Biden’s new water heater ban will raise energy prices for poor, elderly people: expert

the Biden administration Apple is banning some natural gas water heaters from the market as part of its climate change agenda, a move critics say will raise energy costs for low-income households and seniors.

The move in the administration’s final days will take natural gas water heaters off shelves by 2029 in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which Climate change Advocates and President Biden say they cause global warming.

The new rules will require that tankless gas water heaters use approximately 13% less energy than today’s less efficient tankless models.

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The rules apply to both gas and non-condensing water heaters, but the rules raise efficiency requirements to a point that only condensing models can meet, effectively banning cheaper but less efficient non-condensing models, according to The Washington Free Beacon. Condensation technology wastes less heat.

Consumers will be forced to purchase more expensive models or cheaper non-instantaneous tank water heaters, which are less efficient than models banned by the Department of Energy.

Tankless technology is often used when space is at a premium, such as in apartment buildings and tiny homes, Diana Furchtgott Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, wrote in the Daily Signal.

For example, Rinnai America is the only company that produces tankless water heaters in the United States. A tankless, non-condensing natural gas water heater retails for about $1,000 Home Depotcompared to $1,800 for a 75-gallon condensate tank.

The Department of Energy (DOE) published the new rules the day after Christmas, although the agency did not make a public announcement. Fox Business has reached out to the Department of Energy for comment.

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Matthew Agen, senior energy advisor at the American Gas Association, criticized the move as “deeply troubling and irresponsible.”

“The final rule is in violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which prohibits the Department of Energy from issuing a standard that makes a product with a distinct performance characteristic unavailable,” Agen said in a statement before the rules were officially published.

To make matters worse, Agen said, the same DOE analysis claims that the average life-cycle cost savings could amount to barely $112 over the average life of a product of 20 years. He said the rule was unjustified for legal and practical reasons.

“Forcing low-income and large customers to pay larger amounts up front is particularly troubling. DOE’s decision to move forward with a flawed final rule is extremely disappointing.”

Renay Recently constructed A $70 million, 360,000-square-foot plant in Georgia will manufacture 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 that the move is a “bad deal.”

He said the company took over construction work in 2020 after President Trump’s efforts to boost American manufacturing, and employs hundreds.

“When the rule goes into effect, all of this manufacturing will essentially be irrelevant,” Windsor told the outlet. “A lot of the major equipment we invested in will have to be scrapped.”

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However, the nonprofit Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) welcomed the move, saying it would eliminate 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years.

The group that supports Reduce energy and water use in appliances, and says it supports the efficiency standards set by the Department of Energy.

“This is a logical step that will lower total household costs while reducing global warming emissions,” said ASAP Executive Director Andrew Delasky.

“These long-awaited standards will ensure more families can be saved using the proven energy efficiency technology already used in the majority of tankless units.”