The Department of Energy will propose a new rule to make ceiling fans more energy efficient. You can read more about the announcement in this Newsweek article. Here are a couple highlights:
"These proposed standards, which are required by Congress, wouldn't take effect until 2028, would give Americans more energy efficient options to choose from, and would save hardworking taxpayers up to $369 million per year, while substantially reducing harmful air pollution—a crucial fact that some have conveniently failed to mention," a DOE spokesperson told Newsweek.
In the proposal, the DOE outlined the potential climate benefits from the energy conservation standards, which could result in cumulative emission reductions of 18.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, 4.5 thousand tons of sulfur dioxide, 31.3 thousand tons of nitrogen oxides, 141,000 tons of methane, 0.15 thousand tons of nitrous oxide and 0.03 tons of mercury.
However, the cost borne by the ceiling fan industry could be hefty, with conversion costs estimated at $107.2 million. The costs could cause as many as 30 percent of small ceiling fan manufacturers to go out of business, Fox Business reported.”
As you probably already imagined, this development has attracted the ire of more than a few Republican legislators. “The Democrats are authoritarians. They’re coming for your cars, stoves and ceiling fans” is the gist of it.Â
Given the summer we’ve had, between all the record-breaking heatwaves and fears of blackouts, I’m inclined to side with the administration on this one. As Europe showed over the winter, energy efficiency is one of the most powerful tools we have to curb energy consumption. And yet the industry seems hellbent on ignoring the evidence. A recent report published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that utility spending on energy efficiency declined 5% from 2018 to 2021.