Advanced Search
April 15, 2010
Minimum national efficiency standards were first established by the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-12) and apply to a wide range of new products sold in the United States. The law has been amended since then to raise efficiency requirements and cover additional products. Energy and climate legislation now pending in Congress would further update the standards. Existing standards will avert the need to build 186 large (400MW) coal-fired power plants nationally by 2030 and the potential savings from new standards could avert the need for an additional 63 power plants, according to ASAP.
On April 15, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing on how appliance and equipment efficiency standards affect consumers, economic competitiveness, and the environment. Although the Environmental Protection Agency’s voluntary labeling program known as ENERGY STAR has helped drive the market for highly efficient appliances, the role of minimum efficiency standards for many household and commercial products is underappreciated. Appliance standards currently under development by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) could slash U.S. electricity use by over 1.9 trillion kilowatt hours by 2030 while saving consumers and businesses more than $123 billion, according to a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP).
This briefing examined appliance standards legislation pending before the Congress and program changes under consideration by DOE, as well as the potential economic and environmental impacts. Speakers also addressed the relationship among standards, labeling, incentives, and R&D, and explained why Thomas Edison’s light bulb will soon be obsolete.