ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the appliance standards adopted in California, and also reviews the California Energy Commission's standards for buildings and load management. The California Energy Commission is required to prescribe minimum operating efficiency standards for appliances that the Commission determines use significant amounts of energy on a statewide basis. Efficiency standards usually result in higher initial costs for buildings and appliances. Adopting and implementing efficiency standards is a process that is constantly occurring as a result of changes in technology and improved knowledge of how these technologies perform in the real world. The forecasted savings from California's efficiency standards offset a significant portion of the expected growth in future energy needs for the state. The market imperfections are the same ones that led to US Congress to mandate that the US Dept. of Energy develop minimum efficiency standards for 13 home appliances in the Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978.