The Patriot Post® · Heating Up the Regulatory State

The Biden administration is going to “save” the planet and “save” Americans money by forcing us all to … spend more money. Get it? Neither do we, but according to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, that’s “Bidenomics” for you.

The growing list of household appliances the Biden administration has unilaterally decided is under its purview is getting more ridiculous. Indeed, the administration cannot deny it anymore. So the excuse now is, Well, it’s not happening immediately.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said as much. Team Biden has gone after “gas stoves, air conditioning units with regulation, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, now water heaters,” a reporter said in an exchange with KJP. “How many more home appliances will Americans eventually have to replace, then, because of regulations?”

“So, just to be clear,” Jean-Pierre responded, “when it comes to water heaters — and it is — it is — it is proposed, what has been put forward, and if it is enacted, it would not take it into effect until 2029. So let’s not forget that.”

Why put off the regulation for another six years if climate change is such an imminent threat? If the world will end in X number of years, as we’ve been relentlessly told for decades, why wait?

The short answer is because it has nothing to do with the climate.

Likewise, the claim that “Bidenomics” is saving Americans money is just as vacuous.

While the DOE claims that the new regulations would produce $11 billion in annual savings for consumers, that claim quickly runs into a wall called “the real world.”

While these heat-pump systems may indeed be more energy efficient on their face, the real-life situations into which these units are placed have tremendous impact on their overall energy efficiency. Since these heat-pump water heaters take from the ambient warm air surrounding the unit, channeling it to heat the water, the temperature of the air around the unit will dictate its efficiency. Therefore, in hotter climates, this system works well, but in cooler climates, much of that energy efficiency is lost. And, of course, lost energy efficiency means lost savings.

Furthermore, there’s the problem of initial costs. These heat-pump water heaters cost an average of $2,800 more than a standard electric water heater on the market today. That’s no small potatoes for most Americans. On top of the price of the water heater are installation costs, which can run much higher than the installation of a standard water heater.

So, on balance, depending upon a variety of factors such as local climate, house size, and location within a house, the potential energy savings may end up being a complete wash due to the high upfront cost of these water heaters. But again, it’s not about saving money or saving the planet; it’s about empowering Washington’s bureaucratic state and giving excuses for unelected bureaucrats to impose ever more control over the American public.

Ben Lieberman, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, observes, “It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is either subject to a pending regulation or soon will be.” Exactly.

It is also deeply ironic that the party most concerned about democracy being threatened is the party most engaged in building a federal government that increasingly circumvents the democratic process.

If such powers are constitutional at all — which is a big “if” — Congress should be the only branch of the federal government looking to pass laws such as the DOE’s proposed regulations. It’s the only way for citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable. But of course, Congress doesn’t want to be held accountable, so elected lawmakers can hide behind the unelected bureaucratic state while asserting, It’s not our fault.