 |
 ppliance manufacturers, energy efficiency advocates,
and public officials announce a landmark agreement this past
May to improve household appliance energy efficiency. The agreement,
covering appliance efficiency standards, incentives, and information
programs, culminates months of negotiations between appliance
manufacturers and a broad coalition of public interest advocates.
The agreement includes joint recommendations for:
- New minimum efficiency standards for clothes
washers,
- Tax credits for manufacturers who produce
washers or refrigerators that exceed the efficiency standards,
and
- New qualification levels in order for these
products to obtain the voluntary Energy Star label designation.
 "America's
laundry 'load' will get a lot lighter thanks to this agreement.
Specifically, the agreement will reduce the load on consumers'
wallets, the load on utility power plants and water systems,
and the load on the environment," said Howard Geller, executive
director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE) and a participant in the negotiations.
"The
clothes washer standards that manufacturers have agreed to will
reduce hot water use and the total energy consumption associated
with clothes washers by about one-third. As a result, consumers
will cut their energy, water, and detergent purchases by over
$25 billion during the next 30 years," noted Geller. A typical
family now spends about $200 per year on energy, water, and detergent
for doing laundry. The new efficiency standards, which will be
phased-in starting in 2004 and affect all new washers sold in
the United States, are expected to be issued by the Department
of Energy by the end of this year.
To encourage
even higher levels of efficiency than required by the standards,
public interest groups join manufacturers in supporting tax credits
for highly efficient washers and refrigerators. "The tax
credits will speed up the production of state-of-the-art products,
providing additional energy and water savings while helping manufacturers
to offset their investment costs. We urge the Congress to enact
these tax credits this year," added Geller.
"This
is a significant victory for the environment," said Andrew
deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness
Project and another participant in the negotiations. "The
water savings will reach up to 11 trillion gallons, meaning less
water needs to be pumped from America's aquifers and rivers,
and less strain on already overtaxed water and sewer systems."
The energy
savings will reach over 4 quadrillion BTU - equivalent to the
annual energy use of about 21 million households meaning less
fuel needs to be burned to generate electricity and heat water.
This, in turn, reduces local and regional air pollution and cuts
emissions of the gases causing global warming. The agreement
is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 310 million
metric tons over the next 30 years. Carbon dioxide, released
from burning coal, oil, and natural gas, is the main gas causing
the warming of the earth's atmosphere that is now occurring.
"This
is a 'win-win agreement' - it will benefit consumers, manufacturers
and the environment. We commend the Association of Home Appliance
Manufacturers and its members for accepting it. We also applaud
the efforts of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Assistant
Secretary Dan Reicher for helping to 'bring the parties to the
table' and for supporting the negotiations," commented Steven
Nadel, Deputy Director of ACEEE and coordinator of the public
interest groups that participated in the negotiations.
The new clothes
washer standard is one of several standards the Department of
Energy has committed to upgrade this year. The Department proposed
new standards for water heaters last month and is expected to
propose new central air conditioner standards this summer. Improving
air conditioner efficiency is especially important because of
the strain cooling equipment places on the electric system, as
evidenced by power outages in Chicago, New York, New Orleans
and other regions of the country last summer. "The Energy
Department can more than double the energy savings achieved with
today's agreement and reduce the likelihood of future power blackouts
by setting a strong new air conditioner standard," deLaski
noted. 
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