Renewed interest in energy conservation and CO2 air pollution led to additional Energy Policy Acts (EPACT) being passed by Congress and signed by the President in 1992 and again in 2005. The comprehensive Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) built on the prior two decades of legislated energy advancement with a continued appropriate emphasis on energy efficiency and conservation. (These laws are codified in the United States Code, Title 42, Chapter 77, Subchapter III, Part A—Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles.) In all, the products regulated by this legislation represent about 90 percent of home energy use. Standards developed in response to this legislation have reportedly saved American consumers $40 billion on their utility bills in 2010, and the annual carbon dioxide reduction will reach 250 million tons by the year 2020. Legislation and the continued efforts of household appliance manufacturers have resulted in further energy efficiency gains through 2010 compared to 1975 levels with a 75 percent average energy use reduction for refrigerators, 80 percent for clothes washers, and 76 percent for dishwashers. These are dramatic improvements, making energy efficient appliances the norm, not the exception.

Since the 1970’s the amount of electricity needed to run common household appliances has decreased dramatically. Courtesy of Whirlpool Corporation

It is worth noting that concurrent with the interest in conserving energy, interest in reducing the use of potable water was also a growing concern during this time period. There are two reasons for this. First, most potable water requires a significant amount of energy to pump, move, treat, process and deliver to consumers. Only a small fraction of this water is actually consumed by people through drinking or cooking. Most residential water is used for washing, showering and flushing which all typically require energy for moving, processing and treating before returning the water back to the environment. Hence, reducing the amount of water required by a household directly reduces the amount of energy used to deliver and recover that water. Second, as populations have increased in certain areas of the U.S., the demand for water has increased to the point where supply is becoming scarce. In some cases, supply is already being disputed for territorial control. The combination of increasing water scarcity and the energy requirements of processing water in aging infrastructure systems have driven the logical inclusion of water conservation in energy legislation.

Standards and Programs for Appliance Performance

Federal legislation was an appropriate first step to spark change in appliance energy use. However, practical execution of the federal legislation comes about through performance standards and programs that can test and certify those appliances as compliant. Federal standards for appliances were developed to ensure compliance with the legislative mandate. Furthermore, two additional voluntary standards have emerged which offer manufacturers a method to communicate the resource efficiency of their appliances to customers.

Federal Standards

With legislation in place, a federal mechanism is obviously needed to determine if the law is being followed. In this case, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and specifically the Buildings Technologies Office is charged with setting minimum energy efficiency standards for approximately 50 categories of appliances and equipment used in homes, businesses, and other applications. The appliances and equipment covered include, among other things, refrigeration, cooking, dishwashing, clothes washing and drying. In addition, the DOE implements the laws designed to limit the water consumption of several plumbing products. For most of these products and appliances, the laws passed by Congress established time schedules for the DOE to create, review and update standards and test procedures. All manufacturers and importers of covered products must use the DOE test procedures to demonstrate compliance with the standards, unless granted explicit waivers. This means that any appliance which does not meet the standards cannot legally be sold in the United States. Hence, it is fair to assume that any commercially available appliance that is specified, purchased, or installed has met these federal standards or they wouldn’t be on the market.

The DOE regulations or standards governing covered appliances and equipment are established through a rulemaking process that provides opportunities for public review and comment. Manufacturers, product importers and distributors, energy suppliers, efficiency and environmental advocates, and other members of the public are encouraged by the DOE to participate in the rulemakings. The DOE maintains a rulemaking schedule and provides progress reports to Congress every six months.

There are two notable updates underway that apply to certain appliances. In 2014, new federal standards related to refrigerators will take effect requiring roughly 20 to 30 percent more energy use reductions compared to the standard in effect in 2013. Similarly, clothes washers are targeted for updated federal standards in 2015 which will reduce the allowable amount of water and energy used in these appliances.

ENERGY STAR® for Appliances

ENERGY STAR® is a well-known federal program initiated in 1992 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the interest of reducing air pollution by reducing the need for fossil fuel produced electrical energy. The EPA joined with the U.S. DOE to develop this program as a way to encourage and recognize products of many types that excel in their ability to go beyond simply meeting the minimum federal standards for energy efficiency described earlier. The familiar blue and white ENERGY STAR® label has therefore become a recognized symbol for energy efficiency that is earned by demonstrating performance through verifiable testing. It is intended to help consumers save money and protect the environment through the proliferation of energy-efficient buildings, products, and practices over less efficient alternatives. The program is completely voluntary but has been embraced by many companies as a means to distinguish their products and demonstrate their commitment to energy efficiency which has become a requirement of many consumers.

Appliances are a significant category of products within the overall ENERGY STAR® program. To qualify, appliances must use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water (actual percentage depends on the appliance type) than standard models that simply meet the federal standards. This is often accomplished through the incorporation of advanced technology in the products which still allows the appliance to perform its basic or core function but uses less energy in doing so. Just as modern LED light bulbs use less energy to provide just as much or more light than traditional incandescent bulbs, modern ENERGY STAR labeled appliances still provide their full core functional requirements but with demonstrated energy use reductions. In order to qualify to earn and display the ENERGY STAR label, those appliances must be tested at qualified independent labs which report the results back to the manufacturer to submit to the EPA. Once reviewed and accepted that test data is available to be accessed through the ENERGY STAR® web site.

Like the federal standards, ENERGY STAR® testing and requirements are updated periodically in response to trends and improvements in technology. Since this program is based on exceeding the federal minimum standards it becomes more stringent when the federal standards are made more stringent. Hence the new 2014 federal requirements for refrigerators discussed previously means that a 2014 standard refrigerator could now be more energy efficient than a comparable 2013 ENERGY STAR® model.

Updates to federal standards for refrigerators mean that for 2014 appliance manufacturers must effectively improve their models 20 to 30 percent over 2013 standards which is equal to or more efficient than 2013 ENERGY STAR® levels. To qualify for a 2014 ENERGY STAR® label, refrigerators will need to be 10 percent more efficient than the 2014 standards or 40 to 45 percent more than the 2013 federal standards. Courtesy of Whirlpool Corporation