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Feature
Energy programs around the globe
Many countries are implementing various programs to improve energy efficiency.
By Arnold Alderman, Anagenesis Inc -- EDN, 11/9/2006
The EUCOC (European Union Code of Conduct) has established mandatory standby-power-consumption standards in cooperation with Energy Star, NRDC (National Resources Defense Council), and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). The EUCOC standard is the most aggressive standard established to date. The EU is now working on internal-power-supply standards. Even though Europe has constructed more new power plants than the United States in recent years, it continues to be aggressive with its efficiency and alternative-energy programs.
The CECP (China Energy Conservation Project) has a large energy-conservation-certification program. Both the CEC (California Energy Commission) and Energy Star used an extensive amount of CECP's test data to establish the power-supply-efficiency standards. CECP has a 3W standby-power standard for TVs.
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South Korea's Energy Saving Office Equipment and Home Electronics Program is another voluntary-label program but with preferential government purchasing attached. It's a partnership between manufacturers and the Korean government's KEMCO (Korea Energy Management Corp).
Japan bases standards on the sales-weighted average efficiency of each manufacturer's shipment. The advantage of this approach is its flexibility. It leaves more freedom to manufacturers to adapt to the new regulation. They are free to keep energy-consuming equipment on the market, but they must stimulate purchase of more energy-efficient equipment to meet the sales-weighted average-efficiency target. The drawback of this approach is in the higher cost of the control process. Japan first introduced appliance energy-efficiency standards in 1979 as a reaction to the oil crisis under the Energy Conservation Law. Refrigerators and household air conditioners were the first appliances to meet the energy-performance standards. In 1984, the program discontinued standards for refrigerators, because all manufacturers had exceeded efficiency targets. In 1994, the standard incorporated guidelines for new appliances, including fluorescent lamps, televisions, heat pumps, copiers, and computers.
Australia is basically a "user" country, making its approach to efficiency standards interesting. Recently, the MCE (Ministerial Council on Energy) resolved to expand its commitment in reducing excessive standby usage. It will accomplish this feat by formulating a set of coordinated product-specific plans that will address excessive standby over the next 10 years, using the IEA (International Energy Agency) One Watt Initiative as a model. The country's new Top-Runner Program sets the standards according to the efficiency level of the most efficient product available in a given category. For each manufacturer, the weighted average efficiency of all units shipped within a category must meet the standards for that category.
Author's biography
Arnold Alderman is the agency liaison for the PSMA (Power Sources Manufacturers Association) Energy Efficiency Committee.
