Estimates of consumer electronics electricity use in typical U.S. households range from 11 to 13 percent, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) respectively. EPA predicts this percentage will increase to 18 by 2015. With the adoption of a new Consumer Electronics Initiative in June, CEE is poised to help members address this area.

“The Initiative has two goals,” said Rebecca Foster, CEE Senior Program Manager. “To encourage and support member efforts to increase the efficiency of consumer electronics and to develop a consistent definition of energy efficiency in the market.” CEE plans to work with the ENERGY STAR^® program extensively on the second goal.

Activities
In order to achieve these goals, CEE plans to undertake the following five activities:

Working with ENERGY STAR. By convening members to develop consensus comments on ENERGY STAR specification revisions, CEE hopes to ensure that the program meets members' needs. Through this activity, CEE expects to improve the relative value and meaning of ENERGY STAR in the consumer electronics market and ultimately increase the market penetration of qualified products. Working with members to provide consumer education. Helping members coordinate these efforts will lead to a more consistent national message and greater impact. CEE also plans to inform members of educational activities of other stakeholders, such as the CEA. In their comments on the proposed initiative, CEA noted, "This is one of the biggest opportunities in this Initiative. There seems to be a lack of coordination and consistent messaging among state energy offices and utilities in providing current and helpful information to consumers and highlighting the importance of ENERGY STAR in addressing energy efficiency in the consumer electronics marketplace."

Developing program guideline documents. These documents will identify program opportunities and approaches for members. They may include upstream incentives and the development of product efficiency specifications above ENERGY STAR levels. This activity will enable members to share ideas and experiences, while also educating industry and other stakeholders on efficiency program priorities and approaches.

Building relationships with industry. CEE will communicate program activities, priorities, and goals to the consumer electronics industry. Since June 2006, CEE has routinely communicated with CEA and plans to include individual consumer electronics manufacturers in future outreach activities.

Other Initiative support based on member needs. This may include conducting market research, developing new efficiency specifications, monitoring electronics news and events, and/or creating program summaries. Such activities will keep members up-to-date about this product area, helping inform program decisions.

Focal areas
Because televisions are among the largest users of electricity in the electronics category, they are one of three initial products targeted by the Initiative. CEE plans to educate members on the various television technologies (e.g., CRT, LCD, plasma, etc.), bring them together to comment on ENERGY STAR specifications, and help them develop appropriate program approaches.

Like televisions, set-top boxes (STBs) also are relatively large energy consumers. CEE expects to convene members to comment on the current ENERGY STAR specification revision and, after it is complete, lead discussions on program approaches.

Computers—particularly when combined with the various devices operating in conjunction with them like monitors, routers, modems, printers, and fax machines—consume a similar amount of energy to televisions and STBs. CEE expects to work with members to collectively understand the rationale and promotional strategies for the new ENERGY STAR computer specification, which became effective on July 20, 2007.

In addition to these three product areas, CEE has identified several other efficiency opportunities, including improving the efficiency of two component areas—internal and external power supplies—and reducing standby power use. Further, CEE has noted several trends such as home networking, power management, and electronics recycling that it will consider in its work.

Initiative efforts will be supported by the Consumer Electronics Committee, which will serve as a forum for sharing lessons learned about energy-efficient consumer electronics promotion and refining the initiative and suggesting changes. The Committee recently met to develop comments on draft ENERGY STAR television and STB specifications, and will re-convene in the coming months to continue work on these topics. If you would like to join the Committee, please contact Rebecca Foster or Margie Lynch.

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