Federal Department Of Energy Agrees To Tougher Appliance Efficiency Standards

HARTFORD — The federal Department of Energy (DOE) has agreed to set new standards that significantly increase the energy efficiency of a wide range of home appliances, as well as furnaces and smaller engines. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced the agreement on November 13.

The agreement settles a federal lawsuit that Connecticut, 14 other states, the City of New York and three public interest groups filed in September 2005 against the DOE for failing to comply with a law requiring periodic upgrading of energy efficiency standards.

The DOE is six to 13 years late in complying with the statute requiring increased energy efficiency for 22 household and commercial appliances, including furnaces, water heaters, clothes washers and driers, air conditioners, heat pumps, motors, ovens, and lamps.

“Common sense energy efficiency standards reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut pollution, and save money for consumers,” said Mr Blumenthal. “We sued the federal Department of Energy because it broke the law by consistently failing to implement these standards. Our action has compelled authorities to comply with energy efficiency laws. The benefits are huge for health and environment, consumers, and electric power reliability.

“Energy efficiency should be a no-brainer, but the Bush Administration gave it no action. Cost-saving technology is increasingly available and affordable; failure to use it is folly.

“These standards by the DOE’s own estimate will reduce energy use as much as 35 quadrillion BTUs over about 30 years, the equivalent of about a year and half of current total US household energy use,” added Mr Blumenthal.

Fully implemented, the standards will reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide — a leading cause of global warming — as much as 103 million metric tons a year, the equivalent of annual emissions from 18 million cars and light trucks.

The agreement covers the following products (deadlines for the DOE to publish a final ruling are in parentheses): packaged boilers and instantaneous water heaters (February 2007); furnaces and boilers, electric distribution transformers (September 2007); packaged air conditioners, heat pumps (September 2008); dishwashers, ranges, and ovens (March 2009); incandescent reflector lamps, fluorescent lamps, and additional lamps (June 2009); small motors (February 2010); water heaters, pool heaters, and direct heating equipment (March 2010); high intensity discharge lamps (June 2010); medium-sized motors, room air conditioners, central air conditioners and heat pumps, clothes dryers, fluorescent lamp ballasts (June 2011).

Other parties in the case included the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the California Energy Commission, the City of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, and the Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy.