Activists petition EPA to restrict the use of home and commercial furnaces by 2030

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A coalition of 26 climate change, public health and environmental justice advocacy organizations formally petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday to regulate air pollution produced by residential and commercial heating appliances, a move that would require homeowners and businesses to swap out heating and hot water furnaces.

Noting that oil and gas-fueled boilers that provide heating and hot water in homes, offices, schools and hospitals produce between 9% and 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and release nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory problems, the coalition called for the agency to issue rules mandating emissions-free residential and commercial home heating appliances by the end of the decade.

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The EPA has not indicated whether it would be likely to fulfill this request. When asked by Yahoo News for comment, a spokesperson for the agency said only “EPA will review the petition and respond accordingly.”

Energy industry experts, while not dismissing the possibility that the EPA could regulate home furnaces, noted a few potential stumbling blocks, including that such a regulation might not pass the agency’s cost-benefit analysis and that it could be overturned in court.

The oil and gas industry is almost certain to resist the implementation of new federal regulations on home and commercial appliances, especially ones that are powered by natural gas.

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“Air pollution from fossil fuel-powered home appliances, like gas furnaces and water heaters, is a serious problem for neighborhoods across the country,” said U.S. PIRG’s Director of Environment Campaigns Matt Casale in a statement emailed to Yahoo News.

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The Biden administration is already encouraging Americans to switch from oil or gas furnaces and hot water heaters to electric heat pumps, which extract heat from the cold outside air and transfer it inside, like an air conditioner in reverse. The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act contains tax credits for up to 30% of the cost of new heat pump, with a maximum credit of $2,000. It also will fund rebates for of up to $8,000 for heat pumps and $1,750 for heat pump water heaters for households earning less than 80% of the median household income in their state, and rebates that are half as much for households making up to 150% of their median state income.

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