Six environmental and consumer groups have warned the U.S. Department of Energy that they will sue the agency if it does not meet its legal responsibility to review and update overdue energy efficiency standards for 26 consumer and commercial products—including some of the largest energy users, such as air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, and clothes dryers—within 60 days.
The notice of intent to sue DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette said the agency is required by law to review and where appropriate, update efficiency standards for each product according to deadlines prescribed in the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) authorizing the national appliance and equipment standards program. The letter was signed by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council); Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity (with Earthjustice as their counsel); Consumer Federation of America; the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants (MUPHT) (with National Consumer Law Center as its counsel); and Public Citizen. DOE has missed deadlines for reviewing efficiency standards for 17 products under EPCA, which requires DOE to review a standard every six years and update it if warranted. Here are the products and deadlines:
- Small electric motors (March 9, 2016)
- Pool heaters (April 16, 2016)
- Water heaters (April 16, 2016)
- Clothes dryers (April 21, 2017)
- Room air conditioners (April 21, 2017)
- Oil furnaces and weatherized gas furnaces (June 27, 2017)
- Refrigerators and freezers (Sept. 15, 2017)
- Fluorescent lamp ballasts (Nov. 14, 2017)
- Evaporatively cooled commercial air conditioners (May 16, 2018)
- Water-cooled commercial air conditioners (May 16, 2018)
- Residential clothes washers (May 31, 2018)
- Distribution transformers; Liquid immersed, low-voltage and medium voltage (April 18, 2019)
- Microwave ovens (June 17, 2019)
- Direct heating equipment (Oct. 17, 2019)
- Dishwashers (Dec. 13, 2019)
- Electric motors (May 29, 2020)
- Furnace fans (July 3, 2020)
Separately, DOE failed to finalize six standards after proposing an efficiency standard improvement. In most cases, the standards must be finalized within two years. The standards and finalization deadlines:
- Non-weatherized and mobile home gas furnaces (March 12, 2017)
- Cooking products (June 10, 2017) (cooking tops and ovens)
- Commercial water heaters (May 31, 2018)
- Metal halide lamp fixtures (Jan. 1, 2019)
- Walk-in coolers and freezers (Jan. 1, 2020)
- Commercial refrigeration equipment (March 27, 2020)
The DOE also missed the April 26, 2019 deadline for updating dedicated outdoor air systems, computer room air conditioners, and VRF (variable refrigerant flow) air conditioners and heat pumps as EPCA requires within 18 months of more stringent standards being set under ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, which provides minimum requirements for energy-efficient building designs except for low-rise residential buildings.
EPCA allows private groups to sue the DOE over standards after providing 60 days’ notice of intent to do so. When the agency under President George W. Bush missed 22 standards, NRDC and MUPHT sued in 2004, leading to a landmark consent decree that set new, binding deadlines for each standard. Under President Trump DOE has consistently missed deadlines. The agency’s unlawful failure to review and update the energy conservation standards for these 26 products is unacceptable and must be addressed by the court.
