiency mandates on key home energy appliances, including for gas powered instantaneous (tankless) water heaters.

The DOE press release noted that these actions “are 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.”

In addition to the tankless water heaters, the DOE has acted to postpone the new overreaching efficiency standards for the following home appliance rules:

• Central Air Conditioners
• Clothes Washers and Dryers
• General Service Lamps
• Walk-In Coolers and Freezers
• Commercial Refrigeration Equipment
• Air Compressors

Additionally, the DOE is creating a new energy efficiency category for natural gas tankless water heaters that would exempt these products from the Biden administration’s onerous efficiency rules and allow for fair standards that balance efficiency with availability of product features desired by consumers.

NAHB has been actively advocating against efforts to limit the availability and use of gas stoves, and will continue to support efforts to maintain a variety of home appliance options for consumers to help improve housing affordability.

On the congressional front, NAHB continues to work with lawmakers in both chambers to advance congressional resolutions introduced in the House and Senate that seek to block the Biden administration’s recent attempt to ban natural gas water heaters.