The California Energy Commission will establish efficiency standards for 15 product categories including lighting, consumer electronics, and water-using products, resulting in $2 billion in energy bill savings, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The commission’s next step is to publish draft standards and hold stakeholder workshops on all the products before finalizing the standards.
While more stringent efficiency standards would save energy, they will require manufacturers to comply with more than one set of standards.
A spokeswoman for NRDC said, “In order to be able to legally sell their products in California, manufacturers will have to ensure their products meet the final energy efficiency standards. Since we don’t know yet what they’ll be, it’s unknown how many already meet them. Manufacturers who make products that currently waste more energy than California will allow under the new standards will have to upgrade them to take advantage of the state’s lucrative market. Often manufacturers sell those upgraded products not only in California, but also elsewhere.”
The 15 products are organized into five groups:
Meanwhile, the federal government recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for new efficiency standards for commercial ice makers.
In January, new federal lighting standards took effect to phase out incandescent light bulbs.
