AHAM's Blog

AHAM Produces Smart Appliance Panel for the 2012 International CES

AHAM is proud to be hosting and moderating a panel discussion on January 11 titled “Window to Tomorrow’s Connected Home” at the 2012 International CES held in Las Vegas, January 10-13. It will be moderated by Kevin Messner, AHAM’s Vice President, Policy and Government Relations, and panelists include business, manufacturing and retail sector leaders.

Panelists will give the audience a peek inside tomorrow’s connected home, and will discuss what consumers can expect in terms of functionality, timing and total home integration.   Panelists include:

• Kris Bowring – Senior Director, Platform Lead, New Business CSG, Best Buy
• Jean-Claude Junqua – Managing Director, Panasonic Silicon Valley Laboratory, Panasonic
• Dave McAlpin – General Manager, Home Energy Management, GE
• Warwick Stirling – Senior Director of Energy and Sustainability, Whirlpool

Click here to register for the 2012 International CES.   See you in Vegas!

AHAM PARTICIPATES IN U.S.-CHINA CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY SUMMIT

WASHINGTON, DC (October 13, 2011) — Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) President Joseph M. McGuire will participate in the 4th biennial United States-China Consumer Product Safety Summit being held in Washington, DC, October 13-14, 2011.  The Summit is being held in partnership with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ).

McGuire will participate in a panel discussion titled “Global Best Practices in Product Design” on Thursday, October 13 along with Mr. Mark Kumagai, Director of Electrical Engineering, CPSC; and Ms. Kitty Pilarz, Senior Director, Mattel Product Safety, Fisher-Price.     

McGuire’s presentation will stress that, “AHAM members are continually working to improve their products and processes.  Their focus on product safety is ongoing, ingrained and evolving.  Through AHAM, the manufacturers work together to improve safety standards to ensure they keep pace with technology, consumer trends and innovation.”

The Summit focuses on Building a Culture of Consumer Product Safety in China, and will include keynote addresses from the U.S. CPSC’s Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and China’s AQSIQ’s, Vice Minister Sun Dawei.

More information about the Summit can be found here.  It is also being streamed live and may be viewed here.  The “Global Best Practices in Product Design” panel will begin at 2:00 pm, Eastern.   For more information, contact Jill Notini at (202) 872-5955 ext. 318.

AHAM’s Matt Williams to Serve on Board of Directors for Society for Standards Professionals

Congratulations to AHAM’s Director of Standards, Matt Williams, who has been selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Society for Standards Professionals (SES).  Matt will begin his term as Membership Council Director in August after SES’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

SES is the only organization in North America dedicated to furthering public awareness and knowledge of standardization and provides a network for sharing knowledge among those in the standards community.

AHAM President Testifies Before Senate on Consensus Appliance Efficiency Agreement

AHAM President, Joseph M. McGuire, testified yesterday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in support of legislation to enact the appliance efficiency standards portion of a landmark consensus agreement among appliance manufacturers, efficiency and consumer advocates and state energy officials.  The bill, Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011 (S. 398) would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to improve energy efficiency of refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and room air conditioners. 

AHAM's testimony highlighted several ways the agreement will save energy and increase our energy independence:

• improve product energy efficiency saving more than 9 Quads of energy over 30 years
• save consumers billions of dollars in reduced energy bills
• require clothes washers and dishwashers to use nearly 5 trillion less gallons of water over 30 years
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 550 million metric tons of CO2

To read AHAM’s full written testimony, click here.  To view the webcast of the event, click here.  

 

AHAM Announces Partnership with CSA Standards and UL Environment to Develop Sustainability Standard for Home Appliances

AHAM is announcing its partnership with two leading standards organizations, CSA Standards and UL Environment, to develop sustainability standards for home appliances.  The purpose of this project is to provide an objective and practical measurement tool to assist the public in evaluating the sustainability of home appliances.  By creating a scientific foundation for evaluating sustainability, consumers will be able to make more informed purchasing decisions.  AHAM hopes that this metric will further consumer confidence in these products.

Five Winds International, an internationally recognized sustainability consulting firm, has been selected as a project manager for this initiative. 

You can read the official announcement of this partnership on the AHAM website.

      

 

Industry and Advocacy Groups Agree on New Efficiency Standards for Home Appliances

Home appliance manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates announced a major agreement offering major efficiency advancements for refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and room air conditioners.  The deal could save consumers BILLIONS of dollars on energy bills and reduce global warming emissions for decades to come!

The major energy-saving deal was announced today by AHAM, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and a nationwide coalition of energy and water efficiency supporters  who have called for new national minimum efficiency standards, production tax credits for super-efficient appliances and inclusion of “smart grid” readiness as a feature of future ENERGY STAR qualified appliances.

Based on Department of Energy (DOE) analysis, the recommended standards and tax credits will save more than 9 quads of energy over 30 years, or roughly enough to meet the total energy needs of 40 percent of American homes for one year.  The recommended water efficiency standards and tax credits for clothes washers and dishwashers will save about 5 trillion gallons over 30 years.  Global warming CO2 will be reduced by 550 million metric tons over the same time period, without considering the emissions reductions from smart appliances.  These reductions are equivalent to taking 100 million of today’s typical cars off the road for a year.

The official announcement along with more details of the agreement, including the proposed new minimum efficiency standards, is available on the AHAM website.

For some additional reading: NRDC blogger Lane Burt discussed the potential impact this agreement could have on appliance energy savings today on NRDC's Switchboard - read it here.  The Environmental Leader and Climate Wire also covered the news.

The Need for Balanced Federal Energy Legislation

Congress is spending significant time this year on energy efficiency legislation, with a keen focus on appliance efficiency.  Both houses of Congress have committees developing new provisions relating to the development of appliance efficiency standards while the Department of Energy is struggling to comply with a federal court ordered schedule to complete work on several appliance standards.  This is while the agency is also attempting to adhere to additional new requirements on appliance efficiency included in laws enacted in 2005 and 2007.  AHAM is involved in influencing the outcome of the 2009 energy legislation to ensure an adequately funded federal program that blends national efficiency requirements, and education and incentive programs that encourage manufacturers and consumers to seek even higher efficiency products.

While AHAM is encouraged that the new legislation embraces the potentially game changing application of smart grid technology to home appliances, we are nonetheless concerned that portions of the legislation will do more harm than good to a well thought out national appliance efficiency program.