Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards (2021) / Chapter Skim
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5 Consideration of Alternatives to a National Standards Program
5 Consideration of Alternatives to a National Standards Program
Pages 98-110
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From page 98... ...
prepares RIAs for its energy and water conservation standards, and the latter are referred to as the National Standards Program in the context of the RIA. This chapter considers the RIAs as they appeared in the Technical Support Documents for the three rulemakings the committee was asked to evaluate (i.e., residential dishwashers, commercial refrigeration equipment [CRE]
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BOX 5.1 Alternatives to National Standards Evaluated in the Regulatory Impact Analysis No New Regulatory Action Consumer Rebates Consumer Tax Credits Manufacturer Tax Credits Voluntary Energy Efficiency Targets Bulk Government Purchases SOURCE: DOE 2014a, Chapter 17, 2014b, 2016. ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT The built environment is the building or system that the appliance and equipment performance standards can influence.
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Chapter 6 outlines a possible path aimed at including digital communications and sensors that could address this opportunity. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DOE's RIAs consider the impact of several alternatives to the National Standards Program intended to modify consumer behavior to enhance energy efficiency, including consumer rebates and consumer tax credits (see Box 5.1)
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Consumer Preferences and Behavior Data on Consumer Preference and Behavior To improve the existing National Standards Program's effectiveness or to evaluate alternative approaches, energy efficiency planners need to understand which consumers' needs are most critical in the energy purchase decision and how to meet those needs. There are data available on behavior related to 6 Prior to the 1970s, utilities tried to change load curves through so-called "Load Management" programs that included direct load control and time of use pricing, but, notwithstanding the pricing strategy, were not thought of as attempting to modify consumer behavior.
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Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) and Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS)
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Consumer education is the most basic of the DSM methods available, and can: Inform customers about products/services offered and their benefits, and influence customer decisions in purchasing and operating these appliances; Increase the perceived value of energy-efficient technology and services; Inform consumers of the eligibility requirements for participation in programs offered by electric utilities, government agencies or others; Increase the consumer's knowledge of factors influencing energy purchase decisions, leading to a better understanding of energy efficiency elements. This could include knowledge of various electric utility tariffs, awareness of trade ally groups, and a broader understanding of technologies; Provide consumers other information of general interest; and Improve relations between consumers, energy suppliers, trade allies, and government entities.
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Direct incentives are used in numerous demand-side management programs to encourage customer participation. Indirect incentives include tax credits from taxing municipalities and those from state or federal agencies.
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In this sense it could be seen as a complementary effort to the Appliance and Equipment Standards Program. APPLIANCE AND EQUIPMENT STANDARDS AND ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION Changing the time, pattern, and amount of energy demand on the electric power generation and delivery system has numerous impacts.
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Key trade ally groups in energy efficiency include home builders and contractors, local and national chapters of professional societies (e.g., the U.S. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, the U.S.
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Such tariffs can be combined with other strategies (such as direct incentives) to achieve electric utility DSM goals like adopting energy efficient appliances.
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are perhaps considered the most comprehensive policy alternative to a standards program. If the market failure associated with a product is externalities associated with energy use, then a pollution tax or cap-and-trade program can internalize that market failure by providing consumers with efficient price signals.
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CONCLUSION The RIA could include a more complete survey of the alternatives to the National Standards Program. The RIAs reviewed by the committee already include some of the more prominent examples of alternatives already in deployment.
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Peak Load Management Alliance.
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