"The Biden administration has finalized national efficiency rules for residential gas furnaces affecting about a third of all US homes, updating a 36-year-old standard that effectively phases out older furnace models.

Non-weatherized gas furnaces and furnaces used in mobile homes would be required to achieve a 95% annual fuel utilization efficiency standard, up from 80% efficiency standard today, according to the final rule, shared in advance with Bloomberg Law. That standard effectively phases out less-efficient non-condensing furnaces and makes newer, less wasteful furnaces mandatory by late 2028.

The department said it carefully considered the benefits and costs of the rule. Consumers replacing an old furnace with a more efficient model will save $57 on their utility bills annually, totaling about $24.8 billion in cumulative savings over 30 years, the DOE estimated.

Over 30 years, it will cut carbon emissions by 332 million metric tons, equivalent to the combined annual emissions of 42 million homes, or about a third of all US homes. It will also cut methane emissions by 4.3 million tons over three decades, the amount emitted by roughly 29 coal plants."

Daniel Moore reports for Bloomberg Environment September 29, 2023. [2]