Tuberville supports the Senate's vote to overturn Biden's gas furnaces rule

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 50 to 45 to overturn a rule from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that would ban all non-condensing furnace models and only permits manufacturers to sell furnaces that convert at least 95 percent of fuel into heat. This is up from the previous threshold of 80 percent. This rule would forces the vast majority of Americans to adopt expensive electric heat pumps or pay thousands of dollars to renovate their homes to meet the requirements of new residential gas furnaces.

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) joined U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in introducing a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act in February.

Sen. Tuberville issued a statement after the Senate vote to overturn the gas furnaces rule.

"The gas furnaces rule is just one of the Biden administration's many attacks on our domestic energy industry," said Tuberville. "President Biden should be looking for ways to bring costs down-not driving them up. Americans are already struggling to make ends meet in this economy. They do not want to be stuck with the bill for this administration's woke climate agenda. I'm glad we overturned this rule and hope that President Biden will sign it into law as soon as possible."

On December 18, 2023, the DOE finalized a rule mandating gas furnaces achieve an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 95 percent. The rule prohibits manufacturers from selling furnaces that do not convert at least 95 percent of fuel to heat, a significant increase from the current residential furnace standard of 80 percent. The rule if it takes effect would impact nearly 55 percent of American households driving up costs for most Americans while having dubious environmental benefits.

Non-condensing gas furnaces are less efficient, they are far more affordable. Older and smaller homes often lack the appropriate venting required for condensing electrical furnaces. Therefore, households will be forced to retrofit their homes. The cost of the venting would be roughly $2,200 per home on top of the $4,500 cost to replace the furnace. Considering the cost, it would be cheaper for families to transition to electrical heat than modify their homes to accommodate a furnace.

America has huge quantities of natural gas that can be used for home heating needs or converted into fuel as liquified natural gas. Natural gas however is not favored by the Biden administration or its political allies in the environmentalist community; thus the administration is using rule making authority to attack the American natural gas industry.

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