New Efficiency Standards Mean Big Energy Savings for Consumers

New Efficiency Standards Mean Big Energy Savings for Consumers

May 16, 2012 

April Saylor

New Media Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

What does this mean for me?

• By 2030, energy efficiency standards passed since 2009 will save nearly $350 billion total for consumers.
• Energy efficiency standards for residential clothes washers and dishwashers alone will save consumers approximately $20 billion in energy and water costs through 2030.

As part of the Obama Administration’s energy strategy, Energy Department officials have been hard at work helping American families save money by saving energy. Since 2009, we’ve issued nearly 40 common-sense energy efficiency standards for appliances -- which will save consumers nearly $350 billion on their energy bills through 2030, and give them more efficient machine choices. This breaks down to significant energy savings annually for households over the next two decades.

As part of this effort, today the Department announced new energy efficiency standards for residential clothes washers and dishwashers that will save consumers approximately $20 billion in energy and water costs through 2030. The clothes washer standard alone will save households approximately 25 percent on their machine’s operational costs -- the equivalent of approximately $350 in savings over the lifetime of the washer.

While the new energy efficiency standards clearly impact families and individual consumers in a big way, the U.S. as a whole has a lot to gain, as well. These utility savings per family adds up to approximately $600 million in energy and water savings per year for the next 10 years nationally.

Energy efficiency standards for everyday appliances like these have already saved American families hundreds of billions of dollars. These standards have laid the groundwork for additional improvements for appliances -- ensuring consumers have more efficient, less costly appliances without sacrificing performance.
The new standards for clothes washers and dishwashers were developed in partnership with industry experts and national environmental organizations, and will go into effect over the next few years.

Today, clothes washers and dishwashers account for approximately 3 percent of residential energy use and more than 20 percent of indoor water use in homes across the country. These new standards willreduce the energy consumption of front-loading clothes washers by 15 percent and reduce water consumption by 35 percent, while top-loading washers will save 33 percent on energy and 19 percent on water consumption. New standards for home dishwashers will use approximately 15 percent less energy and more than 20 percent less water.

Visit the Department’s Building Technologies Program to find out more about the minimum efficiency standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment.

New Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Clothes Washers and Dishwashers to Save Consumers Billions on Energy Bills

Press release from DOE:

New Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Clothes Washers and Dishwashers to Save Consumers Billions on Energy Bills

May 16, 2012

WASHINGTON – As part of the Obama Administration’s focus on taking sensible steps to save families money while also reducing energy consumption,  the Department of Energy today announced common-sense energy efficiency standards for residential clothes washers and dishwashers that will save consumers $20 billion in energy and water costs. The new standards for both clothes washers and dishwashers were informed by important feedback from manufacturers, consumer groups and environmental advocates, producing significant savings while retaining consumer choice. The clothes washers standard announced today will save households approximately $350 over the lifetime of the appliance, while offering consumers a variety of more efficient machine choices, and as a result of the standards for dishwashers, home dishwashers will use approximately 15 percent less energy and more than 20 percent less water, directly providing consumers with savings on monthly bills.

Today’s announcement is only the most recent in a series of common-sense efficiency standards made by the Obama Administration that have covered nearly 40 different products, and will together save consumers nearly $350 billion on their energy bills through 2030.

“Working with consumer, industry and environmental groups to develop common-sense energy-saving appliance standards is an important part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy and the Energy Department’s efforts to reduce energy costs for consumers,” said Secretary Chu. “Collectively, these energy efficiency standards for everyday appliances have saved American families hundreds of billions of dollars and offered consumers more efficient, less costly appliances without sacrificing performance.”

“DOE’s implementation of these new standards reflects the consensus agreement reached by stakeholders. It will result in tremendous energy savings for the consumer while preserving product choice and minimizing manufacturer impact. The home appliance industry is proud of its long history of energy efficiency advancements benefiting consumers and applauds DOE for working with stakeholders to increase energy efficiency,” said Joseph McGuire, President of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
“Clothes washer and dishwasher energy efficiency has improved dramatically over the past two decades while also improving clothes washing performance and maintaining dish washing performance,” said Steve Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.  “These improvements have been driven by a combination of manufacturer and utility efforts, Energy Star, federal tax incentives and minimum efficiency standards.  We support the new DOE minimum efficiency standards which will raise the floor, helping to spur further efficiency improvements.

The new standards – developed in partnership with companies like Whirlpool, General Electric and LG Electronics, industry advocates, national environmental organizations, consumer groups and other stakeholders – build on previous minimum energy efficiency requirements for clothes washers and dishwashers and go into effect starting in 2015 and 2013, respectively.

Today, clothes washers and dishwashers account for approximately 3 percent of residential energy use and more than 20 percent of indoor water use in homes across the country.  The new standards for clothes washers will reduce the energy consumption of front-loading clothes washers by 15 percent and reduce water consumption by 35 percent, while top-loading washers will save 33 percent on energy and 19 percent on water use.

As companies look for ways to further boost the efficiency of their products,  companies will continue to undertake additional research and development, partner with entrepreneurs working on new efficiency technologies and invest in manufacturing innovations that will help drive better, more efficient appliances and broader job creation across the economy. For example, according to a 2011 trade report, standards laws signed by President Reagan and both Presidents Bush and DOE rulemakings generated approximately 340,000 jobs in 2010 alone.

The standards announced today are part of the Obama Administration’s broader all-of-the-above approach to American energy and the Department of Energy’s efforts to help families save money by saving energy.  Other energy and cost-saving standards adopted under the Obama Administration include:

• March 2009 - 14 consumer and commercial products with standards prescribed in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), including dishwashers, general service incandescent lamps and residential clothes washers
• April 2009 - Microwaves, kitchen ranges and ovens
• July 2009 - General service fluorescent lamps and incandescent reflector lamps
• July 2009 - Commercial heating, air-conditioning and water-heating equipment
• August 2009 - Beverage vending machines
• December 2009 - Commercial clothes washers
• February 2010 - Small electric motors
• March 2010 - Residential water heaters, direct heating equipment and pool heaters
• April 2011 - Residential clothes dryers and room air conditioners
• June 2011 - Residential furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps
• September 2011 - Residential refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers
• October 2011 - Fluorescent lamp ballasts
• November 2011 - Direct heating equipment
• May 2012 - Residential clothes washers
• May 2012 – Residential dishwashers

A full list of appliance efficiency standards is available on the Department of Energy website HERE.
DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Learn more about the test procedures and minimum efficiency standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment developed by DOE’s Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program and other building technologies projects

New Fuel Economy Rules Win Broad Support

Excerpt from January 18 New York Times article with the above title.

Not everyone is so enthused about the new mileage standards.  See the January 10 post.

New Fuel Economy Rules Win Broad Support

By NICK BUNKLEY

DETROIT — Writing new regulations that will require cars and trucks to have significantly higher fuel economy by 2025 prompted years of fighting among automakers, environmentalists, regulators and consumer groups.

But now that the standards have been proposed, nearly everyone involved in the process is on board with the results, as a public hearing held Tuesday in Detroit showed.

More than 90 people who spoke throughout the day asserted that the stricter fuel economy requirements would create jobs, reduce oil consumption, create cleaner air and save drivers money, all while helping automakers increase their profits.

“We’re celebrating something that has taken a long time to reach,” said Representative John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who helped quash previous efforts to impose higher mileage standards. “There appears to be no significant opposition amongst responsible persons.”

The National Automobile Dealers Association, however, did speak out against the idea of setting requirements for vehicles made more than a decade from now until more is known about the strength of consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Don Chalmers, a Ford dealer in New Mexico and the group’s government relations chairman, said he worried that vehicles would become too expensive for some consumers to afford. “Before rushing headlong into a set of new mandates aimed at doubling today’s fleet fuel economy, we need to understand better the potential ramifications,” Mr. Chalmers said. “If our customers do not purchase these products, we all lose.”

The proposed new standards call for automakers to increase the average, unadjusted fuel-economy rating of their vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, up from about 27 miles per gallon today. Because of the way testing is done, the 2025 requirement correlates to a window-sticker rating of about 36 miles per gallon, according to the automotive information Web site Edmunds.com, or roughly what Toyota’s tiny new Scion iQ car achieves today.

==========

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent this out today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2011

EPA Finalizes 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2   program, which encourages innovation, strengthens American energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established the RFS2 program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.

The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are:

Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 percent)
Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 percent)
Cellulosic biofuels (8.65 million gallons; 0.006 percent)
Total renewable fuels (15.2 billion gallons; 9.23 percent)

Last spring EPA had proposed a volume requirement of 1.28 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel for 2013. EISA specifies a one billion gallon minimum volume requirement for that category for 2013 and beyond, but enables EPA to increase the volume requirement after consideration of a variety of environmental, market, and energy-related factors. EPA is continuing to evaluate the many comments from stakeholders on the proposed biomass based diesel volume for 2013 and will take final action next year.

Overall, EPA’s RFS2 program encourages greater use of renewable fuels, including advanced biofuels. For 2012, the program is implementing EISA’s requirement to blend more than 1.25 billion gallons of renewable fuels over the amount mandated for 2011.

More information on the standards and regulations: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm

More information on renewable fuels: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm

R368

EPA News Release on New Air Pollution Standards

The previous post contains an excerpt from an article published by The Hill describing how dozens of electrical power plants, most of them coal-burning, will close down, rather than upgrade, to meet new air pollution regulations.  In this post, I am presenting an EPA news release to provide that agency's perspective on the matter.  I would recommend reading the EPA news release and the article from The Hill in its entirety before forming an opinion.

EPA Issues First National Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants/ Historic ‘mercury and air toxics standards’ meet 20-year old requirement to cut dangerous smokestack emissions

Release Date: 12/21/2011

Contact Information: Enesta Jones (News Media Only,jones.enesta@epa.gov, 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355 Doretta Reaves (Non Press Inquiries), Reaves.doretta@epa.gov, 202-564-7829 En español: Lina Younes, younes.lina@epa.gov, 202-564-9924, 202-564-4355

EPA estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

"By cutting emissions that are linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses like asthma, these standards represent a major victory for clean air and public health– and especially for the health of our children. With these standards that were two decades in the making, EPA is rounding out a year of incredible progress on clean air in America with another action that will benefit the American people for years to come," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will protect millions of families and children from harmful and costly air pollution and provide the American people with health benefits that far outweigh the costs of compliance."

“Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health,” said Albert A. Rizzo, MD, national volunteer chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware. “The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants.”

More than 20 years ago, a bipartisan Congress passed the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and mandated that EPA require control of toxic air pollutants including mercury. To meet this requirement, EPA worked extensively with stakeholders, including industry, to minimize cost and maximize flexibilities in these final standards. There were more than 900,000 public comments that helped inform the final standards being announced today. Part of this feedback encouraged EPA to ensure the standards focused on readily available and widely deployed pollution control technologies, that are not only manufactured by companies in the United States, but also support short-term and long-term jobs. EPA estimates that manufacturing, engineering, installing and maintaining the pollution controls to meet these standards will provide employment for thousands, potentially including 46,000 short-term construction jobs and 8,000 long-term utility jobs.

Power plants are the largest remaining source of several toxic air pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, cyanide, and a range of other dangerous pollutants, and are responsible for half of the mercury and over 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States. Today, more than half of all coal-fired power plants already deploy pollution control technologies that will help them meet these achievable standards. Once final, these standards will level the playing field by ensuring the remaining plants – about 40 percent of all coal fired power plants - take similar steps to decrease dangerous pollutants.

As part of the commitment to maximize flexibilities under the law, the standards are accompanied by a Presidential Memorandum that directs EPA to use tools provided in the Clean Air Act to implement the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in a cost-effective manner that ensures electric reliability. For example, under these standards, EPA is not only providing the standard three years for compliance, but also encouraging permitting authorities to make a fourth year broadly available for technology installations, and if still more time is needed, providing a well-defined pathway to address any localized reliability problems should they arise.

Mercury has been shown to harm the nervous systems of children exposed in the womb, impairing thinking, learning and early development, and other pollutants that will be reduced by these standards can cause cancer, premature death, heart disease, and asthma.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which are being issued in response to a court deadline, are in keeping with President Obama’s Executive Order on regulatory reform. They are based on the latest data and provide industry significant flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of already existing technologies.

The standards also ensure that public health and economic benefits far outweigh costs of implementation. EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants, the American public will see up to $9 in health benefits. The total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $90 billion annually.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was issued earlier this year, are the most significant steps to clean up pollution from power plant smokestacks since the Acid Rain Program of the 1990s.

Combined, the two rules are estimated to prevent up to 46,000 premature deaths, 540,000 asthma attacks among children, 24,500 emergency room visits and hospital admissions. The two programs are an investment in public health that will provide a total of up to $380 billion in return to American families in the form of longer, healthier lives and reduced health care costs.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/mats/