WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) rollback of national standards for residential central air conditioners is a lose-lose proposition, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). "It will cost consumers $1 billion annually in higher energy bills, increase emissions of carbon by 2.5 million metric tons per year, and force the construction of 48 new power plants by 2020," said Steven Nadel, ACEEE's Executive Director. The standard was set at a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of 13 in January 2001; the Administration's action rolls the level back to SEER 12. (The prevailing standard has been SEER 10.) "Since the average air conditioner sold today is almost SEER 11, the rollback eliminates almost half of the savings in energy, dollars, and pollution that would flow from the SEER 13 rule. Moreover, using lower-efficiency air conditioners increases the risk of blackouts," continued Nadel.

"DOE listened harder to industry claims than to real-world data and experience," said Bill Prindle, ACEEE's Deputy Director. "They chose to ignore compelling analysis showing that SEER 13 was a very cost-effective standard." The 2001 rule came out of a multi-year process to develop the SEER 13 rule. DOE's own analysis models show that SEER 13 produces lower overall life-cycle costs than SEER 12.

DOE's issuance of the rule is not the end of this story. The Department is being sued by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the states of California, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and others on the grounds that DOE does not have the authority to weaken energy efficiency standards and furthermore did not follow proper legal procedures in this action. NRDC re-filed its suit with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals this week.

Air conditioner manufacturers themselves are split on this issue. While the industry trade group, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, and some members opposed the SEER 13 rule, the second-largest U.S. air conditioner maker, Goodman, came out in favor of it. As Goodman pointed out in its testimony, the real cost of building SEER 13 equipment is very modest, and the switch does not require any technology changes. All manufacturers already make this kind of equipment, so there is no question of availability.

In listening to the interests of manufacturers, DOE ignored the comments of more than 15,000 individual citizens who urged the Department to keep the SEER 13 standard. In addition, more than 100 organizations including consumer, environmental, public health, and low-income advocacy groups urged that SEER 13 be retained. The Administration itself was divided on this issue: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed extensive comments vigorously supporting the SEER 13 rule.

"DOE's action also threatens the reliability of the power grid," noted Nadel. "It runs counter to the recent DOE study on national power system reliability, which specifically recommends energy efficiency as a means to reduce outage risks." Since higher-efficiency air conditioners reduce demand at critical peak times, they relieve the strain on power grids that can lead to blackouts and brownouts. This is a critical issue for grid-strained regions such as California and New York. The SEER 12 rule forces utilities to find another 14,500 megawatts of peak capacity-whose cost will be borne by consumers.

ACEEE's analysis shows that DOE and industry claims overestimate the future costs of air conditioners and underestimate the future price of electricity. Historical data shows that when the last air conditioner standard took effect in the early 1990s, there was no increase in consumer costs for these systems. On electricity prices, DOE relied on old data and did not take into account recent changes in the market, such as the fact that in the past year retail electricity rates on the West Coast rose by about a third on average. "When you check the facts, DOE's decision does not hold up. This was a triumph of politics over the public interest," concluded Prindle.

About ACEEE:The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection. Visit our home page at http://aceee.org.