[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5070 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5070

To assess the potential of smart electronics to reduce home and office 
 electricity demand, to incorporate smart electronics into the Energy 
                 Star Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2010

  Mr. Honda introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To assess the potential of smart electronics to reduce home and office 
 electricity demand, to incorporate smart electronics into the Energy 
                 Star Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Electronics Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The International Energy Agency estimates new 
        electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption by 2030 
        to 1,700 terawatt hours, the equivalent of today's home 
        electricity consumption of the United States and Japan 
        combined.
            (2) Electronic gadgets already account for about 15 percent 
        of household electric consumption, a share that is rising 
        rapidly as the number of these gadgets multiplies. Last year, 
        the world spent $80,000,000,000 on electricity to power all 
        these household electronics, and that is projected to rise to 
        $200,000,000,000 a year by 2030.
            (3) Most of the increase in consumer electronics will be in 
        developing countries, where economic growth is fastest and 
        ownership rates of gadgets is the lowest.
            (4) This proliferation in the use of devices will 
        jeopardize efforts to increase the energy security of the 
        United States and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases 
        blamed for global warming.
            (5) The cost to business is even higher. Power consumed by 
        the typical corporate data center is growing by 20 percent per 
        year. Existing technologies could slash gadgets' energy 
        consumption by more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 
        50 percent at a small cost, meaning that total greenhouse gas 
        emissions from households' electronic gadgets could be held 
        stable at around 500,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
            (6) Many governmental policies and programs, such as the 
        Energy Star program, in the United States are already missing 
        the opportunity to deliver 20 percent to 50 percent more 
        savings, due to poor attention to implementation. Most such 
        programs are voluntary, and need to be improved with both clear 
        mandates and incentives.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (3) Smart electronics.--The term ``smart electronics'' 
        means consumer electronics with at least one or more of the 
        following characteristics:
                    (A) Power-factor correction.
                    (B) Stand-by power.
                    (C) Communication with smart grid and in-home and 
                networked energy monitoring equipment.
                    (D) On-demand and variable processing speed 
                semiconductors.
                    (E) Off-peak operation and charging.
                    (F) Low power switchable modes.
                    (G) The ability to achieve greater efficiency with 
                multiple functions on semiconductors.

SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS.

    Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary and the Administrator shall submit a report to Congress 
that--
            (1) assesses the potential for cost-effective integration 
        of smart electronics technologies and capabilities in all 
        products that are reviewed by the Department of Energy and the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, respectively, for potential 
        designation as Energy Star products;
            (2) assesses the growth of consumer electronics utilization 
        and the associated energy consumption;
            (3) analyzes the potential energy savings and electricity 
        cost savings that could accrue through specific Energy Star 
        program focus on smart electronics; and
            (4) analyzes and ranks the potential of cost-effective 
        smart electronics technologies.

SEC. 5. INCORPORATION OF SMART ELECTRONICS IN ENERGY STAR PROGRAM.

    To the extent that it is consistent with the findings of the report 
under section 4, the Secretary and the Administrator shall develop a 
smart electronics emphasis as part of the implementation of the Energy 
Star program.

SEC. 6. SMART ELECTRONICS REGISTRY.

    To the extent that it is consistent with the findings of the report 
under section 4, the Secretary and the Administrator shall establish a 
Smart Electronics Registry that provides a voluntary mechanism for 
electronics manufacturers and sellers to register their smart 
electronics products. In operating the registry, the Secretary and the 
Administrator shall--
            (1) work with manufacturers to develop testing and 
        verification protocols to ensure that products qualify as smart 
        electronics; and
            (2) work with sellers to develop qualification criteria for 
        smart electronics sales location labeling.
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