These Refrigerators and Freezers Will Soon Be Illegal in Minnesota

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The new year 2024 has brought many new laws and changes to Minnesota, and now a new ruling could bring some big changes to some familiar kitchen appliances.

When the calendar flipped over to 2024, several new laws took effect in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, affecting a variety of topics, including:

• Paid sick time
• New 'blackout' Minnesota license plates
• Prohibition of asking salary-history questions during a job interview
• A 'red flag' gun law
• A ban on 'forever chemicals' in food packaging

And now, a new ruling by the Department of Energy (DOE) will bring some new green requirements to kitchens across the Bold North. In a ruling announced on Friday, November 29th, the DOE said it will soon begin to impose stricter energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers.

According to this Bloomberg Law story, the new standards will make those familiar kitchen appliances use between 10 to 15 percent less energy than current models.  And those new efficiencies will save consumers $36.4 billion over 30 years, according to DOE estimates quoted by Bloomberg Law.

READ MORE: This Common Household Item Is Now Banned in Minnesota

Often, rulings like this aren't favored by the companies who build those affected appliances, but that's not the case this time. In fact, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) actually suggested the new requirements last September, Bloomberg Law reported.

While current, cheaper, and less energy-efficient models will be going away from store showrooms here in the North Star State and across the country, you won't have to replace your fridge or freezer anytime soon, however, according to Fox News Business:

DOE's standards for refrigerators and freezers will be implemented between 2029 and 2030, and mark the first update to standards impacting those appliances in more than a decade.

This new ruling joins a new statewide initiative, signed into law last year in Minnesota, that requires utilities doing business in the Gopher State to use entirely carbon-free sources for electricity production by 2040. That new law made Minnesota the 22nd state to have established a 100 percent clean energy standard or goal.

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