Biden Quietly Bans Most Gas Powered Tankless Water Heaters

[mountaineer]

Biden Quietly Bans Most Gas Powered Tankless Water Heaters
by Tyler Durden
Saturday, Jan 04, 2025 - 06:05 PM

In a significant regulatory shift that took place quietly the day after Christmas, the Biden administration finalized new climate rules targeting natural gas-powered instantaneous water heaters. The Department of Energy (DOE), which traditionally issues a press release for such regulations, chose not to announce these changes publicly, raising eyebrows across various sectors.

According to the Free Beacon, the new regulations aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a move aligned with broader climate change mitigation efforts. However, the regulations are set to remove approximately 40% of the current tankless water heater models from the market by 2029 (between gas and electric). This shift is expected to force consumers to opt for either more expensive or less efficient alternatives.

An industry analysis forecasts that the average cost increase for new water heaters due to the regulations will be around $450. This price hike is poised to disproportionately affect low-income and senior households, who are among the most reliant on the more affordable models currently targeted for phase-out.  ...

Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, criticized the move, stating, "It bans an entire category of tankless water heaters and the ones that are most affordable. This is all part of the climate change agenda...an antipathy towards natural gas because they want to electrify everything." ...

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/biden-quietly-bans-most-gas-powered-tankless-water-heaters

This is insane. The appeal of a tankless water heater is that it doesn't have to run all the time, so you actually use less natural gas. You'd think that would be better for the environment, but not to the moron Biden administration. Make everyone have an electric water heater!! What could possibly go wrong?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

States need to ignore this over-reach

[Hoodat]

Did Congress pass a law banning tankless water heaters?  If not, the Supreme Court recently ruled on this:

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

[mountaineer]

Who didn't see that coming?

New Biden water heater ban will drive up energy prices for poor, seniors: expert
By Michael Dorgan, Fox Business   
Published Jan. 5, 2025, 5:29 a.m. ET
New York Post

The Biden administration is banning certain natural gas water heaters from the market as part of its climate change agenda, a move critics say will jack up energy costs for low-income and senior households.

The move in the final days of the administration will take non-condensing, natural gas-fired water heaters off the shelves by 2029 in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which climate change advocates and President Biden say cause global warming.

The new rules will require new tankless gas water heaters to use about 13% less energy than today’s least efficient tankless models. The rules apply to both non-condensing and condensing gas water heaters, but the rules hike efficiency requirements to a threshold that only condensing models can meet, effectively banning the cheaper but less efficient non-condensing models, according to The Washington Free Beacon. Condensing technology wastes less heat.

Consumers will be forced to buy more expensive models or cheaper non-instantaneous storage tank water heaters, which are less efficient than the models being banned by the DOE.  ...

[verga]

I had my students in the Architecture class do some research on this. Depending on the model, size. and part of the country, these are 10=15 percent more efficient then your standard 30- 50 Gallon home tank. They can pay them selves off in 5-7 years depending on the size of the family. 

[rangerrebew]

Biden’s Lame-Duck Water Heater Ban: Higher Costs, Fewer Choices
by Thomas Catenacci  Jan 7, 2025
 
The Biden administration finalized climate regulations to ban most natural gas-powered instantaneous water heaters—a move that critics say will drive up costs for consumers. [emphasis, links added]

The Department of Energy—which formally published the rules the day after Christmas—didn’t issue a press release announcing the action, a departure from past appliance regulations.


The published rules say the regulations are expected to help the climate by curbing carbon dioxide emissions.

Overall, under the regulations, roughly 40 percent of the new tankless water heaters available in the United States today will be taken off the market by 2029.

https://climatechangedispatch.com/bidens-lame-duck-water-heater-ban-higher-costs-fewer-choices/

[rangerrebew]

Biden Goodbye Gift in Middle of Winter Will Make Up to 40 Percent of New Water Heaters Illegal
Story by Ben Zeisloft


Biden administration officials banned many new natural gas water heaters on Dec. 26 in a regulatory push weeks before President Joe Biden leaves office.

The new regulations on non-condensing gas water heaters would “save a significant amount of energy” and yield “significant environmental benefits,” including decreasing carbon dioxide emissions, according to the final rule.
 
In essence, the regulations would require new gas water heaters to “use about 13 percent less energy than today’s least efficient models,” per an analysis from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

The rules will enter into effect in 2029, while the standards for tankless models will enter into effect in late 2029 or early 2030, the organization noted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/biden-goodbye-gift-in-middle-of-winter-will-make-up-to-40-percent-of-new-water-heaters-illegal/ar-AA1x76PT?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=b0dd3a4c8560477eb48e8227aa855e82&ei=54

[rangerrebew]

And Gen. Milley thought Trump was crazy but not Biden?