President Trump’s initial 2019 budget request to Congress released earlier this year asked lawmakers to slash funding for the Energy Star program. It was the president’s second attempt to gut the popular voluntary program. And for a second time, manufacturers, retailers, utilities, and environmental groups united to ask Congress to protect Energy Star.
“With the Trump administration slowing progress on energy-saving efficiency standards for appliances, equipment, and electronics that save Americans billions of dollars, states are stepping in to try to fill the gap,” Lauren Urbanek, senior program advocate for the NRDC’s Center for Energy Efficiency Standards observed in a blog post.
Over the last decade, progress on efficiency standards had mainly happened at the federal level and states didn’t need to do much heavy lifting, Urbanek told Energy Manager Today. “So it’s noteworthy that we saw so many of them show an interest in updating standards,” she said. In particular, Vermont passed a bill in May 2017 that adopted current federal energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment — just in case anything does happen to the Energy Star program.
We caught up with Urbanek recently to find out more about what the state-level changes she and her colleagues are observing mean for energy management in the United States.
For corporate energy managers, what are the main benefits of having federal energy efficiency standards?
Products and equipment covered by federal standards have to meet requirements for energy consumption. This means that energy managers can make purchasing decisions about equipment with confidence, knowing that the products they choose will not be energy hogs.
And when outdated equipment is replaced, they will benefit from energy savings. For example, the first phase of a new standard for commercial rooftop air conditioners and heat pumps, which heat and cool more than half the nation’s commercial floor space, took effect in January 2018. The standard requires a 10% improvement in efficiency compared to the previous standard.
When the second phase takes effect in 2023, equipment will be required to be 25 – 30% more efficient. Standards give energy managers an important tool to control and reduce energy consumption.
What are the biggest challenges you see for businesses when federal energy standards don’t raise the bar?
Being stuck with equipment that uses more energy than it needs to. There’s often equipment available on the market that far exceeds the efficiency required by the federal minimum standard, but it’s not always easy for businesses or consumers to figure out the energy use. We always recommend looking for the Energy Star label — that means that a product exceeds the efficiency requirements of the federal standard.
How might the state-level moves you highlighted affect businesses?
Efficiency standards are a quiet workhorse — many people don’t realize they exist, but they save trillions in energy costs. Likewise, businesses that purchase equipment meeting new state standards may not even realize the products are more efficient until their energy bills drop.
Do you have advice for leaders who are looking to continue reducing energy usage and keep costs low at their businesses?
Look for the Energy Star logo. That’s a great way to ensure that the equipment you choose is even more efficient than the federal standard.
It’s also a good idea to analyze not only the equipment that’s being used, but how it’s being used. Even if you have efficient lighting or heating and cooling systems, they can eat up lots of energy if they’re on when they don’t need to be.
