Industry groups join push for Supreme Court to take up gas furnace case

Industry associations HARDI and PHCC are joining gas groups in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Department of Energy rule that they say will effectively outlaw non-condensing gas furnaces. 

Catch up quick: The DOE in 2023 finalized a rule requiring all residential gas furnaces manufactured after December 18, 2028, to have an AFUE rating of at least 95 percent. 

• Gas industry groups sued, arguing that because non-condensing furnaces typically have AFUE ratings of around 80 percent, they would be unable to meet this standard, and thus be forced out of the market. 
• They added that the DOE’s rule violates the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which bars the agency from imposing efficiency standards that would render a category of products or class of performance characteristics unavailable. 

Yes, but: A federal appeals court in November 2025 upheld the rule.

What’s happening: HARDI and PHCC, along with the Natural Gas Association of Georgia, this week filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to review the case, echoing a petition by the gas groups in late January. 

What they’re saying: “Millions of homes in the U.S. were built to accommodate non-condensing furnaces,” Alex Ayers, HARDI’s VP of Government Affairs, said in a statement. 

• “When those systems fail, homeowners need practical, cost-effective replacement options,” he added. “Eliminating non-condensing furnaces removes an affordable solution and forces costly renovations that many families aren’t prepared for, and in some instances, the building cannot be retrofitted to accommodate.”

Go deeper: “This case is about the realities of real-world installations,” said Chuck White, PHCC’s VP of Regulatory Affairs. “Contractors are the ones who have to explain to homeowners why a simple furnace replacement has suddenly turned into a major renovation project.”

• The big picture: The associations’ filing contends that the issue extends beyond furnaces. “The legal interpretation upheld by the lower court could expand DOE’s authority to eliminate other product categories based on efficiency thresholds, even when doing so disrupts installation compatibility and long-standing market availability,” HARDI wrote in a statement. 

What we’re watching: The Supreme Court, which reviews about one to three percent of the cases it’s asked to, will decide in the coming months whether to take up the case.