The Energy Department of the Obama administration is guilty of making vastly exaggerated claims for their new "efficiency standard" laws. Some of those claims are backed by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (a government-funded group with a powerful financially-driven bias) and some seem to be invented out of whole cloth.For instance, the Energy Department insists that the new standards it requires of 26 household products (microwave ovens, incandescent reflector lamps, washing machines, dryers, and so on) will save consumers between $250 billion and $300 billion on their energy bills through 2030.
And that's not all. The department's new standards on a variety of heating appliances (water heaters, pool heaters, gas fireplaces) will "avoid emissions equivalent to taking 46 million cars off the road for one year."
That's right. 46,000,000 cars.
But if you think those estimates are hard to swallow (and they most certainly are), wait until you have to swallow the extra outlay of cash to buy these Obama-required appliances. For instance, your new water heater is going to a lot more more expensive because of these new standards, from $67 up to $974 depending on size and type.
Don't forget, this is all courtesy of our Nanny State President. Barack Obama ordered his Energy Department to impose the efficiency rules shortly after taking office.
However, Ben Lieberman, an environmental expert at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, believes the regulations "will raise the purchase price of appliances – in some cases more than is ever likely to be earned back in the form of energy savings.Worse, several may adversely impact product performance and reliability. There are potentially problematic regulations on the way for virtually every room in the house."
Lieberman told FoxNews.com that the real issue is consumer choice."If these products can sell themselves, then they ought to sell themselves. We wouldn't need laws forcing us to make these particular choices. I think the fact that it has to be mandated is a red flag that it doesn't live up to the hype."
He also said the last regulation for washing machines both raised the cost of many models by hundreds of dollars while compromising cleaning ability. "Yet another round could make things worse." Lieberman also noted that the Energy Department acknowledged during its last round of central air-conditioner standards in January 2001 that many homeowners would never recoup the additional up-front cost of compliant models. "The new standards could be an even lousier deal."
