It’s been almost three years in the making, including numerous stakeholder workshops and meetings, and today the CEC commissioners unanimously voted to amend the state’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations (Title 20) to include tighter energy efficiency standards for televisions.
According to the CEC, home energy use due to flat panel TV technology has grown from 3% to 10% of the total. This standard hopes to reverse the trend; new televisions sold in California after January 1, 2011, will consume 33% less electricity and 49% less by January 2013. Pacific Gas & Electric estimates that the standard will result in CO2 emissions being reduced by three million metric tons over a decade.
Today’s vote was originally scheduled to occur two weeks ago, but a last minute submittal of comments arguing against adoption of the mandatory standard from the Consumer Electronics Association prompted the CEC to postpone until the comments could be properly responded to.
While this is the first TV efficiency standard in the nation, Commissioner Julia Levin made it clear in today’s meeting that if the federal government decides some time in the future to develop a national television standard, it would pre-empt any state standard.
But if history repeats itself, any future U.S. federal TV standard could look a lot like the standard adopted today in Sacramento.
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Governor Schwarzenegger is shooting himself in the foot!
1. Taxation is better for everyone, if energy really needs to be saved.
TV set taxation based on energy efficiency – unlike bans – gives Governor Schwarzenegger’s impoverished California Government income on the reduced sales, while consumers keep choice.
This also applies generally,
to CARS (with emission tax or gas tax), BUILDINGS, DISHWASHERS, LIGHT BULBS etc,
where politicians instead keep trying to define what people can or can’t use.
Politicians can use the tax money raised to fund home insulation schemes, renewable projects etc that lower energy use and emissions more than remaining product use raises them.
Also, the energy efficient products can have their sales taxes lowered.
2. Product regulation, bans or taxation, are however unwarranted:
Where there is a problem – deal with the problem!
Energy: there is no energy shortage
(given renewable/nuclear development possibilities, with set emission limits)
and consumers – not politicians – pay for energy and how they wish to use it.
It might sound great to
“Let everyone save money by only allowing energy efficient products”
However:
Inefficient products that use more energy can have performance, appearance and construction advantages
Examples (using cars, buildings, dishwashers, TV sets, light bulbs etc):
http://ceolas.net/#cc211x
For example, big plasma TV screens have image contrast and other advantages along with the bigger image sizes.
Products using more energy usually cost less, or they’d be more energy efficient already.
Depending on how much they are used, there might therefore not be any running cost savings either.
Other factors contribute to a lack of savings:
If households use less energy,
then utility companies make less money,
and will just raise electricity prices to cover their costs.
So people don’t save as much money as they thought.
Conversely,
energy efficiency in effect means cheaper energy,
so people just leave TV sets etc on more, knowing that energy bills are lower,
as also shown by Scottish and Cambridge research
http://ceolas.net/#cc214x
Either way, supposed energy – or money – savings aren’t there.
———————-
Why energy efficiency regulations are wrong,
whether you are for or against energy and emission conservation
http://ceolas.net/#cc2x
Summary
Politicians don’t object to energy efficiency as it sounds too good to be true. It is.
–The Consumer Side
Product Performance — Construction and Appearance
Price Increase — Lack of Actual Savings: Money, Energy or Emissions. Choice and Quality affected
– The Manufacturer Side
Meeting Consumer Demand — Green Technology — Green Marketing
–The Energy Side
Energy Supply — Energy Security — Cars and Oil Dependence
–The Emission Side
Buildings — Industry — Power Stations — Light Bulbs
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