The Department of Energy finalized long-awaited efficiency standards for stoves Monday, backing off a previous proposal that would have rendered roughly half of natural gas models out of compliance.
The more modest rules came a year after a Biden administration official set off a political firestorm by suggesting new gas stoves could be banned for health and environmental reasons.
The final regulations will take effect starting in 2028 and will primarily target electric models, of which 77% on the market comply compared to 97% of gas stoves.
The Energy Department said that “only a small portion of models” will be required “to make modest improvements.”
“The standards will not result in the loss of any consumer-desired features in future models, such as continuous cast-iron grates, high input rate burners, and other specialty burners,” the agency said.
The electric models out of compliance will have to use at least 30% less energy than today’s lowest-performing models. Just 3% of gas models will have to increase efficiency.
The final rules are in line with a joint recommendation from industry stakeholders like manufacturers, environmentalists, utilities and energy companies.
They were significantly watered down from the Energy Department’s prior consideration critics said was a bid to effectively bar gas-cooking appliances as part of President Biden’s green-energy agenda.
As the rules were being finalized over the past year, fierce backlash prompted the administration to deny repeatedly that it sought to ban gas stoves.
Top officials, including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, emphasized that such efficiency standards were required by law to be periodically updated.
Opponents of the more stringent efficiency proposal declared victory — for now. The administration is in the process of weighing such efficiency regulations for a host of other household appliances.
“DOE’s decision makes clear that the department understands they lacked the authority or justification to remove a high percentage of appliances from the market,” said American Gas Association President and CEO Karen Harbert.
Ms. Harbert added she was optimistic that the Energy Department’s “newfound recognition will carry over to their other rulemakings on natural gas appliances” such as furnaces.
The Appliance Standards Awareness Project, which advocates for policies that cut appliances’ energy use and emissions, also praised the administration’s final decision.
“The main thing this does is ensure new smooth-top electric stoves don’t waste energy when they’re not even operating,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the group. “It’s a modest money saver for consumers, with changes that would be challenging to even notice.”
The Energy Department estimated that consumers will save $1.6 billion on their energy bills over 30 years because of the new stove standards.