March 2001 issue

 NWCouncil.org NeWs    March 2001 index

New energy-saving standard for air conditioners

In January, the Clinton administration announced strong new air conditioner and heat pump energy efficiency standards which conservation and consumer groups hailed as a tremendous victory for consumers and the environment.

"This is a home run," said Andrew deLaski, executive director for the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, an environmental, consumer, utility and state government coalition group. "This common-sense efficiency standard will save consumers billions of dollars, slash power plant pollution and help ease the long-term power crunch."

The minimum standard, which will go into effect in 2006, requires that new central air conditioners and heat pumps must have an efficiency rating 30 percent greater than the existing standard set in 1987. Nearly all new homes are built with central air conditioning, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

"Appliance efficiency standards have been quietly saving energy for American consumers since the 1970s," said David Goldstein, co-director of the energy program at the National Resources Defense Council. "This latest round of improvements goes a long way toward updating some of the most outdated national standards. This provides a strong foundation for state-based efficiency efforts and federal tax incentives that will do even more to save energy during peak demand periods."

In all, the Clinton administration finalized new standards for clothes washers, water heaters, commercial heating and cooling equipment and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps, completing the public rulemaking proceedings that began in 1993. All together these standards, combined with others for refrigerators and room air conditioners completed earlier during the Clinton administration, will cut residential energy use by about 13 percent by 2020 the Appliance Standards Awareness Project reported.