Since 1980, U.S. energy efficiency investments have prevented a 60% increase in energy consumption and carbon emissions, according to the Energy Efficiency Impact Report. The report - compiled by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Alliance to Save Energy, and The Business Council for Sustainable Energy in partnership with a number of energy organizations, including the U.S. Green Building Council - examines the impact of energy efficiency policies and other tools on overall energy use over a number of sectors, including the built environment.
According to the report’s findings, investments in energy efficiency account for half of the carbon dioxide emissions reductions in the power sector since 2005. Today, energy efficiency programs and industries employ an estimated 2.3 million Americans, or 40% of the entire energy sector. Almost three-fourths of these workers are employed by small businesses.
Six policy initiatives in particular – fuel economy standards, appliance and equipment standards, ENERGY STAR, utility sector efficiency programs, building energy codes, and federal research and development – have saved an estimated 25 quadrillion BTUs of energy in 2017 alone, or the equivalent of 23% of U.S. energy use.
The evolution of model building energy codes has reduced covered energy use in buildings by more than 40% since 1980, and are expected to save $126 billion in energy costs and 12 quads of primary energy use between 2010 and 2040. In the residential built environment, energy use per household has fallen by approximately 16% between 2001 and 2018.
Home appliances and equipment have become more energy-efficient since 1980, owing to changes in federal standards and the introduction of the ENERGY STAR program. Today’s average refrigerator uses only two-fifths of the energy required to run an average refrigerator in 1980, while the average clothes washer uses only one-fifth of the energy required for an average washer in 1990.
According to the report’s projections, energy efficient practices could create as much as a 50% reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 if their full potential is realized. However, the report notes that these trends are “beginning to waver in some areas.” U.S. energy efficiency investment has fallen by 18% between 2016 and 2018, and efforts to roll back or cut funding to energy efficiency programs, including ENERGY STAR, have surfaced at the federal level.
In response to this information, the report advises that “regaining momentum” is critical to economic and environmental leadership in the U.S. “Given the accelerating urgency of climate change and the race to improve U.S. productivity and competitiveness in a quickly evolving international market,” the report entreats, “we need to fully capitalize on the expansive, diverse, affordable, and innovative energy efficiency toolkit.”
Click here to view the full Energy Efficiency Impact Report.
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the report belongs to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Alliance to Save Energy, and The Business Council for Sustainable Energy. The U.S. Green Building Council is a supporting partner on the report. We regret the error.
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