The US Trump government is leaving no stone unturned to thwart the former Biden administration’s decarbonisation efforts, with the House of Representatives voting last week to repeal energy efficiency standards for water heaters.
The move is part of president Donald Trump’s first-day executive order to “unleash American energy,” which included a pledge to ease efficiency standards for household appliances and fixtures.
The order would “safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads,” it said.
In this particular case, updated Department of Energy standards announced in December and set to take effect in 2029 would require new tankless gas water heaters – also known as instantaneous gas heaters – to use about 13 per cent less energy than the least efficient models in use today.
These standards would save the average household $112 on their utility bills over the lifetime of a new water heater, or a total of $3.1 billion in cumulative savings, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental non-profit based in New York City.
But Alabama Republican Congressman Gary Palmer, who introduced the resolution, has said the vote was about protecting the consumer, framing the standard introduced by the DoE during the previous administration as limiting customer choice.
More tellingly, Palmer also described the Biden efficiency measures as an “assault on hydrocarbon energy.”
Eliminating commonsense standards
“This makes no sense,” said Jackie Wong, senior vice president of climate and energy at the NRDC. “Eliminating commonsense standards for water heaters would increase energy bills for American families, undermine our energy independence and slow the transition to a sustainable future.
“Water heaters are one of the biggest energy hogs in your home; so, a vote for this bill is a vote to increase Americans’ monthly energy bills.
“Lawmakers are taking money out of your wallet and handing it over to fossil fuel companies. For Americans struggling to pay their energy bills, this is a slap in the face.”
In fact, about 60 per cent of new tankless units sold already meet the standards that would have come into effect in 2029, leaving the remaining 40 per cent under ‘threat’. And tankless heaters make up less than 10 per cent of all gas water heaters sold in the US.
Nevertheless, the rules were slammed by critics when they were first announced just after Christmas.
At the time Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America, a major water heater manufacturer, told the New York Post that, “a lot of the major equipment that we’ve invested in will basically have to be scrapped”.
Rinnai complained that it would cost them an estimated $15 million to retrofit a non-compliant production plant.
According to their reporting, Rinnai earned about $250 million in profits in 2024, with close to $1 billion in cash on hand.
The Trump Administration has strongly supported the resolution, saying the DOE rule would “make it harder for American homeowners to maintain affordable living standards”, while the American Gas Association and the National Association of Home Builders have come out in favour of the move.
But Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, said the move was a boon to the fossil fuel industry rather than the average American household.
“The House put the interests of one manufacturer and a group of gas utilities ahead of American families today,” deLaski said. “If this passes the Senate and is signed by the president, many households will face increased costs.”
Courtney Griffin, director of consumer product safety at the Consumer Federation of America, agreed.
“Today, the House turned its back on American consumers, siding instead with a single manufacturer resisting progress.”
The resolution must now pass the Senate before it can be signed by President Trump.
