ACEEE report shows energy efficiency standards will save Americans $1 trillion
March 14, 2012A new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that new energy efficiency standards imposed by the U.S. government are translating into significant savings for citizens.
These standards are governing how new electronics and products that use electricity are designed. The standards ensure they these products are built with efficiency in mind, using less electricity than they had in previous years. The report notes that energy efficiency standards will save consumers more than $1 trillion by 2035.
Current energy efficiency standards have been in place since the mid 1980’s.
There are now 11 new standards being considered by the federal government. ACEEE believes that these standards will help further reduce the annual cost of electricity by 14%. If this is the case, by 2040, Americans will be saving 180 megawatt hours of electricity and approximately 200,000 gallons of water. This translates into more than $30,000 a year.
The ACEEE report concludes that the energy efficiency standards are working as intended.
The organization believes that the country’s adoption of alternative energy will be a major factor in savings in the future. The current efficiency standards are a good fit with several of the alternative energy projects the government is focused on. ACEEE suggests that standard will continue to favor alternative energy until the country reaches the point where the use of fossil-fuel is no longer viable.