Standards in the News

2/12/2018
Impacts of the 2020 Federal Light Bulb Efficiency Standard
Chris Granda of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project writes about upcoming lighting changes in the February 2018 issue of Strategies, the magazine for members of the Association of Energy Services Professionals (www.AESP.org): Starting January 1, 2020, it will be against the law to sell most halogen and incandescent light bulbs in the U.S. An existing federal minimum energy efficiency standard of 45 lumens per watt (LPW) comes into effect on this date and no currently available halogen or incandescent lamps are able to meet it.
6/9/2017
Appliance standards billed as "the little engine that could" by former Assistant Secretaries of Energy

In a letter to House and Senate subcommittees and to DOE Secretary Perry from "the entire group of Senate-confirmed Republican and Democratic Assistant Secretaries of Energy who led the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) between 1989 and 2017", standards are billed as the "little engine that could."

6/21/2018
Fan Energy Index: A new metric for fan efficiency
In the June issue of Appliance Design, Joanna Mauer of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project delves into a new metric for fan efficiency. The metric addresses a longstanding problem in characterizing fan efficiency, which is that a fan’s peak efficiency often has little relationship to a fan’s actual operating efficiency. 
4/3/2017
Consumer & environmental groups take legal action against Department of Energy
Environmental and consumer groups initiated legal action against the US Department of Energy, filing a lawsuit for illegally delaying ceiling fan standards and a notice of intent to sue for delays on five additional product standards. 
1/18/2017
Paving the Way for an Efficient Light Bulb in Every Socket

Noah Horowitz blog post, NRDC

The US Department of Energy updated and expanded its definition of what constitutes an everyday light bulb, paving the way for the Trump administration to implement the second phase of a bipartisan law signed by President George W. Bush to cut the energy waste of bulbs.

4/6/2016
Little-Known Federal Appliance Standards Rank as #2 Energy-Saving Tool in US

Little-Known Federal Appliance Standards Rank as #2 Energy-Saving Tool in US., Will Play Major Role in Meeting Paris Climate Target

Click here for audio of April 6, 2016 telenews event

4/1/2016
California Energy Commission Proposes New Efficiency Standards that Will Cut Computer Energy Use
March 31, 2016 
Pierre Delforge, NRDC

The California Energy Commission (CEC) today released its latest proposal for mandating more energy efficient computers and monitors. The proposal for the nation’s first mandatory standards for computers, if adopted, will be an important step toward reducing their energy use around the country and even the world.

12/16/2015
DOE Infographic on Commercial AC Efficiency Standards

Energy Department announces largest energy-saving standard in history

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced historic new efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners and furnaces. Developed with industry, utilities, and environmental groups, these standards will save more energy than any other standard issued by the Department to date.

Read more

10/16/2015
Time to Raise Furnace Standards and Stop Wasting Money and Energy

Baltimore Sun op-ed
October 14, 2015
By Andrew deLaski

After one of the warmest summers ever, the approaching winter heating season may seem hard to imagine right now. But the icy grip of cold weather will be upon us soon, and that's bad news for the millions of Americans who experience serious financial pressure every year trying to keep their homes warm. Those consumers and the federal lawmakers who represent them should be outraged to learn that...