OBAMA MOVE MAKES CLEAR WHAT EFFICIENCY MEANS

Ka-BOOM! Appliance Standards Make a Big Bang; New Obama Administration Standards Could Slash U.S. Energy Use, Cut Global Warming Emissions and Save Consumers Money
July 22, 2009 (American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy)

"Strong new national appliance standards for 26 common household and business products planned during President Obama’s current term could slash total U.S. electricity use by over 1,900 terawatt-hours (1.9 trillion kilowatt-hours) cumulatively by 2030 while saving consumers and businesses over $123 billion, according to a report released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). The new standards also could make a big contribution to U.S. efforts to cut global warming carbon dioxide pollution, eliminating 158 million tons per year by 2030, roughly the amount emitted by 63 large conventional coal-fired power plants."

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"The report, Ka-BOOM! The Power of Appliance Standards; Opportunities for New Federal Appliance and Equipment Standards, takes the first word in its title from a quote by Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu describing the speed with which energy efficiency can be achieved: “Appliance standards, ka-BOOM, can be had right away.” On February 5th, after only two weeks in office, President Obama made appliance standards a national priority by issuing a presidential memorandum urging the DOE to meet and beat legal deadlines for new standards…

"The new standards will affect many common household and business products — ranging from furnaces to water heaters to air conditioners to fluorescent light bulbs. In many cases, standards first set in the 1980s or 1990s are due to be updated and can now be strengthened thanks to technological improvements. Cumulative savings from already existing standards total about $2,800 per household; savings from new standards due in the next few years could save an additional $1,100 per household over the life of the affected products…"

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"The effort to combat climate change will get a considerable boost from standards. According to the report, existing standards will reduce global warming carbon dioxide emissions by about 6.5% by 2020 and 7.5% by 2030. New standards analyzed in the report would add 1.3% and 2.6% savings in 2020 and 2030, respectively. Combined, the total carbon dioxide savings from current and future standards are roughly equal to the output of 185 conventional coal-fired power plants in 2020, growing to nearly 250 coal plants by 2030…"