Note: The federal government has imposed and updated appliance efficiency standards through several legislative acts,* and now has standards in place or under development for 30 classes of products. In general, states which had set standards prior to federal action may enforce their own standards until the federal standards take effect. States that had not set standards prior to federal action must use the federal standards. This summary addresses (1) state appliance standards that will be in place until the federal standards take effect and (2) products for which the federal government is not currently developing an efficiency standard. Much of the information in this summary comes from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). Visit the ASAP web site for comprehensive information about appliance standards.
New York appliance efficiency standards legislation, enacted in 2005, covers the following products offered for sale in New York not preempted by federal standards as of July 2009: (Parentheses signify the effective date and date of federal preemption if applicable.)
- Consumer audio and video products (TBD)
- Digital television adapters (TBD)
For consumer audio and video products and digital television adapters, the New York legislation requires the Department of State in consultation with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, NYSERDA, to develop standards by June 30, 2006 and to implement such standards no sooner than six months after issuing final rules. Temporary emergency rules were adopted and renewed several times during 2006 and 2007 (19 NYCRR § 910 et seq.) but have since expired and not been renewed. The regulatory process appears to be ongoing as of July 2009.
For state regulated reflector lamps, the agency must first determine the advisability of a standard, and, if advisable, set a standard effective no sooner than July 1, 2008. New York law also allows the Secretary of State, in consultation with NYSERDA, to add additional products to the list Any new product added to the list must be commercially available, cost effective on a life-cycle basis, and not covered under existing federal standards.
* These acts include the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
