Aging law puts appliance innovation at risk

Imagine dishwashers that require two cycles to clean dishes, or dryers that have to run for longer to dry clothes. That’s the opposite of efficiency, and not what people expect from the home appliances that are supposed to reduce, not increase, the time and energy it takes to do their laundry, cool their homes or keep their food cold.

The convenience and efficiency that consumers have come to expect from their home appliances could be at risk if the Department of Energy continues down its current path of tightening efficiency standards every six years. It’s a process that began in the 1970s with the passage of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the regular review and revision of standards was mandated by subsequent amendments to it. The regular updates were put into the law as a policy option to help consumers continue reducing their energy bills without experiencing diminished product performance. And there’s widespread agreement that the law has been successful in its goal of achieving greater energy efficiency and maintaining the economic benefits of a national market. Home appliances have become an efficiency success story, and new appliances often are the most effective purchase homeowners can make to lower their total home energy usage and costs.

{mosads}The gains home appliance manufacturers have made in efficiency are striking. The most commonly purchased refrigerator now uses only as much energy as a 50-Watt light bulb. Clothes washers are another example of the energy efficiency success, with tub capacities growing larger and energy consumption declining. All of the refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes washers shipped to consumers last year will save a combined 111 trillion kilowatt hours of energy during the duration of their use compared to the models used 25 years ago. That’s enough energy to power the entire city of Washington, D.C., for six decades.

Given the consistent and significant efficiency gains made by home appliances over the past few decades, it’s tempting to think that continuing to tighten efficiency standards every few years will only lead to greater gains. That is not the case. With each subsequent tightening of the standards, the total gains in efficiency have become less and less. Now, for many products, we have reached a point where more stringent standards will not generate noticeable cost or energy savings for consumers. Home appliances are operating at or very near peak efficiency, and additional mandates threaten to undo that progress as manufacturers are forced to sacrifice higher levels of product performance to meet new, unrealistically stringent efficiency mandates that achieve only incremental actual efficiency gains.

We have already seen what can happen when an efficiency standard is developed without considering the product function. Last year, the DOE issued a proposed rule that would limit the amount of water that can be used by dishwashers during a cycle to 3.1 gallons, down from the five gallons allowed under the current standard. Repeated tests of dishwashers under the proposed water limit produced the same result: the dishes were not cleaned. This means the strict water limit ultimately would increase water usage, as consumers would be forced to wash dishes by hand or run the dishwasher a second time to finish cleaning their dishes. Product performance is at the very essence of the bargain in EPCA between obtaining energy efficiency improvements while protecting consumers from being deprived of products that work well and perform the desired function.

In the case of the dishwasher standard, the DOE seems to have realized its mistake, has gone back to the drawing board, and is in the process of drawing up a new rule. Dishwashers are just one example. If the serial rulemakings of the past three decades continue, we will no doubt see more examples of diminished performance as appliance manufacturers are forced to spend more time building appliances that meet strict and unrealistic efficiency mandates and less time on innovations that could lead to new time savings and convenience for consumers.

Increased efficiency is a worthy goal, and it is one that appliance manufacturers share. Appliance manufacturers will continue to develop more efficient products. But after three decades, it is time for Congress to recognize the successes achieved despite the shortcomings of current law. It’s time for Congress to revise EPCA and make reforms that free the government to focus on innovative ways to encourage consumers to take advantage of the extremely efficient appliances that are currently available and require DOE to better prioritize its responsibilities. This is a rational step that will allow home appliance manufacturers to continue providing consumers with innovative performance and efficiency solutions. 

Joseph McGuire is the President & CEO of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the not-for-profit trade association representing manufacturers of major and portable home appliances, floor care appliances and suppliers to the industry.