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Letter Report
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From page 1... ... , the committee adopted a broad view of its mandate, taking into account concerns about energy consumption's impact on national security, the environment, and climate change. Currently DOE rulemaking for appliance energy efficiency is based on site measurement of energy consumption to set efficiency standards and extended site measures of energy consumption to assess national energy consumption and environmental impact. Read the entire page →
From page 2... ... Dally, Chair Committee on Point-of-Use and Full-Fuel-Cycle Measurement Approaches to Energy Efficiency Standards 2 Read the entire page →
From page 3... ... Since Congress passed the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975, DOE has established several standards that have led to improved energy efficiency for light bulbs; appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, storage water heaters, and furnaces; and motors and other devices. As a result, consumption of electricity, natural gas, heating oil, and other forms of energy has been reduced for each unit of service an appliance provides (NRC, 3 Read the entire page →
From page 4... ... For example, the energy efficiency of a storage water heater is defined as a measure of the energy contained in a specified amount of hot water produced per unit of energy consumed at the site of the water heater over a typical day. Some analysts, however, question whether site measurements of energy consumption give a complete picture of overall energy use (see, for example, GARD Analytics, 2005) Read the entire page →
From page 5... ... Although the committee was briefed on the NEMS model, time was not sufficient to examine the capability of such models in depth. In exploring measures of energy consumption and how they serve the goals of energy conservation standards central to DOE/EERE's appliance standards program, the committee examined all the criteria DOE/EERE considers in setting energy-efficiency standards. Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... • Full-fuel-cycle measure of energy consumption includes, in addition to site energy use, the energy consumed in the extraction, processing, and transport of primary fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas; energy losses in thermal combustion in power-generation plants; and energy losses in transmission and distribution to homes and commercial buildings.2 The committee also noted that extended site energy consumption⎯which is used by DOE/EERE for assessing the impact of energy use on the economy, energy security, and environmental quality⎯includes the energy used in generating and distributing electricity, natural gas, or oil in addition to the energy used by the appliance at the site. But unlike the fullfuel-cycle measure, the extended site measure of energy consumption does not include the energy consumed in extracting, processing, and transporting primary fuels. Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... Its estimates of extended site energy consumption, which are used, as noted above, in preparing national impact and environmental impact analyses (Meyers et al., 2003) , understate the total energy consumed to make an appliance operational at a site. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... Providing more comparable ratings would help toward making more complete information on energy consumption available to contractors, builders, and homeowners. For storage water heaters, the metric for energy efficiency could still be called the Energy Factor but could be calculated using extended site energy consumption rather than site consumption until estimates of full-fuel-cycle energy consumption become available. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... The impact on participation by the public could be mitigated if DOE/EERE were to develop a suitable method for converting site energy measures of consumption to full-fuel-cycle measures of energy consumption, similar to the conversion factor currently used in calculating extended site energy from site energy. Labeling Programs The committee heard presentations from representatives of DOE/EERE, the Federal Trade Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations that relate to the content on and the format of labels affixed to appliances that give the consumer information on appliance efficiency and operating costs. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... Finding 1: The data on site energy consumption that are generated in and available to the DOE/EERE appliance standards program are sufficiently accurate for the purpose of setting appliance operational efficiency requirements. However, environmental concerns, particularly with respect to climate change, are playing an increasing role in national discussions of energy use, and broad national impacts of energy consumption should be a specific criterion in DOE/EERE rulemaking. Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... The current practice of establishing energy efficiency requirements for appliances based on fuel type appropriately recognizes the need to allow for differences in fuel availability and consumer choice. Finding 4: Using current efficiency ratings to compare appliances that have the same purpose but use different fuels (such as water heaters fired by gas or electricity) Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... Recommendation 3: For appliances for which there is a choice of fuel, such as storage water heaters and heating equipment, efficiency ratings should be calculated using the extended site measure of energy consumption until DOE/EERE can consider and complete a transition to the use of the full-fuel-cycle measure of energy consumption.7 Recommendation 4: DOE/EERE should make available and easily accessible all data used in developing energy efficiency standards for appliances. These data, which include results of analyses, assumptions used as input, performance requirements, and other information used in developing efficiency standards, should be available in an open-standard, machine-readable format. Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... federal energy efficiency standards for residential appliances. Energy 1(8) Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... NOTE This letter report was reviewed in draft form by the following individuals, chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee: Dell K Allen (NAE) Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... Archer, Committee Member Attachment I: Minority Opinion of Ellen Berman, Committee Member 15 Read the entire page →

From page 1...

... , the committee adopted a broad view of its mandate, taking into account concerns about energy consumption's impact on national security, the environment, and climate change. Currently DOE rulemaking for appliance energy efficiency is based on site measurement of energy consumption to set efficiency standards and extended site measures of energy consumption to assess national energy consumption and environmental impact.

Letter Report Pages 1-15

Letter Report
Pages 1-15