Shower Freedom Goes Down the Drain
written by Daniel Sutter August 2, 2021
Professor at Troy University
The 1992 Energy Policy Act authorized imposition of energy and water efficiency standards on household and commercial products. Consumers have not been thrilled with the new products. As Jeffrey Tucker puts it, “Anything in your home that involves water has been made pathetic, thanks to government controls.” President Trump repealed regulations on showers, but the Biden Administration proposes to reinstate them.
Dozens of products now use significantly less water and energy. For example, showers cannot use more than 2.5 gallons per minute and toilets are limited to 1.6 gallons per flush. While described as efficient, efficiency here is used in an engineering and not economic sense. For engineers, efficiency involves using the least water or energy to accomplish a task. Department of Energy (DOE) engineers define showering, flushing waste, or cleaning dishes, determine the minimum amount of water or energy needed for this, and only allow products meeting this standard to be sold.
Economists define efficiency in terms of consumer preferences. Consumer sovereignty is the basis on which we judge the economy’s performance. With the economic freedom and competition, manufacturers must cater to consumers. We get the showers and toilets we like.
https://blog.heartland.org/2021/08/shower-freedom-goes-down-the-drain/
