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Electric motors are about as common in U.S. industry and commercial buildings as roast turkey at Thanksgiving. According to the Energy Information Administration, about one-half of all electricity used by U.S. industry goes to power motors.

Those of us who have been hopelessly glued to AMC’s Breaking Bad for the past five seasons, or have been binge watching the latest Netflix offering late into the night, will be happy to learn that the new televisions bringing us these shows are becoming more and more energy efficient. On October 2, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gave us a new and better tool to track this energy use with a test method that provides a single, consistent, and accurate way to measure TV energy consumption.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed strong new energy efficiency standards that would address a major energy hog that may be lurking in your basement. The new standards would reduce the energy consumption of furnace fans, which are the fans that circulate heated and cooled air supplied by furnaces, air conditioners, and heat pumps through ductwork in homes. Improved furnace fan efficiency would not only save consumers money on their electricity bills, but would also help improve comfort.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) inspector general (IG) released an audit report Wednesday on the agency’s management of the national appliance efficiency standards program. The audit confirms serious concerns that we have been raising for years. More importantly, it shows DOE is addressing those concerns and strengthening a vital program.

Next time you’re at a night game or in a big box store, look up—if you see bright white lights housed in dome-shaped fixtures, you’re probably looking at metal halide lights. Strong [PDF] new energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures proposed yesterday by the U.S.

The House of Representatives tacked on two amendments to the Energy and Water spending bill Wednesday that would limit DOE’s ability to carry out requirements mandated by none other than…Congress. One amendment would stop DOE from enforcing lighting efficiency standards passed by Congress in 2007 and the other amendment would halt a Congressionally-mandated 6-year review of ceiling fan standards.

In his speech at Georgetown University today announcing his “Climate Action Plan,” President Obama said that appliance standards aren’t sexy, but can do a lot to help cut CO2 emissions.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced new national energy efficiency standards for microwave ovens on Friday that will take a bite out of standby (or “vampire”) power.