DOE Proposes Reversal of Trump-Era Showerhead Rule
WASHINGTON – The Department of Energy (DOE) moved today to protect consumers from shower products that waste energy and water and increase their utility bills. In a notice today, DOE announced a proposed rule to eliminate a Trump-era change to the definition for showerheads. The illegal rule, issued by the outgoing administration in December 2020, allowed for the sale of new multi-showerhead arrays for which the efficiency standard in place since 1994 would apply only to each individual head, rather than the array as a whole. This manipulation of the definition of “showerhead” allowed for wasteful products flowing at double, triple, or even quadruple the efficiency standard to be marketed and sold across the U.S.
The following is a statement from Ed Osann, director for NRDC’s water efficiency project:
“This is a commonsense reversal of one of the looniest regulations of the Trump era. It is great news for consumers and our climate.
“Restoring the pre-2021 definition for showerheads will maintain the efficiency standard in place since 1994 that allowed for a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, which cuts utility bills and climate-warming pollution while providing a satisfying shower. The multi-head products allowed under the Trump rule could flow two to four times that level, exhausting a home water heater’s supply of hot water and adding unnecessary expense to household water, sewer, and energy costs.”
For background information please see this blog.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.