Water heating and clothes washing account for about 15 percent of all household energy, costing consumers some $21 billion a year. But those machines are about to become significantly more efficient.

Under agreements with the nation's top appliance manufactures and energy efficient advocates, the Department of Energy has promulgated new rules to improve the cost effectiveness of residential water heaters and washing machines.

The proposed regulations covering washing machines will save nearly 5 quadrillion BTUs over a 25-year period, DoE says. That's enough electricity to light 16 million houses over the same period.

They also will reduce water usage by some 10.5 trillion gallons, which translates into about 18 gallons per wash. And they will cut greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equal to that produced by 3 million cars a year.

The proposed standards for water heaters are expected to save consumers more than $23 billion in energy costs over the next 20 years.

While the proposed precepts are subject to change by DoE, it is expected that they will not meet with any objections and will be written into a final regulation by the end of the year. Although some makers currently offer some products that meet the standards, once they are adopted, all products will have to meet them by 2007.

By the end of the year, the agency also hopes to issue similar new proposed rules for fluorescent lamp ballasts, residential central air conditioners, and commercial heating, air conditioning and water heaters.

The standards proposed for washing machines were worked out with such well known manufacturers as Whirlpool, General Electric, Maytag, Frigidaire and Amana as well as a number of advocacy groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Alliance to Save Energy.

Published: May 30, 2000

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.