Federal Appliance Standards Should be the Floor, Not the Ceiling: Strategies for Innovative State Codes & Standards Alex Chase

Roughly eighty percent of U.S. building energy consumption is associated with end-uses covered by federal appliance standards that preempt states from adopting more efficacious standards. In the past twenty-five years, federal standards have achieved significant benefits; however, given the energy and climate challenges that we face today, federal standards often fall short on delivering the most cost-effective savings. Furthermore, despite recent adoptions, the Department of Energy’s history of rulemaking delays exacerbates the missed opportunity. Federal appliance standards also limit states or local governments from adopting innovated building codes (or “green codes”) that take us closer to reaching zero-net energy building goals. The most often stated reason for federal preemption is that it avoids an unworkable fifty-state patchwork of standards. This paper challenges that conclusion and outlines sensible strategies for modifying preemption law in ways that foster innovation and fuel energy efficiency. We present a detailed assessment of all major federal appliance standards and the incremental savings that could be achieved if more flexibility were integrated into the preemption law to allow regional optimization. We also outline how building codes could be simplified and made more effective with some changes to the preemption law. We then suggest policy changes that could lead to a more synergistic relationship between the federal government and states in the standards setting arena. These solutions would allow states or regions to innovate while also minimizing—or effectively avoiding—the “patchwork ” concern