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From smart phones to toothbrushes to power tools, rechargeable batteries let us go cordless. But rechargeable batteries must be recharged, and those chargers can waste a lot of electricity.

Yesterday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) proposed what would be the first-ever efficiency standards for portable air conditioners (ACs). While the new standards would be a significant step forward for portable ACs, higher efficiency levels could more than double the savings.

Businesses in the restaurant, food processing, institutional and hospitality sectors all need large amounts of hot water to keep their plates clean and their customers happy. Nearly one-fifth of the natural gas consumed by buildings operated by the food service industry goes toward heating hot water[1].

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed new efficiency standards for commercial boilers, which are commonly used to heat schools, offices, apartments, and hospitals, among other building types. The new standards would reduce commercial boiler energy consumption by about 2-6% relative to the current standards. However, national energy savings would more than double if DOE adopted stronger standards for the most common equipment.

As of this month, the little black boxes attached to many small electronic devices will cost less to run due to Department of Energy (DOE) standards that will reduce the amount of energy they waste. Though the energy use per unit is small, the combined energy use from the more than 1 BILLION external power supplies (EPSs) in use in the United States adds up.

Today, the Appliance Standards Rulemaking and Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) approved an agreement reached by manufacturers and efficiency advocates to set the first-ever national standards for wine chillers and other beverage coolers. The new standards will reduce energy use by 75% relative to the least-efficient products on the market.

The final few weeks of 2015 proved busy ones for new national appliance and equipment standards. The Department of Energy (DOE) completed the biggest energy-saving standard in agency history, along with several important but lower-profile standards which will collectively yield large energy and economic savings. Some of them point the way to much larger future savings.

The Department of Energy (DOE) issued new efficiency standards today for commercial and industrial pumps that are based on efficiency levels negotiated by manufacturers, efficiency advocates, and other stakeholders. In addition to establishing the first-ever national efficiency standards for pumps, the final rule also provides a mechanism for energy efficiency programs to incentivize high-efficiency pump packages.