Re: [greenyes] energy efficient appliances paragraph 7

[Ben Marks <EcoBen@no.address>]

Wayne and List:

The bill also requires the government to come up with regulations to
reduce the amount of energy used by emergency exit signs in buildings,
traffic signals, ceiling fans, vending machinesm and commercial
refrigerators and freezers.

Here is a writeup based on research of energy efficiency and Product
Standards.

Traffic signals which used LED (light emitting diode) lights reduce energy
use by about 90 percent over current incandescent bulbs.  LED lights operate
for many years and as they age, they simply get dimmer until replaced, thus
avoiding the safety problems that develop when an incandescent bulbs may
cause when a traffic light burns out.  There is an ENERGY STAR®
specification and California is making it a state standard.  This would have
the greatest impact on red and green lights, since they account for the vast
majority of traffic light energy use and have a simple payback of 1 ? 4
years.

Exit signs typically use incandescent bulbs of 40 watts and since they are
continually illuminated, typically cost around $30 per year to operate.  New
designs use LEDs and consume about 3 watts.  This reduction of 90 percent
energy use has a simple payback period of generally less than two years.
LED signs require less frequent maintenance resulting in additional cost
savings.  The ENERGY STAR® specification has been adopted as a mandatory
minimum performance standard in the state of California.

While federal standards address residential refrigerators and freezers, the
larger commercial units used in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other
commercial applications have not been addressed by the Department of Energy
(DOE) as of yet.  Minimum efficiency standards would reduce energy usage by
about half over the average product on the market today.

Ceiling fans may help occupants to feel more comfortable but these fans
typically have inefficient motors and blade design, not to mention
inefficient lighting systems.  A major manufacturer recently introduced a
more efficient design that reduces energy use by 40 percent.  The
incremental cost of this efficient model is roughly $20 more with a simple
consumer payback of 3.5 years.  ENERGY STAR® launched a program for
residential ceiling fans that will require better blade/motor designs and
more efficient lighting.

Vending machines are typically placed by a company in a variety of locations
at no cost to the property owner.  There is little incentive on the machine
owner to purchase efficient machines for the property owner who has to pay
the electricity bill.  However, a recent study for DOE estimated that about
50 percent of the energy use could be reduced using options that would
enable an average simple payback of 2.4 ? 3.2 years.

Product standards are but one aspect of an energy efficiency menu that
utilities and governments should consider in addition to renewable portfolio
standards, net metering, green building incentives, and municipal bonding
for renewables usage.

Hope this helps.

Ben Marks


Wayne Turner wrote:

> Greenyes,
>
> Can anyone tell me how the lawmakers came up with the punch list of
> items to regulate as detailed in paragraph seven (7) below.  At first
> blush, these items don't appear to be huge electrical energy consumers,
> relatively speaking.  Is it because most of the items are 'on' nearly
> 100% of the time?  You'd think there were many more energy intense
> devices out there with much more conservation potential.
>
> Wayne Turner
> City/County Utilities
> Winston-Salem, NC
> 336.747-7320
> waynet@no.address
>
> ***********************************
>
> U.S. House panel mulls energy bill, ANWR vote set
>
> 02 April 2003
> By Tom Doggett, Reuters
>
> WASHINGTON ? The House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday moved
> forward with legislation to implement parts of the Bush administration's
> national energy plan, and a separate House panel was poised to approve
> the president's request to open an Alaskan refuge to oil drilling.
>
> Republican lawmakers are hoping to send the White House the first
> comprehensive energy bill in 11 years. Updating U.S. energy policy has
> taken on more urgency since the start of the war with Iraq.
>
> "This legislation is absolutely critical in securing our national
> security (and) may be the most important bill Congress considers this
> year," said Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin, who chairs the energy and
> commerce panel.
>
> Many Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups argue the
> legislation favors energy firms and doesn't do enough to implement
> energy conservation measures.
>
> "This bill tips the balance in favor of the industry," said Rep. John
> Dingell, the top Democrat on the panel.
>
> The committee Tuesday debated and voted on sections of a massive energy
> bill that Tauzin is shepherding through the House. The panel's first
> action was to clear the legislation's energy conservation title, which
> calls for rebates to consumers who buy energy efficient appliances.
>
> The bill also requires the government to come up with regulations to
> reduce the amount of energy used by emergency exit signs in buildings,
> traffic signals, ceiling fans, vending machinesm and commercial
> refrigerators and freezers.
>
> Other sections of the bill would double the production of
> ethanol-blended gasoline, authorize a pipeline to ship Alaskan natural
> gas to the lower 48 states, increase the reliability of the U.S.
> electric grid, implement President Bush's hydrogen-powered car program,
> and expand the size of the U.S. emergency oil stockpile by 43 percent to
> 1 billion barrels.
>
> NO BOOST IN VEHICLE FUEL ECONOMY
>
> Noticeably absent from the House bill is language to increase the fuel
> economy standards for automobiles and gas-guzzling sport utility
> vehicles.
>
> The committee voted 31 to 18 against an amendment from Democratic Rep.
> Henry Waxman of California to slash U.S. oil consumption by 2010 by
> 600,000 barrels per day, the average amount of oil the United States
> imported from Iraq during the last five years.
>
> The U.S. market consumes about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum
> products a day, with 60 percent from imports.
>
> The energy and commerce committee will continue debating the energy
> bill on Wednesday, when panel members are expected to spend a large part
> of the day reviewing the legislation's electricity provisions.
>
> Also missing from the bill is the centerpiece of the Bush
> administration's national energy plan: drilling for oil in the Arctic
> National Wildlife Refuge.
>
> That issue will be taken up Wednesday by the House Resources Committee,
> which is scheduled to vote on legislation allowing oil exploration in
> the Arctic refuge. The ANWR drilling legislation will be folded into the
> House's broader energy bill. The Senate last month voted against giving
> oil companies access to the refuge.
>
> The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee said he won't include ANWR
> drilling language in the energy bill his panel will begin debating next
> week. Nonetheless, Senate Republicans are expected to try to modify to
> the bill in the committee to open the refuge.
>
> The Bush administration wants to tap ANWR's potential 16 billion
> barrels of oil to help reduce dependence on foreign crude imports.
>
> The Senate Finance Committee is also set to vote Wednesday on a package
> of $16 billion in energy tax incentives that will eventually be folded
> into the Senate's comprehensive energy bill.
>
> The finance panel's legislation would extend a wind energy production
> tax credit to 2007, provide tax credits to small oil and natural gas
> producers when energy prices are low, and extend the ethanol tax credit
> to small cooperative producers.
>
> The full Senate and House are expected to vote on their respective
> energy bills later this spring. If approved, the differences in each
> measure will have to be hammered out by lawmakers and again be voted on
> by each chamber before final legislation can be sent to the president
> for his signature.
>
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