WATER-SAVING BILL TO HIKE COST OF NEW WASHER $250 BY 2007.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

Tougher federal energy standards and a new law just signed by Gov. Gray Davis requiring water-efficient home washing machines could drive up the cost of a new washer by more than $250 by 2007.

Supporters of the law say California could save almost 1 billion gallons of water a year, but appliance retailers and manufacturers say the law limits consumer choices and will lead to higher prices.

The law signed by Davis on Sunday requires all residential clothes washers to be at least as efficient as commercial washers starting in January 2007.

Researchers in the U.S. Department of Energy estimate that the federal energy standards will raise the average cost of a washing machine about $250 to meet the 2007 standards. The water-efficiency standards could make the price go up still higher.

But William Rukeyser, assistant secretary of the state Environmental Protection Agency, downplayed costs of the state measure. He estimated it would add $80 to the cost of a washer but would save $48 a year in water and energy.

``My guess is a lot of people thinking about this issue ... are looking at the high-end washers and getting sticker shock,'' he said. ``I think there's a certain amount of that price dynamic going on now with side-loading washers. It's considered a luxury item now, so it demands a prestige price.''

Authored by Assemblyman David Kelley, R-Palm Desert, the law will create new standards and lead to changes in how Californians wash their clothes, as most water-efficient washing machines load from the front - not, as most home washers do now, from the top.

The law comes at a time when California is receiving as little as half its normal rainfall and enduring a second year of drought conditions.

``It's really inappropriate for us not to implement every conservation measure possible,'' said Bill Jacoby, water resources manager at the San Diego Water Authority.

A water-efficient washer, Jacoby said, would use about 7,000 fewer gallons of water per year, which would add up to almost 1 billion gallons saved annually. That would be enough to supply 6,000 households for a year.

The law requires that residential washers meet a water-efficiency factor of 9.5, which means it would take 9.5 gallons of water to wash one cubic foot of laundry. The average washer sold in 1994 has a water factor of 13.3, according to an analysis by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.

California's new water-efficiency standards will be tacked on to the new federal energy standards, which were enacted last year.

Tony Saca, owner of Filco, Inc., a Sacramento-based appliance chain, said the base price of a washer in his store is $499 and the average price of a model using energy and water more efficiently is about $1,000.

The more-efficient models tend to be front-loading, although top-loading versions also exist, Saca said, adding that top-loaders make up 90 percent of his stock.

But he doesn't fear that higher prices will hurt his business, Saca said. ``People have to have washers and dryers. They still need clean clothes.''

He added that coin-operated laundries would be even more expensive in the long run.

Manufacturers, however, are concerned that water-efficient washers will be more expensive to build and maintain, said Valerie Hall, residential buildings and appliances manager at the California Energy Commission, which supported the bill.

Hall said the law offers a great amount of flexibility because it simply requires manufacturers to produce machines that meet higher efficiency standards. ``How they achieve that is up to them.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Santos Florez pulls laundry from a commercial washer. Home models will have to meet similar efficiency standards in 2007.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press