The Trump Energy Department, on its way out the door, is loosening energy and water conservation requirements for a number of appliances, responding to a concern that has been of particular interest to President Trump.
In a final rule Tuesday, the Energy Department changed the regulatory definition for a “showerhead” in a way that loosens decades-old water conservation standards for the appliance.
The move comes after Trump has repeatedly complained about weak water pressure from showers, faucets, and dishwashers.
“You take a shower. The water doesn’t come out. You want to wash your hands. The water doesn’t come out,” Trump said during an event at the White House in July on his administration’s deregulatory efforts. “You just stand there longer, or you take a shower longer? Because my hair — I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect.”
The Energy Department’s move doesn’t change the level of the water conservation standards set back in 1992, but it alters a definition set by the Obama administration requiring the entire showerhead fixture to meet a limit of 2.5 gallons of water per minute. The Trump administration’s definition will allow each showerhead nozzle, even if there are several in a single fixture, to meet the 2.5 gallons per minute standard.
Energy and water conservation advocates have said the change could mean gallons of water several times the current limit could pour out of shower fixtures each minute.
“Changing the rules to address one of President Trump’s pet peeves is simply silly,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, in a statement. “Thousands of showerhead models on the market today meet the standards that Congress set way back in 1992 and provide a great shower.”
In a separate action Tuesday, the Energy Department unveiled a final rule creating a new product class for home clothes washers and dryers that have a cycle time of fewer than 30 minutes. The agency said it issued the rule out of concern that cycle times for the appliances could become long in the future.
However, efficiency advocates have said the new product class initially won’t have to meet any energy or water conservation standards, which would increase utility bills and carbon emissions. Both the showerhead rule and the clothes washer and dryer rule also received pushback from appliance makers, who said the changes could undercut investments they’ve already made in more efficient products.
The Trump administration said the rule changes were meant to benefit consumers.
“With these rule changes, Americans can choose products that are best suited to meet their individual needs and the needs of their families,” said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.
The Energy Department finished a similar rule in October, establishing a new product class for dishwashers that wash and dry in less than an hour.
