[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 119 (Monday, August 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1460-E1461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF THE SMART ELECTRONICS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 1, 2011

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Smart 
Electronics Act.
  The Smart Electronics Act is an effort to reduce the amount of energy 
consumed by consumer electronic devices. Electronic gadgets already 
account for about 15 percent of household electricity consumption, and 
as these gadgets proliferate, their energy use continues to grow.
  The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2030, new 
electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption to 1,700 
terawatt hours, the equivalent of the home electricity consumption of 
the U.S. and Japan combined. According to the IEA, the international 
community will have to build over 15,000 wind turbines (or 200 nuclear 
power plants) to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home 
electronics expected to be

[[Page E1461]]

plugged in by 2030. The electric bill to power all household 
electronics will top $200 billion a year, compared with last year's 
bill of $80 billion. Most of this increase in consumer electronics will 
occur in developing countries, where economic growth is outpacing 
developed nations and ownership rates of gadgets are lowest.
  If the devices are not made more energy efficient, their 
proliferation will undermine efforts to increase energy security and 
reduce the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. 
The answer to this problem will not be found in stemming the tide of 
electronic gadget envy, because there is no way we will be able to do 
that. Instead, we must encourage the development of better devices that 
are built more efficiently and run on less energy.
  Programs like Energy Star have already started improving our 
electronically dependent world. Last year as a result of Energy Star, 
Americans saved $6,000,000,000 while also saving enough energy to power 
over 10,000,000 homes. However, the Energy Star program as it is 
currently structured cannot solve the problem due to the limited number 
of devices it covers.
  To address this, I am reintroducing the Smart Electronics Act. The 
bill would require the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to report to Congress within a year on several 
key areas to ensure we achieve the clarity needed for industry to 
thrive. First, the DOE and EPA must assess the potential for energy 
efficient electronics to receive an Energy Star designation, and the 
potential savings accrued (e.g. cost, energy) through a specific 
program focused on smart electronics. Second, they must assess the 
global growth of electronics usage and utilization and the associated 
energy consumption. Lastly, the bill calls for the DOE and EPA to 
standardize a process for defining, categorizing, and ranking 
technologies as ``smart.'' If it is deemed appropriate, a smart 
electronics emphasis and a Smart Electronics Registry would be 
incorporated into the Energy Star program.
  The bill defines smart electronics as devices that cooperate with the 
electrical grid to cut down on energy consumption. This minimization 
can be achieved through power-factor correction, utilizing stand-by 
modes, communication and monitoring with the smart grid, taking 
advantage of off-peak charging and operation, on-demand and variable 
processing speed semiconductors, or switching to a lower power mode.
  Importantly, this legislation will help us green the electronics 
industry by providing the private sector with reliable standards and 
incentives and by educating and empowering consumers to make smarter 
and more efficient choices--all of which help cool the planet.
  I look forward to working with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman 
Upton and Ranking Member Waxman on moving this bill through their 
committee and the House.

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