Republicans, Democrats clash over energy efficiency standards

Republican Congressmen last week drew attention to a slate of federal bills aimed at undoing home appliance regulations and energy efficiency standards.

• Democrats countered that such rollbacks would hurt jobs and competition, and several speakers cautioned about the potential impact of rule changes on equipment manufacturers. 

What’s happening: At a House energy subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, several Republican legislators balked at certain existing Department of Energy (DOE) rules, arguing that they don’t save significant energy, aren’t cost-effective, and hamper consumer choice.

• The big picture: Several of the Republican-backed bills at issue would reverse Biden-era rules designed to encourage widespread uptake of energy-efficient appliances, which the HVAC industry has already begun adapting to.

Go deeper: The discussion touched on several points that an energy committee covered in a separate but similar hearing the week prior, some of which could affect the residential HVAC industry.

• The highlights: The ‘Don’t Mess with My Home Appliances Act,’ for instance, introduced by Georgia Rep. Rick Allen, aims to ultimately reform how the DOE regulates appliances, including central air conditioners and heat pumps.
• Allen has said his bill would “prevent future administrations from prioritizing a radical rush-to-green agenda over the affordability and availability of reliable household appliances that Americans rely on every day.”
• Other bills discussed pertained to shower heads, federal buildings, and manufactured housing.

The other side: “American engineers and manufacturers have been at the forefront of appliance innovation for a century, and we don’t want to walk back those standards so we can let the Chinese take over the space,” said Texas Rep. Marc Veasey. “That would be scary if the Chinese… were doing all the innovation in this area.” 

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) added that 91,000 jobs have been threatened or lost due to the Trump administration’s closures of clean energy projects in the last six months.

What they’re saying: In her testimony, Jennifer Cleary, VP of Regulatory Affairs for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers — whose members include Midea, Rheem, and Whirlpool — said her organization strongly supports Allen’s bill, part of which proposes eliminating a requirement for the DOE to review appliance standards every six years, because it results in a “never-ending regulatory churn regardless of who is in the White House.” 

• She also called for maintaining national standards for home appliances, rather than a patchwork of different state laws. 
• Yes, but: Andrew deLaski, Executive Director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, testified against Allen’s bill, contending it would “aid the administration’s efforts to take away existing standards, paralyzing manufacturers and hurting American families. It also would stymie future standards.” 

One more thing: Despite the disagreements, both Democrats and Republicans expressed support for a bill that would reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance Program — which provides funds for low-income Americans to seal air leaks, add insulation, and replace old HVAC equipment — through fiscal-year 2030 at current funding levels ($350 million annually) and increase the maximum available assistance from $6,000 to $12,000.