The Department of Energy issued a pre-publication Federal Register final rule concerning energy conservation standards for commercial clothes washers.
A fact sheet by the Natural Resources Defense Council - Strong US Energy Efficiency Standards: Decades of Using Energy Smarter - says energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment have resulted in about 7 percent lower US electricity use in 2010 than would have been otherwise; this number is projected to grow to 14 percent by 2035. Total net savings from existing appliance and equipment standards will exceed $1 trillion by 2035.
NRDC’s fact sheet also says national energy efficiency standards provide certainty for manufacturers and avoid a patchwork of state regulations. As a result, manufacturers make better products and the energy savings often come at lower cost than estimated. A recent study of nine appliance rulemakings found that while DOE anticipated small increases in the prices of the covered products, manufacturer selling prices actually decreased by $12 on average.
