Efficiency Saves: Cutting Energy Waste Can Save $31,000 per Household

The United States faces interlocking energy challenges: rising home energy bills and gasoline prices; new demand for electricity from data centers and other loads; high greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Now, a new era of energy efficiency progress in our buildings, transportation, and industry is needed to meet this moment. This wide-ranging study finds a massive opportunity.

Full Report Executive Summary Press Release

Energy efficiency improvements and demand flexibility measures completed between now and 2050 could:

Save about $4.8 trillion in energy and related costs, equivalent to almost $31,000 per household.

From electric efficiency measures alone, reduce peak electric demand by the output of 400+ large power plants.

Spur an additional 1 million net jobs per year, on average.

Reduce climate pollution by one-third by 2050.

Cut small particulate and other air pollution at scale to avert approximately 280,000 deaths.

Energy cost savings by year in real 2025 dollars from the set of energy efficiency and demand flexibility measures

Key opportunity areas

Buildings

Equipment efficiency

Reduce waste from new appliances, equipment, and lighting, including shifting from inefficient electric heating to heat pumps.

Zero-emission new buildings

Make new homes and commercial buildings more efficient so remaining energy needs can be met with clean electricity.

Existing building improvements

Improve insulation and air sealing and switch from fuels to heat pumps and other efficient electric equipment.

Industry

Industrial efficiency and electric heat

Reduce energy waste from industrial processes and use efficient electrical equipment for low- and medium-temperature heat.

Reduced industrial materials

Reduce the need for industrial materials and products through lower waste, efficient utilization, and longer lifetimes.

Transportation

Efficient and electric vehicles

Improve the efficiency of new cars, SUVs, trucks, and buses, including by running more of them on electric batteries.

Transportation system efficiency

Reduce the need for driving cars and trucks by improving the availability of and access to other transportation options.

Grid

Demand flexibility

Shift electricity demand away from times of high demand on power plants and the grid and toward times when abundant sun and wind power are available.

Research Report

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Suggested Citation

Ungar, Lowell, Matt Malinowski, Rachel Margolis, Peter Huether, Archibald Fraser, and Andrew Hoffmeister. 2026. Efficiency Saves: Cutting Energy Waste Can Save $31,000 per Household. Washington, DC: ACEEE. aceee.org/research-report/u2603.