California's New Appliance Efficiency Standards
by TreeHugger on 01. 6.05
California—the U.S.’s apparent star environmental state—has set yet another precedent that will hopefully become a trend nationwide. The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently approved new regulations that will require appliances sold in the state to be the most energy-efficient in the nation. Regulations placed on various items, including incandescent lamps and audio and video equipment, are expected to save 100 megawatts of load growth each year as consumers start buying the new appliances. The regulations will go into effect beginning in January of next year...
Appliances such as answering machines and others that draw major energy via phantom loads (i.e. they draw energy even when they are in standby mode), can use up to 15 times more energy than equivalent energy-efficient models; new regulations will require the devices to draw much less energy. Another goal is to standardize energy-saving features, such as the “sleep” mode of a computer, in order to make them be all they can be. Via ::Sustainable Business [by MO]
