The Biden-Harris administration is banning roughly 40% of current tankless water heaters in the United States ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in less than two weeks.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the new regulations published by Biden’s Department of Energy on December 26 will ban the sale of many new tankless, non-condensing gas water heaters starting in 2029 over carbon dioxide emission concerns. The outlet cited an estimate from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, which showed that roughly 40 percent of tankless water heaters currently for sale would be banned under the Biden-Harris administration’s new regulations.
Discussing the Biden-Harris administration’s new tankless water heater regulations, Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told The Washington Free Beacon, “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,” Lieberman added. “One of the things we see is an antipathy towards natural gas versions of appliances because natural gas is a fossil fuel and they want to electrify everything. When you see bad regulations from the Biden administration, usually it has something to do with climate change.”
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According to The Washington Free Beacon, while the Biden-Harris administration’s new regulations will apply to non-condensing and condensing gas water heaters, the regulations will increase efficiency requirements to a level that only condensing gas water heaters can meet. As a result, the outlet noted that cheaper and less efficient gas water heaters will be banned.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Biden-Harris administration’s new regulations will force U.S. citizens to pay an average of roughly $450 more for a new gas water heater.
In a statement to Fox Business, Matthew Agen, the chief energy counsel for the American Gas Association, described Biden’s new ban as “deeply concerning and irresponsible.”
Prior to the publication of the administration’s new regulation, Agen told Fox Business, “The final rule is a violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which prohibits DOE from promulgating a standard that renders a product with a distinct performance characteristic unavailable.”
Agen added, “Forcing low-income and senior customers to pay far more upfront is particularly concerning. DOE’s decision to go ahead with a flawed final rule is deeply disappointing.”
