Biden administration proposes stricter energy standards for dishwashers, other appliances
WASHINGTON (TND) — It isn't just gas stoves that the Biden administration is apparently targeting, it's all appliances, including dishwashers.
The Biden administration's Department of Energy (DOE) announced Friday that newly proposed energy efficiency standards will save Americans $652 million in utility bills. Among the newly proposed standards are updated energy guidelines for dishwashers, released May 5, which would reduce the total amount of allowable water used from 5 gallons to 3.3.
The DOE finalized current standards for dishwashers in 2012, and they took effect in 2013. In 2016, the DOE determined more stringent standards for dishwashers were not economically justifiable.
However, the Biden administration says "there are models available today that can meet improved energy and water standards, while providing the cleaning performance that consumers expect from their dishwashers."
It isn't just dishwashers and gas stoves being targeted either, the DOE is seeking to ramp up restrictions around all kinds of appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, drying machines and more.
Earlier this year, in February, the Biden administration's DOE proposed new energy standards for refrigerators and clothes washers.
With today's proposals, we're building on a decades-long effort with industry to ensure tomorrow's appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money," U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm insisted in February after the DOE announced its newly proposed rules for fridges and clothes washers. "Over the last forty years, at the direction of Congress, DOE has worked to promote innovation, improve consumers' options, and raise efficiency standards for household appliances without sacrificing the reliability and performance that Americans have come to expect."
The Biden administration's DOE also proposed new energy regulations for gas stoves earlier this year, causing outcry from many Americans. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nearly 40% of households use natural gas for cooking.
The controversy over gas stoves was sparked after U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. called them a "hidden hazard," and insisted "products that can't be made safe can be banned."
"The Department is required by Congress to review appliance energy conservation standards and determine whether to amend such standards," the Energy Department told The National Desk (TND) in a statement. "As such, DOE will continue to build on our decades-long partnership with industry partners and stakeholders to improve the efficiency of household appliances and provide more Americans the opportunity to save on their utility bills, all without sacrificing the reliability and performance that consumers have come to expect and rely on."
