Dontcha Love Match? New Department Of Energy Standards For Electric Water Heaters Won't Save Americans Money

Article posted with permission from the author, Suzanne Hamner

Doncha just love math! When things get rather confusing with certain “estimates” pushed out by the government, math, in certain cases, can shed some interesting light on the situation. This is particularly true when the government touts “energy savings to all Americans” while pushing the “Green New Deal”.

According to WND, “The Department of Energy (DOE) finalized regulations Tuesday for a popular appliance that will push the market toward adopting heat pump technology.”

The DOE’s final energy efficiency regulations for water heaters will apply to common electrical water heaters and significantly increase the share of those models that use heat pumps, according to the agency. The DOE has spearheaded the Biden administration’s efforts to push rules and regulations targeting appliances ranging from pool pump motors and lightbulbs to furnaces and portable generators.

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“Almost every U.S. household has a water heater, and for too long outdated energy efficiency standards have led to higher utility bills for families,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement about the new rules. “The Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to put American consumers first with new, effective rules—supported by industry—that save both energy and money.”

Now, electrical water heaters that do not use “heat pump” technology are on the chopping block by this administration. The reason, according to them – current water heaters in use by US households have outdated energy efficiency standards leading to higher utility bills for families. Naturally, the appliance industry supports these new rules because it would “force” every household to buy a new water heater appliance that uses “heat pump” technology.

Honestly, the utility bill in our household has not increased because of appliances having “outdated energy efficiency standards” but because the utility company keeps raising the rates per kilowatt hour. When it comes to “heat pumps” and “heat pump technology”, everyone who has had experience with heat pumps and heat pump technology will tell you it doesn’t work when outdoor temperatures fall below the threshold level for operation – meaning, an alternate source for heating would be needed. Pardon the digression.

WND continues:

The new standards will lead to more than 50% of all newly-manufactured electric water heaters to use heat pump technology, a massive increase from the 3% seen in the market today, according to the DOE. Compliance with the new rules will be required starting in 2029.

The DOE’s new rules will require a “moderate” increase in the efficiency of gas-fired water heaters, the agency said. The DOE is still working on its efficiency standards for gas-powered water heaters, which are not included in Tuesday’s rulemaking action.

Major household appliances are usually not replaced until the appliance is beyond repair or the cost of a new appliance outweighs the repair costs – taking into account the age of the appliance, the number of repairs needed within a certain period, or the difficulty in finding parts to repair the appliance and the wait time to get the part. But, when it comes time to replace that electric water heater, it will be more difficult to find one that does not employ “heat pump technology”.

The agency says that the regulations will save Americans a combined $124 billion on energy bills over the next three decades and reduce emissions by an equivalent amount to the emissions generated by 43 million homes in one year. While the DOE considers models with heat pumps to be an important part of decarbonizing America’s building stock, those particular models tend to cost about $1,000 more up front than some alternatives and do not work as well in cold climates, according to Forbes.

The DOE did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Now, here is where the love of math enters the picture. The savings will be 124 billion dollars on energy bills over the next three decades (30 years) for Americans. That is a “savings” of 4.134 billion dollars per year. Sounds great until you divide that cost among every reported household per the Census Bureau. In 2023, there were 131.43 (?) million households reported by the Census Bureau. That would mean an average yearly savings of $31.21 per year per household or an average savings of $2.61 per month. Mind you, that does not include the upfront cost of purchasing the appliance. Not every household will be replacing their appliances until it is a necessity – after all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it or if it still works, keep it.

And, how do these individuals come up with the notion these new technology appliances would “reduce emissions by an equivalent amount to the emissions generated by 43 million homes in one year? No surprise there was no “computation” or evidence given to support that claim. Remember, the Census Bureau reported there were 131.43 million households in America. But, the number of “homes” reported by the Census Bureau was 144 million. That savings goes down using the 144 million number.

With the additional cost of the appliance at $1,000 more, how many years would it take before households realize the $31.21 per year savings? At the end of those 30 years, the savings amount to a little over $939, meaning the additional cost of the appliance has not even been realized yet, much less the total cost of the appliance. How many water heaters do you know that are still operational in 30 years? Remember, the cost for installing the unit has not yet been factored into any of the equations nor has the cost of purchasing and installing an alternative for cold weather operation.

Basically, if you have to replace a current water heater for one of these water heaters using “heat pump technology”, you will not see any return on your appliance investment for quite some time. And, the up-front cost could be prohibitive for many households. It’s bad enough to spend $450 on a new 50-gallon gas water heater, which is what our neighbor paid for his unit two years ago. He saved the installation cost by installing it himself. All this varies if using an “in-line” gas or “in-line” electric water heater as these usually cost more. While current electric water heaters cost less, the cost to heat water by “electric” means is more per year than gas. Don’t forget the “promise” made by the “Demented-in-Chief” that Americans would see higher electric bills. That was before these “new” energy standards were issued to “save” on energy bills.

With Americans struggling in this current disastrous economy, the “climate change” initiatives being forced down the throats of the people, and the DOE issuing new ever-more restrictive energy standards, every household in America will ultimately feel the pain when faced with the necessity of replacing current household appliances in the future if the mania in the District of Criminals is not halted. And, it’s not going to be cost-saving in energy costs.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media