Changes Announced for Air Conditioning Efficiency Standards

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that they’re coming out with new energy efficiency standards that will apply to both air conditioners and furnaces. This is touted as one of the biggest carbon-reduction measures the department has ever come out with.

According to the DOE, the new standards have the potential to save more energy than any standard they’ve ever issued. They said it could save businesses more than $166 billion a year on utility bills, and could also reduce carbon emissions by as much as 885 million metric tons.

These standards aren’t going to be effective until 2018 and they will require heating and cooling manufacturers to create products that are 13 percent more energy efficient than they require them to be today. Five years after that, in 2023, the standard will get tougher by 15 percent.

Officials at the DOE consulted with many organizations and manufacturers within the air conditioning industry. This is just the most recent efficiency rule they’ve released – in fact, they finalized standards for more than forty different commercial and consumer products.

No matter how you slice it, this recent announcement is without precedence. When you put together all the forty previous regulations, emissions will be cut by 2 billion metric tons come 2030. This single standard will cut them by 885 million metric tons in the next 30 years.

Ernest Moniz, the Energy Secretary, went to a global climate change summit in Paris and said that this rule is going to contribute to the commitments America has made under the newest international climate agreement.

This is the largest energy saving standard in history and it’s designed to show that America is serious about leading the effort to lower utility costs and to cut carbon emissions. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the rule is a promise sign.

How will this affect consumers? Only time will tell, but at AC-World we expect there won’t be much of a cost difference for you in the long run – except that an energy efficient air conditioning system means you’ll pay less in utilities. You’re already reducing your energy and carbon use by choosing a ductless air conditioner. These standards will take it a step further.