U.S. to Issue Weaker Air Conditioner Rules

The Bush administration will issue final rules today requiring U.S. home air conditioners and heat pumps to be 20% more energy efficient, rejecting a Clinton-era plan that would have further tightened energy use .

Environmental groups had urged the Energy Department to stick with a Clinton administration plan for a 30% improvement in the energy efficiency of central air conditioners and heat pumps.

But most U.S. manufacturers argued, with success, that stricter standards would make air conditioners more costly and put them out of reach of low-income families. Making air conditioners more expensive also would discourage Americans from replacing aging, less efficient systems, they said.