“Hurrah” to the American Public Gas Association (APGA), a small trade group that was willing to step-up to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other special-interest organizations that want energy efficiency at any cost to the American consumer. The APGA/DOE Furnace Rule Settlement prevented the unintended consequences of regulatory overreach by allowing consumers choices between regulated and unregulated (and less regulated) products.

This post, following APGA’s piece at MasterResource last week, provides historical background on the subject of energy efficiency regulations in order to better understand the significance of this settlement.

From EPCA (1975) to EISA (2007)

In 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) was enacted largely as a Federal response to the Arab oil embargoes. EPCA was amended by the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 etc.,…

As stated at the website of the Rural Utilities Services (RUS), a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “the Federal government is the majority noteholder for approximately 700 electric systems borrowers in 46 states.” So many members of Congress represent districts with electric coops that are “regulated” by RUS. And as Public Choice economics might predict, there will be pork-fests in such situations.

This post reviews the little known “clean energy” and “climate action” activities of the USDA. More specifically, this article looks into the just-enacted Agricultural Act of 2014 (a.k.a. Farm Bill) as it pertains to the RUS’s energy efficiency programs. (RUS is USDA’s tributary to electricity issues.)

USDA’s ‘Climate Hubs’

On February 5, 2014, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of seven new “climate hubs” as “part of the President’s Climate Action Plan to responsibly cut carbon pollution, slow the effects of climate change and put America on track to a cleaner environment.”…

“A representative group of stakeholders developing a joint proposal does not relieve DOE of its obligation to consult with other ‘interested’ stakeholders, nor does it allow DOE to ignore substantive adverse comments.”

Should U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rulemaking procedures be transparent and even-handed?

Of course they should. It is in the public interest for any regulatory agency to consider all viewpoints, even if those viewpoints may not coincide with the government’s particular philosophy at the time. The regulatory process, which places great power in the hands of regulators (like it or not), only succeeds if all voices are heard, arguments weighed, and a clear explanation of both the how and why particular claims prevailed and conclusions reached.

And, when the regulatory process relies upon data, it is also essential for an agency to make available to the public the data gathered and analyzed by the agency prior to any significant action (i.e.,…

To begin, let’s review some basic HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) principals. Heat pumps are basically just air-cooled electric air conditioners that, in addition to taking heat out of a home (in the cooling season) can also be made to run backwards to provide heat to homes (in the heating season).   This dual heating and cooling ability is accomplished by the relatively simple reversal of refrigerant flow through an additional control valve.

So-called “geothermal” heat pump are basically just heat pumps that, instead of exchanging heat in the refrigerant with outside air, exchange heat with pipes buried a few feet deep in the yard.   In order to minimize the extra amount of refrigerant that would be needed for the vast amount of buried pipe necessary with “geothermal” heat pump systems, intermediate heat exchangers and common “antifreeze solutions” are employed instead.…