Tales of the Red Tape #7: Energy Department Plumbing for More Regulatory Powers

Diane Katz / April 21, 2011

Not satisfied with just regulating the design of air conditioners, battery chargers, boilers, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, furnaces, heat pumps, light bulbs, refrigerators, toilets, and washers, the U.S. Department of Energy is cracking down on shower heads. In the words of the federal plumbing police: “It has always been the Department’s view that when Congress used the term ‘any shower head’ it actually meant ‘any shower head.’”

By this they mean that the statutory limit on the maximum flow of a shower head does not reflect the amount of water from each shower head in a plumbing apparatus, but the total from multiple shower heads in any one shower. (more…)