Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009 aims to enhance appliance efficiency

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources met in Washington, D.C., last week to receive testimony on the Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009, which is supposed to strengthen and improve two federal energy programs.

Mark Connelly, senior director of appliance and home-improvement testing for Consumer Union, the nonprofit publisher of the Home & Garden blog and Consumer Reports magazine, was one of six invitees to appear before the committee. His testimony (read the transcript) focused on ways the federal Energy Star program can be improved, including keeping test procedures relevant to a changing marketplace, providing better enforcement of Energy Star standards than current self-certification procedures allow, and tightening up qualifying standards for Energy Star products. "This is an issue that is not only critical for our energy security, but important to consumers' pocketbooks," Connelly said.

Committee member Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, told the committee, "Boosting the energy efficiency of appliances is a great way to reduce demand and help solve our energy challenges. Unfortunately, technology has outpaced our ability to set effective standards . . . Companies are far more likely to invest in updated technology if they don't have to wait years before their product has a chance of being competitive in the marketplace,. We want our manufacturing industry to develop products with the highest energy-efficiency rating possible."—Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman

Essential information: Learn how tax rebates and credits can lower the cost of your new appliances and read about the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program.

Comments

[Scott Trainor]

I was looking at the Consumer Reports Energy Use ratings of refrigerators, and I found energy star rated refrigerators that had lower energy use ratings than non-energy star rated refrigerators. What's the explanation? Are some manufacturers claiming to meet Energy Star and not meeting them? Testing methods different?