Earthjustice and a coalition of energy efficiency advocates and motor manufacturers are recommending stronger new efficiency standards for the types of electric motors used in commercial and industrial applications. (Image of conveyor via Shutterstock)

If you say the word “motor” to most people, they would probably think first of the motor in their car. Many people understandably take a great interest in the gasoline or diesel engine that gets them around. But while amateur mechanics across the country may spend their weekends fussing over these motors, I’ve yet to see grease-covered enthusiasts gathered in a garage discussing the horsepower of their washing machines.

Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric motors consume more than half of all electricity used in the U.S. each year. These motors are embedded in seemingly everything, from the tiny cooling fans in laptop computers, to the larger motors that drive household refrigerators and air-conditioners, and the much larger motors running conveyor belts in factories.

Improving the energy efficiency of these motors can have huge benefits by reducing the demand for electricity and the air pollution from power plants.

You probably pass by them all the time on the street without giving them a second glance: those gray cylinders on telephone poles. They are called distribution transformers -- and they are a crucial component of the electric grid. They serve to reduce the high voltage used in distribution lines to the lower voltages we use in our homes, offices and businesses.

Earthjustice has worked for several years to strengthen efficiency standards for these units because the inefficient models waste a huge amount of energy. In 2007, along with Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and several states, we sued the Department of Energy to force improvements to weak standards adopted under President Bush. When DOE settled that case with us in 2009 and agreed to release revised standards, we had high hopes that President Obama’s professed commitment to energy efficiency would translate into strong new standards. But yesterday, DOE released dismally weak new standards that pass up the cost-effective energy savings that DOE’s own analysis shows that stronger standards would deliver.

(Updated 7/20)

This week, the Department of Energy announced new energy efficiency standards for all low-rise residential buildings (like houses, row-houses and small apartments) and commercial buildings. This means all states will need to review and make a determination about their residential building codes by July 2013.  DOE also committed to update the baseline standards for federal buildings that reference these codes.

This is no small matter. DOE last reviewed model energy codes more than a decade ago. During that time, the building industry achieved major improvements in energy-efficient design and construction. These improvements are demonstrated in the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code for residential buildings, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) / Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standards 90.1–2007 and 2010 for commercial buildings. But, many Americans are still waiting for their states to update their building codes to capture the significant energy savings available.

On Monday, the House of Representatives will consider legislation authored by Rep. Joe Barton to repeal federal energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, set to take effect next year. The standards have the support of environmental groups, consumer advocates, and lighting manufacturers and will save energy, reduce household electric bills and spur investment in advanced lighting technologies. 

But facts are an outdated metric for assessing legislative policy choices. Instead, the push to repeal light bulb efficiency standards comes wrapped in beliefs and feelings.