Efficiency standard

This review adopts the broad perspective, recognizing that the primai y policy mechanisms applied to improve energy efficiency—minimum efficiency standards, incentive programs, normative and informative labeling progi ams, and technology-driven market forces—can address a vei"y wide variety of products. 

In the east, a New York Public Service Commissioner testified before Congress in mid-1973 in support of appliance efficiency standards, even before the energy crisis, and New York State began to adopt its own appliance efficiency standards in 1976. 

The prospect of a patchwork of state standards became a cause of great concern to manufacturers. When President Jimmy Carter was elected, he proposed that mandatoi y standards be set by the Department of Energy (DOE) to replace the voluntary efficiency targets. Wliile opposing mandatory standards at the federal level, manufacturers acquiesced to the National Energy Conservation and Policy Act (NECPA) of 1978, which required DOE to set appliance efficiency standards for residential products. In return, manufacturers were able to obtain a requirement for DOE to evaluate the impacts on manufacturers that standards would impose and to consider them in setting the standards. 

The movement toward federal appliance efficiency standards stalled in the 1980s as the Reagan Administration, which opposed standards from an ideological perspective, began. That administration s approach was made evident by its refusal to finalize the DOE s 1980 standards proposal, and in 1983, by the issuance of a federal rule that determined that no standards were necessary. Both the delay and the no standard determination were challenged by NRDC, with the support of several large states, through the courts. 

California, the Energy Commission in 1983 adopted stringent standards for refrigerators, freezers, central air conditioners, and heat pumps. Following California s lead, several other states became interested in adopting appliance efficiency standards, since there was now a state model on which they could draw. By the end of 1986, six states had adopted new standards for one or more products. 

In the early part of the 1990s deliberations on appliance efficiency standards appeared to be heading toward greater consensus. Manufacturers, efficiency advocates, and states joined together to discuss a negotiated joint proposal for the second DOE revision under NAECA of refrigerator standards, which was to be issued in 1995. All major parties submitted a joint proposal to DOE in late 1994. 

But an ideological shift in Congress disrupted this process. In the 104th Congress, industrial opponents of appliance efficiency standards found sympathetic support, and passed a one-year moratorium on appliance efficiency standards in 1995. The moratorium held back DOE efforts on appliance standards for nearly two years. The refrigerator standard that was to be issued early in 1995 was delayed until 1997, and the effectiveness date set hack three years until 2001. Progress toward new standards on ballasts, water heaters, air conditioners, clothes washers, and other products was delayed. 

Geller, H. S., and Goldstein, D. B. (1999). Equipment Efficiency Standards Mitigating Global Climate Change at a Profit. Physics Society. 28(2). 

Koomey, ]. G. Mahler, S. A. Webber C. A. and McMahon, ]. E. (1997). Projected Regional Impacts ol Appliance Efficiency Standards for the U.S. Residential Sector. Lawience Berkeley National Laboratniy. LBNL-39511. 

U.S. Department of Energy. (1995). Technical Support Document Energy Efficiency Standards for Consumer Products Refrigerators, Refrigerator-Freezers, At... 

Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act Energy efficiency standards for public housing 11/28/90... 

Additionally, as a response to rising energy prices and uncertainty of supply, several states adopted appliance efficiency standards. At the federal level, the National Appliance Energy Consei vation Act of 1987 established the first national standards for refrigerators and freezers, furnaces, air conditioners, and other appliances. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 added national standards for incandescent and fluorescent lights, small electric motors, office equipment, and plumbing products. 

Most new gas and oil-fueled furnaces and boilers have similar efficiencies. The range of efficiency has narrowed with the introduction of minimum efficiency standards for new products sold since 1992. New gas and oil heating equipment currently available in the marketplace have /knnual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings of at least 78 to 80 percent. /VFUE is a measure of how efficient a furnace operates on an annual basis and takes into account cycling losses of the furnace or boiler. It does not include the... 

The average AFUE of all installed furnaces is 65 to 75 percent, much lower than post-1992 efficiency standards due to the different vintages of furnaces and boilers. Systems that are 40 years old or older are even less efficient (55-65%), but these represent a veiy small fraction of furnaces operating in the United States today. 

The U.S. Department ofEnergy develops test procedures for efficiency measurements and sets minimum efficiency standards for furnaces, boilers, and water heaters. Information on energy efficiency of buildings and equipment is available from the DOE. 

Average efficiency of new gas-fired water heaters has increased from an estimated 47 percent in the mid-1970s to about 56 percent in 1999. Over the same period the efficiency of electric water heaters has risen from about 75 percent to 86 percent. Revised efficiency standards were expected to be adopted during 2000. 

It is essential to have high-quality data in place for interoperable systems to function efficiently. Standard data structures can only be used to full advantage if they are combined with standard terminology for values populating a data element. Yet there are many potential pitfalls in data collection and configuration for analysis. Some of the more common pitfalls are discussed here, but this list is by no means comprehensive. 

Utilities are also supporting the adoption and implementation of stricter building codes and equipment efficiency standards. The increas-... 

Appliance and equipment efficiency standards are having a notable impact on electricity demand in the United States. Standards have lowered national electricity use by 3%. A few energy efficiency measures, such as power-managed personal computers, have been widely adopted without financial incentives or much utility involvement. 

The SDCI calculations are somewhat more involved in calculations of atomic real-space core-valence partitioning models because of the two-center integrals (2.10) and (2.11) that require definite integration limits to cover the appropriate core and valence subspaces. Foitunately, these calculations are greatly aided by most efficient standard techniques. 

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