The Biden administration announced new efficiency standards for residential freezers and refrigerators Friday, also setting new benchmarks for commercial fans and blowers.
The Department of Energy said in a news release that these two “energy-efficiency actions … will save American households and businesses $5 billion per year on their utility bills, while significantly cutting energy waste and harmful carbon pollution.”
“Together, these updated standards are also expected to reduce nearly 420 million metric tons of dangerous carbon dioxide emissions cumulatively over 30 years, which is equivalent to the combined annual emissions of nearly 53 million homes,” the DOE added.
Of course, you have to buy the new appliances, which hopefully cool your food as effectively, in order to enjoy those savings.
The agency bragged that as of Friday, the DOE “has issued 30 proposed or final energy efficiency standards in 2023, meeting the Administration’s goal for the year while also carrying out Congressional direction for energy savings that maintain reliability and performance across household appliances and commercial and industrial equipment.”
Trending:
The DOE said that all actions taken to increase efficiency standards taken together under President Joe Biden will save the average family at least $100 per year — about $8.33 a month — through lower energy bills.
Call me a bit underwhelmed that the savings amount to less than the cost of buying a sandwich at a restaurant.
The new efficiency standards are required to be in place by Jan. 31, 2029, or Jan. 31, 2030, “depending on the configuration of the refrigerator or freezer,” the DOE said.
Additionally, the updated efficiency standards for commercial fans and blowers will reduce energy costs to American businesses by $3.3 billion annually, according to the Biden administration.
Will this result in inferior appliances?
Further, the news release promised, over a 30-year period, the changes will reduce “carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 318 million metric tons — an amount roughly equivalent to the combined annual emissions of 40 million homes. ”
Bloomberg reported that the DOE adopted the efficiency standards for refrigerators and freezers recommended by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers in September. AHAM is a group of environmental organizations and efficiency advocates.
“AHAM appreciates the consideration DOE gave to the stakeholders’ recommendations in developing an achievable standard that allows sufficient time for manufacturers to develop the innovations necessary to meet the new requirements,” the group said in a statement.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm praised the new standards, saying, “Today’s announcement is a testament to the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to lowering utility costs for working families, which is helping to simultaneously strengthen energy independence and combat the climate crisis.
“DOE will continue to move quickly in 2024 — together with our industry partners and stakeholders—to update and strengthen outdated energy efficiency standards, which is critical to innovation, more consumer options, and healthier communities.”
There is nothing wrong with employing new technologies to make appliances more efficient. That is what we want. That’s the free enterprise system at work.
The problem comes when the Biden administration crosses over into silly land, like the proposal to ban gas stoves nationwide, which now apparently has been placed on hold after the GOP House passed a bill, with Democrat support, to block it.
Forcing the rapid transition to electric vehicles is another idea the Biden administration needs to back away from.
“The Environmental Protection Agency can’t mandate that carmakers sell a certain percentage of electric vehicles — but the agency’s proposed limits on tailpipe emissions for 2027 to 2032 are so strict that the only way carmakers can comply is to replace their fleets with mostly EVs,” Axios reported last month.
EVs simply are not ready to take the place of gas-powered vehicles yet. The technology will continue to develop.
In the meantime, stop forcing overly aggressive environmental mandates on the American people.
