What This Bill Does
This bill changes how the government creates efficiency rules for water heaters, furnaces, boilers, and kitchen cooking appliances. The bill requires officials to study how these appliances use fuel across their entire lifespan and to check whether new rules would push people away from gas-powered appliances toward electric ones.
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Who It Affects
- The Secretary of Energy (the federal official who oversees energy policy)
- Manufacturers of water heaters, furnaces, boilers, cooktops, ranges, and ovens
- Consumers buying these appliances
- The Federal Trade Commission (the agency that oversees consumer product labeling)
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Key Provisions
- When creating new rules for water heaters, the Secretary must perform a full fuel cycle analysis (a study of how much energy an appliance uses from fuel source to home) and must certify that the rule will not cause a major shift from gas water heaters to electric water heaters (Sec. 2)
- New water heater rules cannot apply to small major household appliance manufacturers and must display the fuel cycle analysis results on consumer-visible product labels (Sec. 2)
- When creating new rules for furnaces or boilers, the Secretary must perform a full fuel cycle analysis and certify the rule will not cause a significant shift from gas furnaces or boilers to electric ones (Sec. 3)
- New furnace and boiler rules cannot apply to small major household appliance manufacturers and must display analysis results on consumer-visible product labels (Sec. 3)
- New rules for kitchen cooktops, ranges, and ovens cannot limit features like quick-boiling times, burner numbers and sizes, or grate design, and must include fuel cycle analysis on consumer-visible labels (Sec. 4)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the government's process for setting efficiency standards for these four types of appliances will require fuel cycle analysis studies. Officials must also prove that new rules will not shift consumers from gas appliances to electric appliances. Rules for cooking appliances cannot remove features that currently exist on gas models. All affected appliances must show fuel analysis results on labels customers see before purchasing.
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Important Definitions
- Full fuel cycle analysis: A study measuring how much energy an appliance uses across its entire working life, from the original fuel source to the home
- Point of sale: The location where a consumer buys a product
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1043
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify standards
for water heaters, furnaces, boilers, and kitchen cooktops, ranges, and
ovens, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 29, 2023
Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LEE, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr.
HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify
standards for water heaters, furnaces, boilers, and kitch-
en cooktops, ranges, and ovens, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Natural Gas Appli-
4
ances Standards Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘Natural GAS Act
5
of 2023’’.
6
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•S 1043 IS
SEC. 2. RULE REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER HEATERS.
1
Section 325(e) of the Energy Policy and Conservation
2
Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)) is amended by adding at the end
3
the following:
4
‘‘(7) REQUIREMENTS.—
5
‘‘(A) RULEMAKING
PROCESS.—For any
6
rule relating to water heaters under this section
7
that is finalized after the date of enactment of
8
this paragraph, the Secretary shall—
9
‘‘(i) require as part of the rulemaking
10
process the performance of a full fuel cycle
11
analysis for energy efficiency standards
12
and a full fuel cycle energy descriptor, as
13
described in a letter report of the National
14
Academies entitled ‘Review of Site (Point-
15
of-Use) and Full-Fuel-Cycle Measurement
16
Approaches to DOE/EERE Building Ap-
17
pliance Energy-Efficiency Standards’ and
18
dated 2009; and
19
‘‘(ii) certify that the rule is not likely
20
to result in a significant shift from gas
21
water heaters to electric water heaters with
22
respect to residential construction, com-
23
mercial construction, or water heater re-
24
placement.
25
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3
•S 1043 IS
‘‘(B) RULES.—Any rule relating to water
1
heaters under this section that is finalized after
2
the date of enactment of this paragraph—
3
‘‘(i) shall not apply to small major
4
household appliance manufacturers (as de-
5
fined in section 121.201 of title 13, Code
6
of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-
7
lations)); and
8
‘‘(ii) shall require the results of the
9
analysis and resulting energy descriptor
10
described in subparagraph (A)(i) to be
11
prominently disclosed on any label that—
12
‘‘(I) is required by the Federal
13
Trade Commission to provide energy
14
efficiency information of the water
15
heater; and
16
‘‘(II) is visible to consumers at
17
the point of sale.’’.
18
SEC. 3. RULE REQUIREMENTS FOR FURNACES AND BOIL-
19
ERS.
20
Section 325(f) of the Energy Policy and Conservation
21
Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(f)) is amended—
22
(a) in paragraph (1)(B)—
23
(1) in clause (i), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end
24
after the semicolon;
25
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•S 1043 IS
(2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end
1
and inserting a period; and
2
(3) by striking clause (iii); and
3
(b) by adding at the end the following:
4
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS.—
5
‘‘(A) RULEMAKING
PROCESS.—For any
6
rule relating to furnaces or boilers under this
7
section that is finalized after the date of enact-
8
ment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall—
9
‘‘(i) require as part of the rulemaking
10
process the performance of a full fuel cycle
11
analysis for energy efficiency standards
12
and a full fuel cycle energy descriptor, as
13
described in a letter report of the National
14
Academies entitled ‘Review of Site (Point-
15
of-Use) and Full-Fuel-Cycle Measurement
16
Approaches to DOE/EERE Building Ap-
17
pliance Energy-Efficiency Standards’ and
18
dated 2009; and
19
‘‘(ii) certify that the rule is not likely
20
to result in a significant shift from gas
21
furnaces or boilers to electric furnaces or
22
boilers with respect to residential construc-
23
tion, commercial construction, or furnace
24
or boiler replacement.
25
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•S 1043 IS
‘‘(B) RULES.—Any rule relating to fur-
1
naces or boilers under this section that is final-
2
ized after the date of enactment of this para-
3
graph—
4
‘‘(i) shall not apply to small major
5
household appliance manufacturers (as de-
6
fined in section 121.201 of title 13, Code
7
of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-
8
lations)); and
9
‘‘(ii) shall require the results of the
10
analysis and resulting energy descriptor
11
described in subparagraph (A)(i) to be
12
prominently disclosed on any label that—
13
‘‘(I) is required by the Federal
14
Trade Commission to provide energy
15
efficiency information of the water
16
heater; and
17
‘‘(II) is visible to consumers at
18
the point of sale.’’.
19
SEC. 4. RULE REQUIREMENTS FOR COOKTOPS, RANGES,
20
AND OVENS.
21
Section 325(h) of the Energy Policy and Conserva-
22
tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(h)) is amended by adding at
23
the end the following:
24
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—
25
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•S 1043 IS
‘‘(A) RULEMAKING
PROCESS.—For any
1
rule relating to kitchen cooktops, ranges, and
2
ovens under this section that is finalized after
3
the date of enactment of this paragraph, the
4
Secretary shall—
5
‘‘(i) require as part of the rulemaking
6
process the performance of a full fuel cycle
7
analysis for energy efficiency standards
8
and a full fuel cycle energy descriptor, as
9
described in a letter report of the National
10
Academies entitled ‘Review of Site (Point-
11
of-Use) and Full-Fuel-Cycle Measurement
12
Approaches to DOE/EERE Building Ap-
13
pliance Energy-Efficiency Standards’ and
14
dated 2009; and
15
‘‘(ii) certify that the rule is not likely
16
to result in a significant shift from gas
17
kitchen cooktops, ranges, and ovens to
18
electric kitchen cooktops, ranges, and
19
ovens with respect to residential construc-
20
tion, commercial construction, or cooktop,
21
range, and oven replacement.
22
‘‘(B) RULES.—Any rule relating to kitchen
23
cooktops, ranges, and ovens under this section
24
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•S 1043 IS
that is finalized after the date of enactment of
1
this paragraph—
2
‘‘(i) shall not limit the features and
3
functionality available on residential gas
4
kitchen cooktops, ranges, and ovens, in-
5
cluding—
6
‘‘(I) quick-to-boil times;
7
‘‘(II) the number and size of
8
burners, including burners designed
9
for simmering and high input rate
10
burners; and
11
‘‘(III) the design of grates, in-
12
cluding continuous grates;
13
‘‘(ii) shall not apply to small major
14
household appliance manufacturers (as de-
15
fined in section 121.201 of title 13, Code
16
of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-
17
lations)); and
18
‘‘(iii) shall require the results of the
19
analysis and resulting energy descriptor
20
described in subparagraph (A)(i) to be
21
prominently disclosed on any label that—
22
‘‘(I) is required by the Federal
23
Trade Commission to provide energy
24
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•S 1043 IS
efficiency information of the kitchen
1
cooktop, range, or oven; and
2
‘‘(II) is visible to consumers at
3
the point of sale.’’.
4
Æ
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