Climate Depot Editor-in-Chief Marc Morano reacts to comments from a Senate hearing on climate concerns and speaks out on the Biden administration’s latest climate push on “The Bottom Line.”
THE Biden administration The government is banning some natural gas water heaters from the market as part of its agenda to combat climate change, a move that critics say will lead to higher energy costs for low-income households and elderly people.
The decision in the administration’s final days will remove non-condensing natural gas water heaters from shelves by 2029 in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which climate change advocates and President Biden say they are causing global warming.
The new rules will require new tankless gas water heaters to use about 13 percent less energy than today’s least efficient tankless models.
The Biden administration is banning some natural gas water heaters from the market as part of its agenda to combat climate change, a move that critics say will increase energy costs for low-income households and elderly people. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images, left, Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images, right. / Getty Images)
The rules apply to both non-condensing and condensing gas water heaters, but they increase efficiency requirements to a threshold that only condensing models can reach, effectively banning cheaper non-condensing models but less effective, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Condensing technology wastes less heat.
Consumers will be forced to purchase more expensive models or cheaper non-instantaneous storage tank water heaters, which are less efficient than models banned by the DOE.
Tankless technology is often used where space is limited, such as in apartment buildings and small homes, Diana Furchtgott-Ruth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, wrote in The Daily Signal.
For example, Rinnai America is the only company producing tankless water heaters in the United States. Its tankless, non-condensing natural gas water heater sells for about $1,000 at Home depositversus $1,800 for a 75-gallon condensing tank.
The new rules were released by the Department of Energy (DOE) the day after Christmas, although the agency did not make a public announcement. Fox Business has contacted the DOE for comment.
President Biden delivers remarks on extreme heat conditions on July 27, 2023. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File photo / Reuters photos)
OIL GIANT WINS APPEAL AGAINST CLIMATE ACTIVISTS IN MAJOR CARBON EMISSIONS CASE
Matthew Agen, the American Gas Association’s chief energy counsel, blasted the move, calling it “deeply concerning and irresponsible.”
“The final rule constitutes a violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which prohibits DOE from promulgating a standard that makes a product with distinct performance characteristics unavailable,” Agen said in a statement prior to the official release of the rules.
To make matters worse, Agen said, DOE’s own analysis claims that the average life-cycle cost savings would amount to just $112 over the entire average product life of 20 years. . He said the rule was unjustifiable on legal and practical grounds.
“Forcing low-income and senior customers to pay significantly more up front is particularly concerning. DOE’s decision to move forward with a flawed final rule is deeply disappointing.”
Rinnai recently built a $70 million, 360,000-square-foot factory in Georgia to make non-condensing gas water heaters for the U.S. market, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America, told the outlet the move was a “bad deal.”
He said the company began construction in 2020 after President Trump’s efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing, and it employs hundreds of people.
“When the rule goes into effect, all this manufacturing will basically not matter,” Windsor told the outlet. “Much of the major equipment we have invested in will have to be scrapped.”
People with signs and posters during a global strike for climate change. (iStock/iStock)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
However, the move was welcomed by the non-profit Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), saying it would eliminate 32 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years.
The group, which supports reduce energy and water consumption in household appliances, says it advocates for DOE efficiency standards.
“This is a common-sense measure that will reduce total household costs while reducing global warming emissions,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of ASAP.
“These long-awaited standards will help more families save money with proven energy efficiency technology already used in the majority of tankless units.”
