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USA Today
6 hours ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Battling summer heat wave? Tips to manage those AC costs
AC units can be lifesaving, but there are other tips to keep homes cool. Millions of Americans are facing hot, humid temperatures at the start of summer. Across the Midwest and Northeast, over 40 million Americans are under extreme heat watches on June 20. Some states could reach into the 100s with high humidity. New York and Washington, D.C., could see temperatures surpass 90 degrees for up to a week. For people with air-conditioning, window units and central air will be humming for days on end. While staying safe and staying cool is paramount, people must also balance their bills. Here are tips to efficiently cool homes at the start of a scorching summer. Hot and humid: Heat advisory for millions as 'dangerous' temperatures kick off summer What's the best temperature to set AC? The U.S. Department of Energy recommends keeping temperatures inside comfortable and at a level that controls for humidity. People should also try to lower the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures to help save money. Energy Star, an Environmental Protection Agency program promoting energy efficiency, recommends setting ACs to 78 degrees for comfort and efficiency when you wake up. Energy companies, including in Missouri, Maryland and Florida, recommend thermostats at 78 degrees during summer months. Few Americans follow this recommendation, though. A Consumer Reports survey in 2021 said people with central air set their median temperatures to 72 degrees. No respondents selected temperatures warmer than 76 degrees. When sleeping, ideally when outdoor temperatures drop, people can set temperatures 4 degrees warmer. Thermostats that are programmable can regulate these temperatures, according to Energy Star. Meanwhile, installing thermostats further from areas that receive cool or heat, like a window with an AC unit that takes in sunlight, can help regulate temperatures. What about when I'm away? The energy department says keeping a house warmer when you're away can avert unnecessary energy use. Energy Star recommends setting temperatures 7 degrees warmer when you're away from home. Just a 7- to 10-degree difference, for about eight hours each day, can save as much as 10% a year on cooling and heating costs, the energy department said. Other ways to stay cool Climate and AC More people are using air conditioning in the country, EPA data suggests. That's in part because we experience more hot days due to a warming climate. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Greta Cross, USA TODAY; Steven Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; Jordan Green, Memphis Commercial Appeal; Greg Giesen, Delaware News Journal; and Manahil Ahmad, The Bergen Record.
The Hill
a day ago
- Climate
- The Hill
What should your thermostat be set at during summer?
(NEXSTAR) – Millions of Americans are expected to find themselves in the midst of stifling heat and uncomfortably sticky humidity as a heat dome covers much of the eastern U.S. this weekend. This will be the first stretch of true summertime weather for many from the Midwest to the East Coast, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist at the private weather company AccuWeather. 'A lot of those folks have been saying, where's summer? Well, buckle up, because it's coming,' said Kines. The humid conditions will make places that exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit feel as much as 20 degrees hotter, said Kines. The heat could be particularly worrisome this weekend across wide stretches of Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, where forecasters are warning of extreme temperature impacts. That may inspire you to crank up your A/C, regardless of the bill it could leave you with later. There is, however, some advice that can help you stay cool without hurting your wallet too much. Recommendations from Energy Star, a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy, include turning up your thermostat at least 7°F when you're away or at least 4°F when you're asleep. Energy Star does not, however, offer an exact temperature suggestion, and has faced heat for appearing to do so in the past. The table below from an Energy Star report on energy-efficient heating and cooling published in 2009 has been pointed to as recommended temperature settings for the summer and winter months. Misreading the guide, it may seem that Energy Star is suggesting starting your day with the thermostat set at 78°F or higher, then turning it up at least 7°F during the day (to at least 85°), bringing it back down in the evening, and turning it up to 82°F before going to bed. Instead, the table is meant to serve as 'a starting point' that can be adjusted based on your schedule and needs, an Energy Star spokesperson explained to Nexstar last summer. You don't need to set your thermostat that high, but adjusting it by the 4°F and 7°F benchmarks in summer could help you save energy. Another part of the table that shouldn't be overlooked is the length of time for the settings. Energy Star recommends leaving your thermostat at 'energy-saving temperatures for long periods of time.' If you're going away for the weekend (or longer), it's better to leave your thermostat at 'a constant energy-saving temperature.' Energy Star has additional tips to help reduce energy costs, which include installing a smart thermostat, having your HVAC equipment checked yearly, and changing your air filter every month. You may also want to check your ceiling fan — an often-overlooked button could help you stay cooler and (with a raised thermostat temperature) lower the cost of air conditioning by up to 14%. A similarly forgotten button in your car may also help keep you cooler while saving you a few bucks while driving. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Atlantic
4 days ago
- Business
- Atlantic
America Still Needs Energy-Efficient Dishwashers
For most of the past half century, the arc of energy efficiency bent toward savings. Once Congress passed the nation's landmark energy-saving law, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, federal regulators routinely tightened the screws on how much electricity, heat, and water appliances could use. Modern air conditioners use about half the amount of power that room units did in the '80s. The latest washing machines require roughly 75 percent less water than their forebears. The refrigerator keeping your ever more costly eggs from spoiling now runs on one-fifth the electricity of models from the '70s. But as energy standards began to eat into machines' functionality and were drafted into the cause of limiting climate change, Americans' thinking about energy efficiency jumped to a different, more political plane. The Biden administration floated a first-of-its-kind standard for gas stoves that would have effectively banned sales of roughly half the models on the market. Its proposed guidelines for microwaves were so strict, manufacturers complained they might have to eliminate the numerical display that blinks the time. (The Biden administration ultimately backed off both proposals.) Now, under Donald Trump, the Energy Department is rescinding dozens of energy-efficiency rules—even the ones on which the Biden administration found compromise with industry. Congress could eliminate a federal tax credit for purchasing energy-efficient home improvements that millions of Americans are already using, and the administration looks poised to go after the Environmental Protection Agency's popular Energy Star program. The Biden administration justified its push for energy efficiency in part to save energy and in part to save money. Trump's rationale seems to be that these penny-pinching compromises should be unnecessary and soon will be: Producing more energy will lead to lower prices. But if Joe Biden's approach broke a certain kind of logic, so does Trump's. Electricity prices could easily keep rising. And the administration has other plans for any new energy production. Using up those precious electrons on washing dishes still might not make sense, or be cheap. Trump's long-running complaint about underperforming toilets and showerheads—an indication that some people's peak efficiency may be too efficient for others—does have some truth to it, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, at least. 'We can't keep on this path without harming performance,' Jill Notini, AHAM's vice president of communications and marketing, told me. 'If we further tighten these energy standards, it's going to come with a cost in the form of longer cycle times or fewer features or the degradation of performance.' At the same time, the appliance industry relies on the federal government to help streamline expectations. After the combination of COVID and wildfire made air purifiers a popular household appliance, for instance, nearly half a dozen states proposed their own standards to regulate the machines. Manufacturers petitioned the Biden administration to set nationwide standards. Yet those were among the 47 programs Trump's Energy Department has walked back, claiming to save Americans a combined $11 billion. The Energy Department told me Trump 'pledged to restore commonsense to our regulatory policies and lower costs for American consumers—that is exactly what these deregulatory actions do' by recognizing 'that consumer choice and market-driven innovation, not bureaucratic mandates, lead to better-performing and more affordable consumer products.' Ultimately, though, eliminating those standards would result in electrical bills nearly five times the cost of the savings, according to an analysis by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. And those bills could keep going up. Trump might have campaigned on slashing utility prices, and promised to 'drill, baby, drill' until fuel becomes so cheap that no one will mind less efficient appliances. But as president, he has also vowed to lead the United States to 'dominance' in energy and artificial intelligence. His campaign poetry now faces the prosaic work of policy prioritization. In this case, that means deciding which comes first: abundant power to lower prices or the expansion of exports and AI that will, in reality, increase demand for a supply of energy that's already low enough to keep prices high. To meet the export goals the Trump administration is setting, the country needs to direct more of the natural gas drilled in Texas and Pennsylvania to the coasts, where a growing number of export terminals can ship the fuel to buyers in Europe and Asia. Much of the domestic fuel that could, in theory, bring down electricity prices is destined to go abroad. And gas producers can't simply start producing more to meet demand at home. With the low global price of natural gas, drillers are struggling to maintain the existing number of rigs, never mind expanding business. Dominating in AI will also require diverting more electricity to power-thirsty data centers. Already, those computer servers have added $9.4 billion in costs for the nation's biggest grid, the PJM Interconnection, which stretches from Pennsylvania down to North Carolina and out to parts of Illinois. And demand is only growing. Meta, which owns Facebook, is building out a giant data complex in Louisiana that is poised to use more than twice as much electricity as the entire city of New Orleans uses at its summertime peak. Ratepayers are helping to subsidize this build-out for some of the most valuable publicly traded tech companies on Earth—and at a time when Americans are more behind on utility bills than ever recorded. Federal researchers forecast that average electricity rates would grow 13 percent from 2022 to 2025 and soar by as much as 26 percent in some regions during the same time period. In this future, conserving a little more energy may help temper that price spike. And there is room within conservative political thinking to, well, conserve. 'If you want an appliance with lower upfront costs that's a little less efficient with your energy, you should be able to make that choice,' Isaac Orr, the vice president of research at Always On Energy Research, a conservative think tank, told me. When he bought his home water-heating system recently, the electrician cautioned that the higher cost of the slightly more efficient model wouldn't pay for itself in any meaningful period of time, and could come with higher repair costs. (Orr chose the less efficient model.) The political right's issue, he said, is with energy efficiency programs that are prescriptive. 'I don't think it's a problem if it's descriptive,' Orr said—which is exactly how Energy Star works. The program is entirely voluntary: Third-party researchers at EPA-approved laboratories test all kinds of appliances, provide an objective assessment of their energy efficiency, and certify the machines with its logo. It is among the federal government's most successful forays into the consumer market. Surveys indicate that about 90 percent of American households recognize the label. Certifying the efficiency of thousands of appliances costs the EPA roughly $50 million a year, less than 1 percent of the agency's budget. But the program saves Americans an estimated $40 billion a year in utility costs. 'No other entity I can think of in the industry can serve the function the same way that a federal agency can, because Energy Star is fundamentally built on data,' Deb Cloutier, the founder of the sustainability firm RE Tech Advisors, told me. ' It's the equivalent of, say, can a private entity run the U.S. Census?' Cloutier was one of the original architects of the Energy Star program, but when I talked with Stephanie Grayson, she had a similar perspective. The start-up she co-founded, Cambio, makes an analytics software that helps building managers in commercial office towers and condos meet Energy Star standards and could, potentially, produce a privately held equivalent of Energy Star, at least for energy-efficient buildings. The company has already backed up a lot of the data from Energy Star, pledged not to take ownership of them, and made those data available to the public. 'The reality is, why do people use Energy Star? It's free. You're comfortable with your data rights and privacy and ownership. And it's relatively easy to use,' she told me, for both companies and consumers. Although the company is 'exploring more formal ways to take on the responsibility of Energy Star,' she said, 'we just hope it's not defunded.' Ending the EPA program risks balkanizing energy certifications that have almost ubiquitous acceptance. That's bad for manufacturers, who no longer have a universal benchmark for excellence for their products. It's bad for consumers, who face soaring utility bills. Imagine shopping for electricity-hungry appliances without a trusted watchdog that can cut through the kind of marketing language that's pervasive for other items—'fat free' soda, anyone? And, on a grander scale, it's bad for a nation striving to compete with China, the world's first electro-state, in a technological arms race. If the administration is really going to transform the heaving American electrical grid into a tight, muscular system, designed to supply the biggest period of power growth in a generation, a mindful energy diet can still help it meet its goals.
E&E News
12-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Businesses to lawmakers: Don't mess with Energy Star
Business groups are urging Congress to resist Trump administration efforts to privatize Energy Star, the efficiency program for home appliances and building materials. 'Clear legislative authorization backs ENERGY STAR as a voluntary public-private partnership run by the federal government,' more than 30 trade groups said Wednesday in a letter to lawmakers. 'We respectfully request that ENERGY STAR not be supplanted by non-governmental efforts that could significantly alter and overly complicate the program.' Led by the Real Estate Roundtable, the letter was signed by the National Association of Manufacturers; American Chemistry Council; Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers; Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute; and other groups. Advertisement The letter went to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) and ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito ( and ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Efficiency goals will drive 4% growth in HVAC insulation: report
This story was originally published on Facilities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Facilities Dive newsletter. The drive for improved building energy efficiency will help push 4% growth in the U.S. HVAC insulation market between now and 2030, to $2.5 billion, according to a summary of a Grand View Research report. Not included, though, is any analysis of how the federal government's shift away from energy efficiency as a policy goal will affect market demand. 'Stringent building codes and energy efficiency standards [are] driving demand for high-quality insulation products,' says the June 3 report. 'Policies promoting energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction encourage the adoption of advanced HVAC insulation materials. Additionally, fire safety regulations and environmental compliance requirements compel manufacturers to innovate and ensure their products meet rigorous safety and sustainability criteria.' Sustainability-minded consumers are another driver, according to the report. 'Growing awareness about thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and sustainability is encouraging [manufacturers to adopt] advanced insulation materials,' it says. The industry is benefitting from dollars flowing into infrastructure and other big projects, too. 'The retrofit of existing infrastructure and growth in new commercial and residential construction projects also contribute to the expanding market,' the report says. Manufacturers' efforts to grab market share through innovation is making the market bigger by giving customers reason to upgrade existing systems. 'Technological advancements, including the integration of smart insulation systems and the development of vapor barriers and acoustic insulation, are enhancing product offerings and supporting the market's steady growth trajectory,' the report says. These technological advances include the use of bio-based and recycled materials, low-density insulation products like aerogels and vacuum-insulated panels, according to the report. The market faces restraints from fluctuating raw material prices, though. Price volatility can increase production costs and impact profit margins, according to the report. High initial investment costs for advanced insulation technologies may also slow adoption, at least among smaller construction firms or for retrofit projects, the report says. A skilled labor shortage is impacting the industry, too, because it takes specialized knowledge to install high-tech insulation systems properly and in a way that complies with regulatory standards. Another constraint could be the federal government's disengagement from energy efficiency as a goal, but the report leaves that unaddressed. Among other things, the Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget request proposes the elimination of the Energy Star program, which underpins much of the investment in energy-efficient building systems and appliances, and paring back tax credits that encourage companies to invest in energy-efficient systems. Companies in the HVAC insulation space include Saint-Gobain, Johns Manville, Knauf, Owens Corning, Glassrock Insulation and Armacell. Recommended Reading Trump administration plans to end popular Energy Star program Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
