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Appliance Efficiency Standards - An overwhelming success story

Both state and federal appliance standards have long, successful histories of bringing accelerated energy efficiency to US consumers and businesses. Efficiencies that have brought energy and cost savings to consumers, relief to our strained energy system and significant reductions of harmful emissions to our planet. Mandatory efficiency standards remove the most wasteful products from the market, build our economy, and protect consumers from wasteful energy- and money- guzzling products.

Other reasons appliance standards work:

• Ensure Security of Energy Needs - State and federal governments help ensure that the energy needs of their citizens can be met. As the energy demands of our country grow, energy efficiency, not the construction of additional power plants, is the cheapest, cleanest, fastest way to meet those growing needs.

• Encourage Innovation in Manufacturing - Working with voluntary programs and activities that push the edge of efficient products, appliance standards shed the least efficient laggards from store shelves preventing manufacturers from perpetuating antiquated, wasteful technologies.

• Drive Investment in Energy Efficient Products -Mandatory standards address a number of market barriers that often prevent investments in energy efficient products. From lack of consumer information to landlord-renter split incentive (landlord pays for appliances, renter pays utility bills), standards require a basic level of energy performance for all consumers.

• Protect Consumers - By statute, the US DOE must establish new standards that are cost effective to average consumers. Any possible increase in price due to improvements in efficiency will be recouped by the average consumer over the life of the product. The average payback for 26 of the most recent standards is 3.1 years .

• Provide Consistent Framework for Manufacturers - National standards provide the manufacturing community a path towards certainty and consistency. Manufacturers were instrumental in securing the first national standards through the National Appliance Efficiency Conservation Act in 1987 (NAECA).

• Save Money, Energy, and Reduce GHG Emissions - In terms of energy savings, cost savings and emission reductions due to appliance standards, the American Council for a Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates that National appliance standards (often driven by the initial action of states) have saved the US approximately (annually by 2020 except where noted) ;
  • 500 Billion kWhs of energy (roughly enough energy to meet the total electricity needs of every American household for 5 months)
  • 150 GW of electrical grid capacity (represents a projected 15% of US capacity)
  • Almost 400 million metric tons of CO2 emissions (equivalent to annual emissions from 150 coal fired power plants or 75 million automobiles)
  • Cumulative economic savings of $300 Billion for product purchasers, or $2800 per household (by 2030)

• Generate Jobs - National appliance energy efficiency standards created about 340,000 jobs in 2010, according to the report, Appliance and Equipment Standards: A Money Maker and Job Creator, released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP).

More Information

For more information on training and technical assistance opportunities, please contact NEEP's Appliance Standards Project Manager, David Lis at 781-860-9177 ext. 127 or email at djlis@neep.org.

Appliance Efficiency Standards Project

2011 presents the region with an evolving landscape for appliance standards. Compared to 2010, opportunities will largely be shifting away from the state-level legislative process to the federal level regulatory process.

A Shift from State Efforts to the Federal Standards Process

Whereas the Northeast region continues to be a leader in state-level standards enactment, the Project will turn its resources to the federal process by both complimenting national advocate groups and helping to grow the number of truly invested stakeholders in the region that will provide support for years to come. Although the efforts to enact state level standards will likely be paired back in 2011, we will continue to support a commitment to see interested states move forward with a limited package of state based standards, essentially representing the model legislative package that was introduced in 2010.

Often, federal standards need to take into account the unique energy profiles and characteristics of individual regions in order to provide true savings for all Americans. Therefore, a concerted regional effort to push for new appliance efficiency standards at the federal level in 2011 remains a strategic priority for establishing a sustainable clean energy policy for the Northeast.

The Project will also continue an ambitious effort to build stronger institutional support from the utility companies and other ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program administrators, as well as state agencies focused on energy. Not only can these institutions provide credibility and political weight to an advocacy effort, they possess the technical expertise to analyze and recommend technology/data driven standard recommendations.

Opposition in 2011 - No Match for Overwhelming Facts for Standards

While the Project and appliance standards in general have faced opposition from various entities over the years, it is anticipated that 2011 will see an increase of attacks to the fundamental wisdom of minimum efficiency standards. The upcoming light bulb standards that are scheduled to become effective beginning in 2012 have largely been the catalyst for a new wave of anti-standards rhetoric. Contrasting the opposition that we've faced in previous years from industry groups concerning specific product rulemakings, the end of 2010 saw a different kind of message from vocal groups claiming consumer freedoms are being denied by the light bulb standards. Much of the information they have spread to support their conclusions is not accurate. In order for the Project to succeed in promoting strong standards, we must maintain a general environment that believes in the benefits of appliance standards and recognizes them as a common-sense policy mechanism.

As part of this effort to protect the integrity of appliance standards, the Project has identified the need for rapid response capabilities that offer timely, informed responses to misinformation communicated by various groups through various media outlets.

More Information

For more information on training and technical assistance opportunities, please contact NEEP's Appliance Standards Project Manager, David Lis at 781-860-9177 ext. 127 or email at djlis@neep.org.

2011 Project Goals and Strategies:

To continue the success of the Project, the Project Partners will work together to achieve the following outcomes by the end of 2011:

Goal #1: Achieve strong and timely federal appliance standards

NEEP and its allies will support advocacy for several of the proposed federal rulemakings.

• See NEEP's 2011 Federal Rulemaking Preview for more detail
• How will the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers-Advocate Agreement of 2010 affect Northeast States? See NEEP's AHAM Impacts Brief
• State level benefits from upcoming federal appliance standards

Goal #2: Build institutional support for appliance standards into existing stakeholder capabilities

Engage states to discuss allowing regulated efficiency program administrators to play a greater role in setting and adopting new appliance standards, and create a framework to allow them to claim energy savings as part of their regulatory review processes.

• See Summary of NEEP's Regional EM&V Forum and NEEP Public Policy Workshop: Roadmap to Claiming Savings from Building Energy Codes and Appliance Standards for more background on the issue.

Goal #3: Select state adoption of new appliance efficiency standards

Work with Partners to identify and support legislators to introduce new state appliance efficiency standards legislation through a 2011 model bill in at least three Northeast states.

• Model State Appliance Standards Package/Legislative Language &
• State-specific Model Package Savings Estimates (Appliance Standards Awareness Project)
  

Goal #4: Develop and execute a proactive messaging campaign to support and defend appliance standards as a valuable policy mechanism against expected attacks.

• Establish presence in media when issues of appliance efficiency standards are featured.
• Respond to misinformation and ideological attacks on the standards program in media.
• Proactively build support for the standards program with industry stakeholders.

Educate yourself about the coming efficiency standards for light bulbs Setting the Record Straight; Lighting Efficiency Standards.

Additional Resources

See RESOURCES tab above for more information about California's standard, additional reports, analysis, etc. demonstrating standards benefits. State specific benefits available on request.

More Information

For more information on training and technical assistance opportunities, please contact NEEP's Appliance Standards Project Manager, David Lis at 781-860-9177 ext. 127 or email at djlis@neep.org.