Energy efficiency standards to cut consumersÂ’ utility bills

WASHINGTON – Building on President Obama’s State of the Union address, which called for reducing carbon pollution and helping communities move to greater energy efficiency, the Energy Department recently announced new efficiency standards for external power supplies.

Over the next 30 years, these standards will help cut carbon pollution by nearly 47 million metric tons – equivalent to the annual electricity use of 6.5 million homes – and save families and businesses nearly $4 billion on their energy bills.

Last week, the Department finalized energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures, which will help cut carbon pollution by up to 28 million metric tons and save more than $1.1 billion.

“Appliance efficiency standards and high quality appliances go hand-in-hand, and represent a huge opportunity to help families and businesses save money by saving energy,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “By working with industry and efficiency groups over the last three decades, we’ve adopted commonsense appliance standards that are saving billions of dollars while enhancing our energy security.”

Under the Obama Administration, the Energy Department has finalized new efficiency standards for more than 30 household and commercial products, including dishwashers, refrigerators and water heaters, which are estimated to save consumers more than $400 billion and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1.8 billion metric tons through 2030.

To build on this success, the Administration has set a new goal: Efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings set in the first and second terms combined will reduce carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030 – equivalent to nearly one-half of the carbon pollution from the entire U.S. energy sector for one year – while continuing to cut families’ energy bills.

External power supplies are used in hundreds of types of electronics and consumer products, including cell phones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles and power tools, to convert power from a wall outlet into lower voltages. More than 300 million external power supplies are shipped in the United States each year and the average American home has five to ten external power supplies. These numbers are expected to continue growing as consumers and businesses purchase new types of personal electronics.

The efficiency standards recently established will update 2007 standards for Class A external power supplies to make these components up to 33 percent more efficient. The final rule also establishes efficiency standards for non-Class A external power supplies, which go beyond Class A components to convert to multiple voltages at the same time, output more than 250 watts or provide power to a motor-operated product.

These standards incorporate feedback from industry, consumer and environmental advocacy groups and other stakeholders and will go into effect two years after publication in the Federal Register.