On July 21, the Department of Energy proposed an energy efficiency standard for home water heaters, “the second-largest energy using appliances in most households.” Predictably, right-wing media are attacking the commonsense standards as part of a so-called “war on appliances” in their manufactured campaign to generate outrage over the Biden administration's climate agenda.

New, long-overdue water heater standards deliver savings to consumers and cut climate pollution

If finalized, the proposal would go into effect in 2029, “giving manufacturers ample time to update their product lines” and saving consumers $11.4 billion on energy and water bills annually while reducing more than 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years. As reported by Reuters, “The standards on residential water heater efficiency, which are required by Congress, have not been updated in 13 years.” According to Bloomberg, the proposed new standards have “the backing of two of the largest water heater manufacturers,” while energy experts have pointed out that the updates are long overdue. Water heaters that would meet the new standards are as effective, if not more so, at delivering hot water while using less energy.

Despite this, coverage and commentary by right-wing media related to the new water heater standards continue to draw from the same cesspool of misinformation and false narratives that right-wing media have used for each proposed new appliance standard: The government will ban or confiscate appliances that don’t meet the new standards; the new standards are based on a manufactured climate crisis; they are less effective and more costly; and they are part of a broader scheme to control every aspect of American life.

Right-wing media’s manufactured “war on appliances”

• AOC parody account: “Good morning ... it's time to ban all hot water heaters, stoves, refrigerators, washer & dryers, freezers, and air conditioners. If you don't like it - you hate our planet.” [Twitter, 7/26/23]
  
   
• Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci claimed that “energy experts” are attacking the initiative and then relied on quotes from the director of Laclede gas company (Mark Krebs) and a senior fellow of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (Ben Lieberman), for which ExxonMobil is a top donor: “Energy experts and industry groups are warning that the Biden administration's latest home appliance crackdown on water heaters will, like other energy efficiency regulations, harm American consumers … experts interviewed by Fox News Digital said the standards would ban cheaper alternatives, create minimal utility bill savings and reduce consumer choice.” [FoxNews.com, 7/26/23]
  
   
• The panel on Fox News’ Gutfeld! mocked the new standards, with panelist Katherine Timpf saying, “Because I rent, I don't know what a water heater is. But that's not going to stop me from being mad about this. Because the one time I’m so happy and warm is when I am in the bathtub every night eating Popsicles … And if the government takes this away from me, then I’ll really lose it." [Fox News, Gutfeld!, 7/25/23]
  
   
• Right-wing radio host Dan Bongino suggested the Biden administration’s real agenda is to kill people by causing blackouts: “Here’s Karine Jean-Pierre on why we need to start banning new appliances, including water heaters … Here’s their real plan. See this LA Times headline? ‘Would an occasional blackout help solve climate change?’ This is the headline. ‘Oh yeah, an occasional—’ It would also kill a bunch of people who rely on oxygen machines and air conditioning, because they’re elderly, but who knows, who really cares? We wack a few dozen people here and there, what’s the big deal?” [Facebook, The Dan Bongino Show, 7/25/23]
  
   
• On Newsmax’s Chris Plante The Right Squad, host Chris Plante called the standards a “Soviet-style campaign to wage war on appliances in America,” while the panel suggested that Biden is a hypocrite for using a “gas-guzzling motorcade” while proposing regulations that would save energy. [Newsmax, Chris Plante The Right Squad, 7/25/23]
  
   
• The Chris Salcedo Show host began his monologue on the standards by denying climate change: “Using the fake religion of man-made global warming, the Biden regime has been targeting your highly efficient and environmentally friendly appliances to replace them with costly, inefficient electric appliances.” Salcedo went on to claim that the standards were proposed in order to control the population, “Besides, if everyone is on electric everything, it's simple to control your behavior, your movement, and populations by simply turning off the power. That's harder to do with a diversified energy portfolio. The facts and the science mean little when the goal is to get control over a population. [Newsmax, The Chris Salcedo Show, 7/25/23] 
  
   
• On America’s Newsroom, Fox News contributor Brian Brenberg said that, according to his plumber, the more efficient appliances are bad for consumers: “What he said is: They're really expensive, they are more difficult to install, and they break down sooner than the heater you probably have now. So it’s unlikely that you’re going to save money if you use these heaters.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 7/25/23]
  
   
• On America Reports, Fox News correspondent Lydia Hu pushed the narrative that more efficient appliances hurt consumers: But industry sources say the energy efficient hot water heaters are already available on the market, and they’re more expensive to buy and install. In fact, a search for the products shows an energy efficient water heater can cost as much as two times more than a standard water heater. [Fox News, America Reports, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Hu said: “It seems like this war on our appliances is never ending because, like you said, next up, our water heaters.” Hu claimed, “Industry sources say these energy efficient water heaters are already available on the market, and the difference in cost is sizable.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 7/24/23]
  
   
•  In reference to the new standards, Newsmax host Eric Bolling said that “Joe Biden and the Green Goblin Gang are coming for everything that you like and live for.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, 7/24/23]  
  
   
• Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner: “Critics say it’s just the latest in Biden's war on appliances that will only cost consumers more money.” Guest, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), pushed the false claim that the standards would force consumers to buy new water heaters to adhere to the regulations: “They like their washing machine, they like their dishwasher, they like their water heater! And they don't want to buy a new one because the federal government is forcing them to buy a new water heater.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Fox Business host Stuart Varney joined Fox & Friends to disparage appliance standards and suggest that efficiency standards don’t save consumers money: “The Department of Energy says it will save consumers money, but this may lead to higher costing appliances.” Varney continued, “They can't tell you the future cost of electricity or where the electricity will come from.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Fox & Friends First guest Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL): “This is just more of the federal government continuing to overreach into American lives. You Know, first it was your gas stove, then it's your air conditioner, then it's the idea of your water heater, it just continues on and on and on.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends First, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Fox & Friends First guest host Ashley Strohmier asked Mills whether there were benefits to the new standard after stating one of the key benefits: It just seems like there's all these whacky regulations being put into play, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. We know there's a lot of cons to this. Do you see any pros in this? Because they say it's going to save tax-payers billions of dollars, but do you see pros to this at all? [Fox News, Fox & Friends First, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Daily Wire host and anti-LGBTQ activist Matt Walsh: “Cold Showers? Now Biden Admin Is Coming For Your Home Water Heater” [Facebook, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Heritage Foundation: “Yes, the Biden administration is now coming for your water heaters too, but don’t worry, they won’t take them until at least 2029. Remember when you were a conspiracy theorist if you said they wanted to ban gas stoves?” [Twitter, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Fossil fuel shill Daniel Turner: “The Biden Administration has now gone after: Water heaters Gas stoves Washing machines Air conditioners Gas vehicles Refrigerators Dishwashers Furnaces If you're tired of this war on your lifestyle, vote in 2024.” [Twitter, 7/24/23]
  
   
• Townhall.com writer Scott Morefield: “You’re not going to stop the weather by changing out your water heater. Talk to the poor countries that are responsible for the vast majority of pollution and dumping, then get back to us.” [Twitter, 7/24/23]
  
   
• On Fox News’ The Big Weekend Show, contributor Charlie Hurt: “The Biden administration continues to push their green agenda by cracking down on household appliances, this time targeting water heaters. They are promising you that electric water heaters are going to be cheaper — that's a lie. And they say they’re more efficient. That's also a lie. If either or both of those was true, they wouldn’t have to mandate them. It's all about power. [Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, 7/23/23]
  
   
• Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) said on Fox Report with Jon Scott: “This is not about carbon. It’s not about climate change. This is about control. This is about more big government. This is about, essentially, nationalizing our energy sector, as well as our home-appliance sector, and putting it in the hands of unelected bureaucrats who do not have to face the American voters in an election.” Anchor Jon Scott concluded the segment, “We’ll see what happens, but a lot of people are going to be upset if they get forced into changing out their water heaters.” [Fox News, Fox Report with Jon Scott, 7/23/23]
  
   
• Fox & Friends Sunday falsely claimed that efficiency standards make appliances less effective, don’t save energy, and are ultimately about controlling people’s lives. Co-host Pete Hegseth said, “So you live a little worse so that you can save a little bit of water, with the government telling you what you can buy.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 7/23/23]
  
   
• Right-wing reporter Nick Sortor argued that the appliance update would “limit the power and freedom of choice”: “MY TAKE: These types of rules are almost ALWAYS bad for the consumer—especially those with tighter budgets who can't afford the initial cost of high-end appliances. — WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should budget friendly gas water heaters be BANNED for the sake of potentially ‘lower greenhouse gas emissions’?” [Twitter, 7/23/23]
  
   
• Sortor: “The full propaganda piece—err I mean ‘press release’—from the Biden Dept. of Energy announcing bans on budget-friendly gas water heaters can be found here.” [Twitter, 7/23/23]
  
   
• Forbes senior contributor and former oil and gas industry consultant David Blackmon: “First they came for your gas stoves. Then they came for your dishwashers. Next they came for your water heaters and air conditioners. Now the Biden apparatchiks are coming for your portable gas generators. #Marxists” [Twitter, 7/22/23]