In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama said we need to “act with more urgency” on climate change and also pledged to make this “a year of action.” Fortunately, when it comes to new appliance, equipment, and lighting efficiency standards, the administration has already made very good progress.
Seth Shulman of the Union of Concerned Scientists writes that the decline in electricity consumption in the U.S. is "to a large extent, a direct result of govenment energy efficiency standards."
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.
Consumers could save about a thousand dollars on annual household energy costs if energy-efficiency performance standards were more prevalent and better understood. That’s according to a report, Energy Efficiency Performance Standards: The Cornerstone of Consumer-Friendly Energy Policy, released today by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
In our latest report, we analyze how the choices available to consumers have changed over time as efficiency standards have taken effect for ten residential, commercial, and lighting products by addressing three questions:
