Smart Electronics Act

How many consumer electronic devices do you have in your home or use on a daily basis? Electronic gadgets already account for about 15 percent of household electric consumption, and as these gadgets proliferate, their energy use continues to grow.

Something must be done

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2030, new electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption to 1,700 terawatt hours, the equivalent of the home electricity consumption of the US and Japan combined. According to the IEA, the international community will have to build over 15,000 wind turbines (or 200 nuclear power plants) to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home electronics expected to be plugged in by 2030. The electric bill to power all household electronics will top $200 billion a year, compared with last year’s bill of $80 billion. Most of this increase in consumer electronics will occur in developing countries, where economic growth is outpacing developed nations and ownership rates of gadgets are lowest.

This proliferation of electronic devices, if not made more energy efficient, will undermine efforts to increase energy security and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. The answer to this problem will not be found in stemming the tide of electronic gadget envy, because there is no way we will be able to do that. Instead, we must encourage the development of better devices that are built more efficiently and run on less energy.

Regulatory programs like Energy Star have already started improving our electronically dependent world.  Last year as a result of Energy Star, Americans saved $6,000,000,000 while also saving enough energy to power over 10,000,000 homes.  However, the Energy Star program as it is currently structured cannot solve the problem due to the limited number of devices it covers. In fact, it is estimated that the program currently misses the opportunity to deliver 20 to 50 percent more savings.

Bill Summary

I have introduced HR 2748, the Smart Electronics Act in an effort to combat this rising degree of energy dependence. I am also making efforts to use my position on the House Appropriations Committee to address this serious problem.

The bill would require the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report to Congress within a year on several key areas to ensure we achieve the clarity needed for industry to thrive. First, the DOE and EPA must assess the potential for energy efficient electronics to receive an Energy Star designation, a program that primarily applies to household appliances, and the potential savings accrued (e.g. cost, energy) through a specific

Importantly, this legislation helps us green the electronics industry by providing the private sector with reliable standards and incentives and by educating and empowering consumers to make smarter and more efficient choices – all of which help cool the planet. 

The bill defines smart electronics as devices that cooperate with the electrical grid to cut down on energy consumption. This minimization can be achieved through power-factor correction, utilizing stand-by options, communication and monitoring with the smart grid, taking advantage of off-peak charging and operation, on-demand and variable processing speed semiconductors, or switching to a lower power modes.