DOE finalizes Congressionally-mandated efficiency improvements for residential washers, dryers

In a move it says will save Americans as much as $2.2 billion per year on utility bills, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently finalized new efficiency standards for residential clothes washers and clothes dryers.

The effort was previously mandated by Congress. Since then, the DOE worked with stakeholders such as the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Consumer Federation of America and energy efficiency advocates to work out a solution that could save up to $39 billion on energy and water bills over the next 30 years, while cutting nearly 71 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Both washers and dryers will need to align with new efficiency standards by March 1, 2028.

“For decades, DOE’s appliance standards actions for clothes washers and dryers have provided loads of savings for American families while also de-creasing harmful carbon emissions,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “With strong support from industry leaders and consumer advocates, DOE will continue to roll out innovative appliance solutions throughout 2024 to lower costs for the American people—continuing the cycle of household savings that are the backbone of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.”

Many manufacturers and advocates for consumer protection, efficiency and climate action announced support for updating numerous home appliance standards back in September 2023. Now, the new standards will be implemented by the DOE Building Technologies Office, which handles minimum energy conservation criteria for more than 60 categories of appliances and equipment.