Concern Builds Over Biden’s Green Energy Clampdown on Washing Machines, Refrigerators

The Biden administration’s new “energy-efficiency standards” Industry experts have expressed concern about washing machines and refrigerators, fearing that they might end up costing more to consumers and manufacturers at a time where energy costs are rising.

The Department of Energy (DOE) last month Proposed Washing machines will be subject to new efficiency standards, which claim they will achieve greater efficacy. “lower household energy costs” While reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and helping to fight the “climate crisis.”

According to the proposed rulesPDF), which would go into effect in 2027, washing machines and refrigerators would be required to meet a more stringent set of energy efficiency standards and use considerably less water.

Specifically, appliances must comply with the standards to achieve maximum energy savings.

This department would also stop manufacturers from “undercutting those playing by the rules” By providing “inferior-quality products.”

The DOE estimates that consumers will save $60 billion over the next 30 years. It also notes that most of the products that achieve these standards are already in commercial production.

Industry experts and manufacturers are concerned about the new standards. They claim that they could decrease cleaning performance and increase costs for consumers and manufacturers.

“When you’re squeezing all you can out of efficiency in terms of electricity use and water … you by definition either make the appliance worse or slower,” Travis Fisher, a senior research fellow at Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment Submitted Washington Free Beacon “Why are we so focused on the energy output, as opposed to if it’s helping me wash my clothes?'”

“That standard has kind of gone off the rails,” Fisher was also mentioned. “They keep tightening the standards, and I’m not sure their reasoning makes sense any more.”

Standards Could ‘Harm Consumers’

Elsewhere, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) argued that the majority of appliances covered by the program now operate at peak efficiency, meaning that the additional standards are unlikely to result in significant energy gains.

“More stringent federal efficiency standards are likely to increase costs for manufacturers and consumers without providing meaningful energy savings,” AHAM stated. “Continuing with the current policy could put product performance at risk as manufacturers are forced to make design changes to accommodate more stringent efficiency standards.”

“Like many efficiency standards, the government claims that although these standards will raise the cost of appliances, they are justified because they will reduce consumer spending on energy and water even more,” James Coleman, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Submitted Fox News Digital.

“Of course, if that were true, consumers would likely buy more efficient appliances anyway, given that studies show consumers consider energy and water costs,” Coleman said. “If consumers do fully consider what they will pay on energy in their individual circumstances, then the standards would, on-net, harm consumers.”

In rolling out the new proposed rules, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said the regulations build on “a decades-long effort with industry to ensure tomorrow’s appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money.”

“Over the last 40 years, at the direction of Congress, DOE has worked to promote innovation, improve consumers’ options, and raise efficiency standards for household appliances without sacrificing the reliability and performance that Americans have come to expect,” Granholm said.

According to the DOE, the proposed rules would save American consumers around $3.5 billion a year on their energy and water bills while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 233 million metric tons.

Lower Energy and Water Consumption May Have an Impact on Cleaning Performance

However, it also noted that around 25 percent of top-loading standard-size clothes washer consumers and 24 percent of front-loading (compact and standard-size) clothes washer consumers “would experience a net cost.”

“DOE acknowledges the larger impact on senior-only households as a result of smaller households and lower average annual use, but notes that the average LCC savings are still positive,” According to the department.

Additionally, the DOE stated that it acknowledges that generally “a consumer-acceptable level of cleaning performance can be easier to achieve through the use of higher amounts of energy and water use during the clothes washer cycle.”

“Conversely, maintaining acceptable cleaning performance can be more difficult as energy and water levels are reduced,” It was noted.

The department also noted that manufacturers would incur $690.8 million in conversion costs to bring the products into compliance with the amended standards.

Still, the department noted that it is authorized to regulate the energy efficiency of a number of consumer products and certain industrial equipment every six years under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which Congress passed in 1975.

The latest regulations come after the DOE proposed a maximum annual gas consumption of 1,204 thousand British thermal units for all gas cooking tops, a rule that if finalized, would remove up to half the current gas cooking appliances on the U.S. market.

The White House has insisted that President Joe Biden does not support such a ban.

The Epoch Times contacted the Department of Energy in order to obtain comment.