Following a summer of electricity reliability problems and blackouts in several states, a coalition of
consumer and environmental groups, state government, and utilities praised the Clinton Administration for proposing new air conditioner and heat pump energy-efficiency standards. The Appliance Standards Awareness Project believes, however, that the proposed air conditioning standards fall short and would require Americans to finance dozens of expensive, polluting power plants to make up the difference.
They are urging Bill Richardson, DOE Secretary, to increase new air conditioning standards, not by the 20 percent proposed, but by the same 30 percent proposed for heat pumps (to 13 SEER). Air conditioners are the single largest contributor to peak electricity demand.
According to an American Council for Energy Efficiency analysis, this “efficiency deficiency,” translates into a cost of $730 million annually for consumers; 10,000 extra gigawatt hours in annual electricity use, (all the households in Connecticut); and the lifetime emissions of 2,600,000 cars.
Appliance Standards Awareness Project: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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