President Joe Biden's Department of Energy quietly implements sweeping changes to water heater regulations during his final weeks in office.
According to Free Beacon, the Biden administration has finalized climate regulations that will effectively ban approximately 40 percent of current tankless water heaters from the U.S. market by 2029, raising concerns about consumer costs and manufacturing jobs.
The Department of Energy published the new rules on December 26, notably without issuing a press release, marking a departure from their usual practice with appliance regulations. These regulations specifically target instantaneous water heaters, establishing efficiency requirements that only condensing models can meet, effectively eliminating non-condensing options from the market.
The regulations threaten to render a recently constructed $70 million manufacturing facility in Georgia obsolete. Rinnai America, the nation's leading tankless water heater manufacturer, built this 360,000-square-foot factory specifically to produce non-condensing gas water heaters for the American market, employing hundreds of local workers.
Industry analysis suggests consumers will face an average increase of $450 when purchasing new water heaters under these regulations. This cost burden is expected to disproportionately affect low-income and senior households, which typically rely more heavily on the models being phased out.
The American Gas Association has questioned the legality of these regulations, citing the Energy Policy and Conservation Act's prohibition on federal bans of products with distinct performance characteristics. Ongoing litigation regarding similar regulations for residential furnaces could impact the implementation of these water heater rules.
These regulations represent part of a broader climate initiative by the Biden administration following President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Department of Energy has faced criticism for its aggressive regulation of home appliances, including previous restrictions on gas stoves, refrigerators, furnaces, dishwashers, and clothes washers.
Ben Lieberman, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, stated:
It's one more example of an appliance regulation that raises costs and reduces choices. It bans an entire category of tankless water heaters and the ones that are most affordable. This is all part of the climate change agenda.
Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America, expressed his concerns:
Our point has always been—I think that the incoming administration will understand this—why would you eliminate a higher efficiency product category? It makes no sense. It makes no sense at all. If you really want to impact the water heating ruling, you really need to deal with the tank models.
The Biden administration enacted these water heater regulations as part of its lame-duck period environmental initiatives. The Department of Energy aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through these measures despite industry warnings about their economic impact.
Under the new regulations, consumers will be forced to choose between more expensive condensing models or less efficient storage tank water heaters. This shift could potentially undermine the intended environmental benefits, as tank water heaters typically operate at lower efficiency levels than the non-condensing models being banned.
The future of these regulations remains uncertain, particularly given President-elect Trump's stated commitment to rolling back Biden-era climate policies to promote energy production and economic growth.
The Department of Energy's December 2024 water heater regulations will effectively eliminate 40 percent of current tankless water heater options from the U.S. market by 2029. These rules, part of President Biden's broader climate agenda, target natural gas-powered instantaneous water heaters, forcing manufacturers to adapt their production and potentially leading to increased costs for consumers. The regulations face opposition from industry leaders and legal challenges, with their long-term implementation depending on the incoming administration's policy priorities and pending litigation outcomes.
