The Department of Energy announced its new energy-efficiency standards for external battery chargers Monday, which the agency expects will result in an 11 percent energy savings over the next 30 years.
The new standards will go into effect in 2018. The savings could save consumers between $600 million-$1.2 billion over the next 30 years, the department estimated.
The rule regulates energy efficiency in the battery chargers used to power cellphones, laptops and other electric devices with rechargeable batteries. The Department of Energy said the new rule also would help the environment by limiting emissions.
According to the rule published Monday, the new standards would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10.79 million metric tons and thousands of tons of other greenhouse gases. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions for causing climate change and the subsequent warming of the globe.
The department estimates the monetary value of the carbon dioxide emissions reductions to be between $86 million-$1.1 billion over the next 30 years.
More than 500 million battery chargers are sold every year, according to Pierre Delforge, director of the high-tech energy efficiency, energy and transportation program for the Natural Resource Defense Council.
The new energy efficiency standards will be huge for the country, Delforge wrote in a May blog post about the new rule that mirrors California’s state regulation.
“DOE estimates that 95 percent of all products sold on the U.S. market now comply with California requirements,” Delforge wrote. “State and federal standards combined will save enough electricity annually as the output of six large (500-megawatt) coal-fired power plants.”
