HEADLINE: “EPA proposed rule cools down costly air conditioner regulation”, By Ben Lieberman
“The Biden administration inflicted many bad appliance regulations on homeowners, but costliest of them all was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule requiring that new home air conditioning…”
EPA proposed rule cools down costly air conditioner regulation
Ben Lieberman • 10/02/2025
Photo Credit: Getty
The Biden administration inflicted many bad appliance regulations on homeowners, but the costliest of them all was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule requiring that new home air conditioning systems meet certain environmental requirements. Installers say these climate rules have boosted the cost of a residential system by an average of $1,500, and that is on top of other federal regulations that have also raised air conditioning prices in recent years. Fortunately, the EPA has proposed a rule that would provide some relief, but additional steps may also be necessary.
Like many other regrettable regulations of recent vintage, the air conditioner provisions were part of the climate change agenda. Specifically, the Biden EPA required that all new home air conditioning systems manufactured after January 1, 2025 use agency-approved refrigerants that are supposedly climate friendlier than the ones that had been in use. Since cooling equipment is engineered around the refrigerant, this necessitated a redesign of these systems. And, since the new refrigerants are considered mildly flammable, the change requires additional precautions during the installation process that add further to total bill. Making matters worse, one of the new and supposedly eco-friendlier refrigerants, R-454B, was in short supply and prices have skyrocketed, making last summer a particularly painful one for homeowners who needed to replace their air conditioning systems.
While the Biden EPA rule explicitly forbids the manufacture of the cheaper but supposedly less climate-friendly cooling systems as of January 1, 2025, it did allow equipment made before the deadline to be sold and installed up to one year after it. The proposed new rule would extend this deadline indefinitely. Similarly, the proposed rule extends the installed date deadlines for other categories of air conditioning and refrigeration systems, such as the equipment used in supermarkets.
This is a step in the right direction, but there are questions as to just how much of the legally produced pre-2025 equipment is still available. Indeed, there were signs that supplies of such systems were already in short supply during last summer. That is why additional steps may be needed to more fully protect homeowners against regulatory costs. This could include changing the deadline to allow additional manufacturing of the less expensive systems, as well as measures to alleviate refrigerant shortages.
It won’t be easy, as many manufacturers currently enjoy a captive market for the more expensive new systems and in fact had petitionedthe Biden EPA for this rule. Expect them to join forces with environmental activists to oppose any regulatory changes. Nonetheless, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is to be applauded for this pro-consumer proposal, and we hope to see more of the same in the months and years ahead.
BOTTOMLINE: “It won’t be easy, as many manufacturers currently enjoy a captive market for the more expensive new systems and in fact had petitionedthe Biden EPA for this rule. Expect them to join forces with environmental activists to oppose any regulatory changes. Nonetheless, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is to be applauded for this pro-consumer proposal, and we hope to see more of the same in the months and years ahead.”