A baker’s dozen battery chargers charge or await to juice up laptops, phones, i-Pods, electric toothbrushes, and rechargeable AA batteries in my house. While my household count of 13 is relatively light on the electric gadget spectrum, our average is above the California Energy Commission’s estimate of 11 battery chargers per California household. I don’t usually pay attention to chargers--except when I can’t find the right one--but I did Jan. 12 when the Energy Commission adopted standards to curb the significant energy inefficiency of these popular devices and to cut their associated 1.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. There are more than 171 million chargers in the state, wasting two-thirds of the electricity they draw from the grid, according to the commission. That number is based on 2009 data, the most recent to date. Given that my kids and many others assume a goddess-given right to electronic gadgets, the Energy Commission estimates that per capita use is to increase 136 percent by 2015 if it’s business as usual. It grew 10 percent from 2009 to 2010. The energy consumption from the growing number of battery chargers is “beginning to equal loads such as heating, cooling and lighting,” noted a commission staff analysis from October 2011. Although industry lobbied heavily against the battery standards, the change comes neither as a surprise nor is a big deal. Under the new standards, only minor price tag increases are expected on the associated plugged-in phone, computer, or power tool. The technology to achieve the more efficient energy use--essentially embedded off switches--is established. In addition, there are many battery chargers on the market that meet the week-old state standards. Also noteworthy is that the charger standards, to go into effect in February 2013 for small gadgets, do not require behavior changes. No going into the kids’ rooms. No pulling plugs out of the socket. No having to give up an addictive gadget. The newly minted standards are the result of work started in 2006. They are expected to cut battery charger energy use by 40 percent, saving more than $300 million in utility bills a year. They also are estimated to cut peak demand in the state by 360 MW. The 171 million chargers in California draw in at least 8,000 GWh/year but use only 2,900 GWh--wasting 5,100 GWh/year. The state rules curb the waste by 2,187 GWh annually. Poorly designed battery chargers continue to draw current even after the connected device is fully charged. This all may have a familiar ring to it. In 2006, former Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) did his best to generate headlines and get his battery charger efficiency measure passed. His 2006 “California Vampire Slayer Act” attempted to stem the flow of intravenous juice to the electricity sucking gadget. It did not pass. In 2007, the Energy Commission launched a rulemaking to ward off the charger vampires. Like Levine’s efforts, the commission’s charger efficiency standards have been opposed by many--but not all manufacturers. Manufacturers have been on notice for the last few years that the equivalent of a garlic necklace was coming their way. The increased cost to comply with the standard is estimated at an average of 80 cents per gizmo, while creating almost a ten-fold savings on energy use for electronic devices with capacities under 2 kWs. “The numbers speak so loudly,” said Chuck Mullett, Power Sources Manufacturers Association advisory committee member and former chair. He and other manufacturer representatives, including from Black & Decker, did note that design changes take time and money. Then again, all the manufacturers face the same rules. Reducing this wasteful consumption with newly adopted standards is critical to cutting energy and associated emissions and to protecting consumers’ shrinking wallets. The battery charger standards are also part of the state’s strategy for achieving new net zero homes by 2020 and to having new commercial buildings by 2030 save and generate enough renewable energy on site to have their energy use equal their production over 12 months. The new Energy Commission battery charger standards for consumer products have received considerable support from private and public utilities, environmental and energy efficiency groups, as well as an association of manufacturers. That’s because they are a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Or as Mullett noted, “There is no downside.” That is because the standards are $urge protectors.
