Better Appliance Standards for Bigger Savings
April 27, 2010 – Appliance standards may not make headlines like a new wind farm or the most recent batch of hybrid vehicles to hit the market, but their role in promoting clean and efficient energy is no less significant. This was the message that Jeff Harris, Alliance vice president of programs, delivered to a packed room of congressional staffers and other members of the efficiency community on April 15 while speaking at a briefing on Capitol Hill.
Measurable Savings
According to Harris, the energy-saving impacts of appliance standards are well understood. For almost 40 years, state and national standards have ushered major reductions in energy intensity for a variety of appliances – over 70 percent in the case of refrigerators. (See slide six of Harris' presentation for an illustration of the continual development of appliance standards and improvements in energy intensity since 1972.)
Supporting Policies
Yet appliance standards cannot stand alone. Harris was quick to note that for appliance standards to reach their full potential, they must be accompanied by other programs like public information campaigns, financial incentives and support for research and development. These complementary programs will ensure the fast adoption of this generation's appliances and, more importantly, drive innovation for the next generation.
Managing the Program
Coordinating such a broad range of programs requires proper oversight, and this is where the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) comes in. While many efficiency experts over the last several years have charged that DOE standards are too lax or are not revisited on schedule, Harris seemed confident that the agency's recent actions signal a return to a more pro-efficiency agenda.
For efficiency advocates, such a reversal could not come at a more critical time, as DOE has at least 17 rule-makings and over 20 testing decisions to make before the end of FY 2011.
Marking Success
Looking forward, Harris said that categorical labeling could drive consumer awareness and innovation in appliance efficiency. Already in place in several other countries, categorical labeling would give an appliance a rating between 1 to 5 stars or a letter grade of A to F, as opposed to the current formats reporting either potential energy savings (the Energy Guide label) or a pass/fail stamp of approval (the ENERGY STAR Label).
According to Harris, such a format would be more familiar to consumers and thus easier to adopt. In addition, the categorical labeling would encourage innovation among manufacturers to maintain their high-efficiency status, as standards for each class would be raised periodically and today's A class would be tomorrow's B or C class.
Appliance standards will not likely ever enjoy the same widespread notoriety as some of their more sensational energy-saving counterparts, but one thing appears certain: as the number of appliances that the average American owns grows, smart standards will become increasingly necessary if we, as a country, are to secure an energy-efficient future.
