Posted on 12/31/2023 6:07:17 AM PST by MtnClimber
New York City's effort in the 1990s to regulate toilets and shower heads to cut down water usage ignited consumer outrage, even inspiring a 1996 Seinfeld television episode in which the character Kramer was so fed up with his apartment's low-flow shower head that he purchased a high-flow head on the black market.
Three decades later, the Biden administration is leaving few appliances in the home untouched in its quest to regulate the amount of water and energy Americans use for their household chores.
The list of impacted appliances includes gas stoves, dishwashers, air conditioners, refrigerators, light bulbs, washing machines, microwaves, and furnaces, just to name a few. And the push back is growing, raising concerns that consumers will lose choices and pay more for future appliances, especially seniors on fixed incomes and low-income families.
"It started with gas stoves, and now it's virtually everything about our house. And that wakes up a lot of people," said Tim Stewart, the president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association. He is planning to ride wave of discontent to launch a "Hands off my Home" grassroots effort next year to fight the energy-efficiency crackdown on appliances,
Here's a look at some of the targets of the Biden administration's regulatory offensive:
Shower heads
Shower head regulations of the 1990s became a federal issue. In May 2010, the Obama administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) issued rules that expanded the definition of what constitutes a shower head to include the entire plumbing systems. That meant it wasn’t just the shower head that was limited to 2.5 gallons per minute, it was the whole system.
In August 2020, the Trump administration’s DOE revised the definition again, and the Biden administration’s DOE in July 2021 reinstated the Obama-era definition.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
“…some 2.5 gallon per minute shower heads work really well.”
Which ones? I just renovated and first thing I did was remove the restricting valve out of the shower head. Now it flows fine.
Agreed!
I figure you’re 100 % correct.
I shouldn’t covet. But that is sweet. I just have a four burner on propane.
The democrats really “protected” everyone, didn’t they?
Backfired, as usual.
Their excuse for all their power grabs and tax increases is always because it’s “for the poor” and yet every move they make results in more hardship and suffering for those they claim to care about.
All they care about is themselves.
Our friggin toaster burns the bread on setting 2. What would you use setting 10 for? Maybe a T-bone steak?
The new washing machins s***.
My wife and I have her parent’s International Harvester refrigerator that they purchased when they were married in 1955.
Still works and today it serves as our beer refrigerator downstairs.
MFO
Here’s the money quote, as far as I am concerned. They always talk about the savings from these regulations but, as usual, they’ve cooked the books and are lying;
The Biden administration promotes the efficiency standards as a means by which it’s going to save Americans money — $10 billion over 30 years, according to a May announcement.
Milloy said that there’s no evidence those savings will be realized because the standards increase the purchase price and make the appliances worse. Not only do they have to be run longer to accomplish the same tasks, they break down more often
Government is evaluated on intentions, not results.
You couldn’t have put it better
I just don’t believe Pres. Biden is the genesis of all this.
It’s the wonks in his admin and he just rubberstamps it.
How deep is wonkville ? Deeper than the swamp ?
Agreed. Biden just reads the monitor (just like the guy in the movie Bruce Almighty), and collects his check from China, Ukraine, and a few other countries. Not a bad gig for retirement.
The real estate available for stove top cooking is a huge bonus.
As you found out (and I did many years ago), the kinds that use a normal shower head, then reduce flow with a restricting device don't work well.
The holes are too big.
Ones made for a motorhome have smaller orifices, so you get even greater intensity (pressure) hitting you than a "normal" one with less water.
Get yer sticks together like they did long ago in the west!
Where there’s a will there’s way and coffee and my
coffee is going to be ready when I want it.
Of course the left/nazis/crazies will do away with coffee beans along with what’s disappearing in grocery stores now.
We will support other countries, and we will have nothing and love it!
The last time my natural gas water heater failed, I looked into "flash" heaters. The electric type is small, but requires more power than I have overhead left on my 200 amp service. I looked at a gas fired version. My gas water heater has a 50 gallon tank and a 40,000 BTU burner. The air input and heat exhaust to the roof is built for a 40,000 BTU burner. The flash gas heater has a 128,000 BTU burner. That requires far more air to be delivered to the basement location of the heater and substantially more exhaust capability to avoid buildup of carbon monoxide. The upgrade to the exhaust alone was estimated at over $3,000 15 years ago. Electric fans would be needed to drive the exhaust out at the necessary rate. It was a total non-starter.
On my last vacation to Wales, the bed and breakfast had a shared bathroom. The shower has a 220 volt flash heater for just the shower. If you selected a mild dribble of water, you can get it hot enough to be comfortable. That said, I'm not keen on electrical appliances in my shower.
Great practical examples.
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