U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to end Energy Star, a program whose iconic blue labels have certified the energy efficiency of home appliances for more than three decades, as part of its broader reorganization, two sources briefed on the reorganization told Reuters.

The proposed end of the popular program would come as part of the dissolution of the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection (OAP) and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards - presented as part of Friday’s agency reorganization announcement.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Energy hungry appliances means more energy (electricity/gas) consumed. trump’s other efforts are killing green energy generation. So these two things together mean more fossil fuel energy consumption which props up his selling us all out to fossil fuel interests. This tracks with trumps corporate capture.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      It’s a bizarre situation of pro global warming for its own sake. Like nor even oil companies want everything he’s doing

    • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 days ago

      It also means I can buy an hvac unit that fits in my utility closet. The energy requirement change a couple years ago was going to make it not possible.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying. What trump is ending is a standard that displays energy efficiency information. How would a less efficient unit, which means requires more energy, make a smaller unit?

        • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 day ago

          For hvac heatpump units, the newer efficiency standards getting met was going to have to reduce air resistance on the A coil, and allow more air to contact the A coil as it blows by. To make that happen, you need a larger A coil, which of course, takes up more space.

          So when I say bigger, I’m not talking about the fans or pumps getting larger. I’m talking about space that non moving parts take up that the air goes by to get hotter or colder.

          • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I’ll admit I’m not an expert in HVAC. However, aren’t there other new changes in residential HVAC standards with R-32 or R-454B refrigerants which are not only less polluting, but significantly more energy efficient over R-410a? Wouldn’t those be physically smaller units anyway, which is what you’re looking for for your utility closet?

            • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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              1 day ago

              The difference in efficiency is actually less than 5% for r32 compared to 410a. The offshoot of that is also that the compressors will not last as long because they run like 20f hotter. The 4%ish efficiency gain is also not enough alone to meet the new requirements, so it still falls back to a larger surface area needed on the A coil. The efficiency standards that were being put in place are simply too big of a jump in too short an amount of time. It’s not like everyone doesnt already want to save money on their heating and cooling costs, but requiring homes already built to deal with the fallout of having to install units that won’t fit in their homes is a shit move. I don’t have anywhere I could even take away from to make my utility closet any larger. Requiring the new standards in newly built homes wouldn’t be as big a deal, as it can be planned and built for, but some people will have to buy used hvac units, keep their current ones running as replacement costs shoot sky high (working control boards for some old units can fetch $800. Same issue with other parts and labor to keep them running), or give up and install window units that are way, way, less efficient.

  • xenomor@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I’m just going to start saying it. Will someone please just kill this motherfucker already?

    • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      He’s clearly an enemy of the United States of America. Everything he does hurts average Americans.

      This country has ZERO issues killing our enemies.

      Nothing will get better until we start talking about it.

  • MuskyMelon@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    His handlers just hand him stuff to rubber-sign and like the good dumbass that he is, he just does so.