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DOE Raises the Bar for Room Air Conditioning Appliances

By Rick Laezman | Apr 6, 2023
Image by Paul Robinson, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
In March 2023, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy finalized new energy efficiency standards for portable air cleaners and room air conditioners, commonly referred to as window air conditioners.

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In the pursuit of greater energy efficiency, all aspects of building energy consumption are getting a closer look.

In March 2023, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy finalized new energy efficiency standards for portable air cleaners and room air conditioners, commonly referred to as window air conditioners.

It’s not the first time the agency has required the appliances to be more efficient; it has raised the standards for room air conditioners three times since 1990, and according to the DOE, those increased standards have gradually and consistently improved efficiency. The Department reports that over the 33-year period, new room air conditioners have reduced their energy consumption by 39%.

The new rules will ensure that the affected appliances will continue on that trajectory. The standards apply a combined energy-efficiency ratio (CEER) between 13.1 and 15.3, depending on the unit class. The CEER is a measurement adopted by the DOE in 2014 that expresses the amount of cooling provided per amount of energy consumed, as measured in British thermal units per watt-hour.

The range of 13–15 is at the top of the scale. Consumers will stand to benefit, and the DOE expects the new standards to save American households approximately $1.5 billion per year, and a total of more than $25 billion on their electricity bills over a 30-year period.

The DOE also measures the cost savings as a result of the new standards in other ways. For example, the average life cycle cost savings ranges from $65 to $284, depending on the class of room air conditioners. The simple payback period ranges from 0.8 to 4 years, also depending on the class. This range is significantly less than the average lifetime of room air conditioners of 9.3 years.

The new standards will go into effect in 2024 for air cleaners and 2026 for room air conditioners.

About The Author

LAEZMAN is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer who has been covering renewable power for more than 10 years. He may be reached at [email protected]

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