New Anti-Energy Efficiency Bill Will Cost Consumers, Waste Energy

A new bill in Congress would roll back federal energy efficiency standards for home appliances and block the Department of Energy from updating or setting new ones. Senator Mike Lee introduced the bill. Supporters of efficiency standards say it would let inefficient products stay on the market longer, raising energy use and utility bills for homeowners.

One specific change: the bill would end federal oversight of air conditioner efficiency, at a time when more heat waves are pushing people to run cooling more often. It would also change how appliances get grouped for efficiency comparisons, separating gas-fired equipment like furnaces from electric equipment like heat pumps (a heating and cooling system that moves heat rather than burning fuel). Critics say this would let older, less efficient gas furnaces avoid being measured against the far more efficient heat pumps now available, making it harder for shoppers to compare true performance across fuel types.

The bill would also expand the federal government's power to override state and local laws meant to protect public health, which could affect efficiency or clean-appliance rules some states have adopted on their own.

The Sierra Club's Clean Heat Campaign director criticized the bill, saying it would hurt people already facing high utility bills who want to cut costs and indoor pollution by installing efficient appliances, and called it a benefit to the fossil fuel industry rather than consumers. The bill has not become law — it was introduced, and its future depends on further action in Congress. For now, existing federal and state efficiency standards remain in place.