WASHINGTON, DC— Home appliance manufacturers, together with consumer, climate, and energy and water efficiency advocates, have unveiled a consensus plan to improve energy and water efficiency for refrigerators and freezers, beverage and wine chillers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers, and cooking products.
The jointly recommended standards, if adopted by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, are projected to save more than 9 quadrillion BTU of energy, “reducing costs for families and cutting greenhouse gas emissions while allowing home appliance manufacturers to continue to deliver highly efficient products with the features that consumers want and expect,” according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, which announced the proposed new standards today.
“The home appliance industry has played an undeniable role in enhancing household energy efficiency,” said Kelly Mariotti, president and CEO of AHAM, the trade association that represents most of the nation’s leading appliance manufacturers. “This agreement, if adopted by the DOE, will allow home appliance manufacturers to continue to offer a complete range of energy-efficient products with the features consumers depend on, (preserving) historic efficiency gains while advancing innovation.”
The agreement was reached between AHAM together with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Appliance Standards Awareness Project, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, Earthjustice, National Consumer Law Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
According to AHAM, the parties to the agreement will submit joint recommendations to the DOE’s rulemaking apparatus for consideration. If DOE adopts the recommendations, six categories of appliances will see updated minimum energy efficiency standards, along with updated water efficiency standards for certain products.
AHAM said that the recommended standards would reduce new refrigerator and freezer energy use by approximately 10-15%, effective in January 2029 or January 2030, depending on the product type. For beverage and wine chillers, the recommended standards, taking effect in 2029, would reduce energy use by 30% for the major product categories. The recommended standards for dishwashers would reduce energy use by 15% and water use by 34% relative to the current standards, likely beginning in late 2027.
New efficiency standards for electric and gas cooking products, which would preserve the features and functionality that consumers expect from their cooking products and have access to today, would take effect in 2028, AHAM said.