http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-other/2006/oct/06/100603060.htmlWASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department on Friday proposed to let states decide whether to increase the required efficiency of residential furnaces much beyond what's now on the market, rejecting calls for significantly tougher national standards.
With consumers facing high heating bills each winter, furnace efficiency has become an increasingly important matter for both keeping down costs and saving energy.
A proposed standard issued Friday by the Energy Department would require gas furnaces to meet an 80 percent efficiency standard, essentially no change from the minimum efficiency levels already met by virtually all new furnaces sold.
The department rejected a call by energy efficiency advocates to boost the minimum standard for gas furnaces to 90 percent efficiency. It argued that such a standard might not be needed in warmer regions.
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