What does Trump’s planned rollback of efficiency standards mean for consumers?
What does Trump’s planned rollback of efficiency standards mean for consumers?
A key priority for the Trump administration and Congress is reducing the number of federal rules and regulations. One target area? Home appliances.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he plans to roll back energy efficiency standards for a variety of things we use in our homes every day.
“There’s a wide range of appliance standards and products, and so it includes light bulbs, dishwashers, furnaces, shower heads, HVAC and things like that,” said Sapna Gheewala-Dowla, associate vice president of policy and research with the policy advocacy group Alliance to Save Energy.
Energy efficiency standards for household appliances and even smaller items like light bulbs have been around for decades. But critics say they’ve gone too far and limit consumer choice.
There are a few ways Republicans can unwind these rules, according to Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
“This will start with reviews of the most recent Biden administration regulations, which can be most easily undone later on,” he said. “This may move towards legislative changes that would limit future such regulations.”
But there are some limits to what the Trump administration can do, said Andrew deLaski, who runs the advocacy group the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
“The statute prohibits the Department of Energy from setting new standards that are weaker than the existing standards,” he said. “So there’s a very strong ‘no roll-back’ provision in statute.”
In addition, many of the companies making these products already changed their product lines in response to the new rules.
“The manufacturers have already started moving towards and making the improvements,” said Shanika Whitehurst, associate director for product sustainability, research and testing at Consumer Reports. “And, you know, those that did not — I guess what the rollback will do is just allow them to stay on the market.”
Most consumers have adjusted to the updated standards, as well, already swapping out their incandescent bulbs for LEDs and buying Energy Star-rated appliances.
“Rolling back some of these appliance standards is basically going to decrease the amount of effort the manufacturers have to put in to increase efficiency in the technologies that they have available,” noted Gheewala-Dowla at the Alliance to Save Energy.
But it probably won’t motivate manufacturers to bring back old models or get consumers to give up their LED, app-controlled mood lighting, she added.
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