New rule aims to make outdated home water heaters cheaper and greener

The Biden administration proposed a rule Friday that would make new water heaters more efficient by setting standards that encourage companies to update roughly 80-year-old technology, the biggest step yet in a series of appliance regulations aimed at reducing Americans’ utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Department of Energy said its proposal would save consumers $11.4 billion on their energy and water bills each year. To comply with the rule’s efficiency standards, which would take effect in 2029, new electric storage water heaters in the most common size would have to use heat pumps, and some gas-fired instantaneous heaters would have to use condensing technology. The change would reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by 501 million metric tons over a 30-year period, the department says. It would also save Americans $198 billion over the same timespan.