The Biden administration is proposing new energy efficiency standards for gas furnaces in homes that will cut greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers money on their energy bills.
According to a June 13 Department of Energy news release, under the proposed rule, non-weatherized gas furnaces and units used in mobile homes would have to attain an annual fuel utilization efficiency rating of 95%.
“By updating energy standards for many carbon-emitting appliances, such as home furnaces, the Biden administration is working to save consumers money,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in the news release. “These efficiency measures not only reduce carbon and methane emissions, but also provide huge material benefits to American households in the form of cleaner air, modernized technology and cheaper energy.”
In the release, the DOE noted the proposed efficiency standards would take effect in 2029, if adopted in a timely manner, and could save American consumers $1.9 billion a year and reduce carbon emissions by 373 million metric tons more than three decades. The proposal is music to the hears of Joe Vukovich, an energy efficiency advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who made a statement to CNN.
“Americans have been forced to rely on antiquated and wasteful furnaces for long enough," Vukovich said to CNN. “Since about half of the homes in the U.S. depend on fossil fuels for space heating, this standard will significantly lower energy bills each year and slash dangerous climate-warming emissions across the nation."
The DOE also noted it is using the Defense Production Act to expand the manufacturing of key clean energy technologies, including heat pumps that can be used to heat and cool homes and help reduce America’s reliance on oil and gas, according to the release.
"It's money saving time. Our new residential furnace standards will benefit American households in the form of cleaner air, modernized technology and cheaper energy – saving households across the nation $1.9B annually,” Granholm said in a June 13 post on Twitter.
