(FiveNation.com)- Last week, the Energy Department released a proposal establishing a new “energy conservation standard” for both gas and electric stoves.
The proposed rule would create energy efficiency standards for newly manufactured stoves, but will not ban the use of either gas or electric stoves.
According to the summary of the proposal, any new or updated energy conservation standard has to be “designed to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency” that the Energy Department “determines is technologically feasible and economically justified.”
The Department of Energy claims that the proposed efficiency standards will improve the nation’s energy conservation by at least 3.4 percent compared to if the standards were not applied while improving the security and reliability of the country’s energy system.
According to NBC News, a spokesperson for the Energy Department clarified that the EPA is only proposing efficiency standards for gas and electric stoves “as required by Congress.” The EPA is not “proposing bans on either,” the statement clarified.
The proposed efficiency standards, which would not go into effect until 2027, will “cumulatively save the nation up to $1.7 billion,” the spokesperson said. Currently, every major appliance manufacturer in the US “has products that meet or exceed the requirements proposed,” according to the statement.
The proposed changes would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA said. The efficiency standards proposed would be a change from existing rules which prohibit pilot lights on gas stoves from constantly burning but do not limit energy consumption.
Last month, Richard Trumpka Jr., a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in an interview with Bloomberg News that the Biden administration was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves, which he described as a “hidden hazard.”
A spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission later clarified that there was no official proposal to ban the use of gas stoves.
According to the Energy Department, the proposed efficiency standards would save a “significant amount” of energy overall, resulting in estimated savings that are “the equivalent of the electricity use of 19 million residential homes in one year.”
