The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

organization. Founded in 1980, ACEEE's mission is to act as a catalyst to advance

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors in order to help achieve greater economic prosperity, and environmental protection. ACEEE promotes energy efficiency by conducting technical and policy analyses; advising policymakers and program managers; and working collaboratively with businesses, government officials, public interest groups, and other organizations. It convenes conferences and workshops, primarily for energy efficiency professionals, and produces reports, conference proceedings, and media outreach. ACEEE employs more than 60 employees who work in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

office or remotely. The organization's primary focuses are on end-use efficiency in industry, buildings,

utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

, and

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

;

economic analysis Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyz ...

and

human behavior Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity ( mentally, physically, and socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external stimuli throughout their life. Kagan, Jerome, Marc H. Bornstein, and Richard M. L ...

; and local, state, and national

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

Federal and State Energy Policy

Federal Policy

ACEEE has worked on federal energy policy since the 1980s. The organization played central roles in the development of the

National Appliance Energy Conservation Act The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA; ) is a United States Act of Congress that regulates energy consumption of specific household appliances. Though minimum Energy Efficiency Standards were first established by the Unite ...

of 1987, energy efficiency provisions in the

Energy Policy Act of 1992 The Energy Policy Act of 1992, effective October 24, 1992, (102nd Congress H.R.776.ENR, abbreviated as EPACT92) is a United States government act. It was passed by Congress and set goals, created mandates, and amended utility laws to increase c ...

and the

Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems ...

, the

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during th ...

, and the Energy Act of 2020. Many of these provisions were developed in cooperation with interested business and received

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

support. ACEEE staff testify before

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and work closely with Congressional staff in both

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

to help shape new initiatives and analyze the impacts of energy and climate policy proposals. They weigh in on the federal budget process, promoting and increasing funding for what they deem the most effective energy efficiency programs. The organization also works with federal agencies such as the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

on programs and policies, and participates in formal rulemakings on energy efficiency issues. Most of ACEEE's federal policy work involves research and education; however, they do a limited amount of

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

using unrestricted funds. They supported the

EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 (H.R. 5057; 113th Congress) The EPS Service Parts Act of 2014 () is a bill that would exempt certain external power supplies from complying with standards set forth in a final rule published by the United States Department of Energy in February 2014. The United States House ...

, a bill that would exempt certain

external power supplies An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...

from complying with standards set forth in a final rule published by the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

in February 2014. The

United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...

describes the bill as one that "provides regulatory relief by making a simple technical correction to the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act to exempt certain power supply (EPS) service and spare parts from federal efficiency standards."

State Policy

At the state level, ACEEE works closely with public officials and local energy efficiency advocates, providing advice, analysis, and technical support. In order to maximize its impact, the organization concentrates its efforts on large states that are poised to make major decisions on energy efficiency policy issues. For example, in 2007 and 2008, it emphasized work in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. All of these states passed significant energy efficiency legislation, with additional legislation and regulations likely in some of them. ACEEE also works on state policies that can potentially be adopted at the national level. For example, staff have worked with several states to develop state appliance and equipment efficiency standards, which have subsequently been adopted by Congress.

Research and Analysis

ACEEE devotes much of its resources to research and analysis in order to discern the best technical, program, and policy practices that promote efficient energy use, and to define the magnitude of benefits of energy efficiency. Research staff survey market trends and activities, analyze technical and economic potential for energy efficiency, seek to understand consumer energy decisions, and assess the potential for

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

, policies, and programs to achieve energy savings. ACEEE's research programs include: *Behavior and Human Dimensions – Researches ways individuals can change their behavior to save energy and ways these behaviors can be encouraged and amplified. *Buildings – ACEEE's oldest research program analyzes opportunities for energy efficiency in appliances and equipment;

building design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

, and operation; and programs and policies that encourage consumers to make energy-efficient product choices. *Health and Environment – Provides information about the health benefits of energy efficiency to the public, energy and health policymakers, and advocates. *Utilities – Serves as the principal documenter and reviewer of publicly funded energy efficiency programs and supporting policies, preparing regular surveys of best practices and supporting implementers and

regulators Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automatic control), a device that maintains a designated characteristic, as in: ** Battery regulator ** Pressure regulator ** Diving regulator ** Voltage regulator * Regulator (sewer), a control de ...

in designing the next generation of programs and policies. *Transportation – Tracks vehicle technology and estimates the potential for future energy efficiency. In addition, the program explores technologies and policies that encourage changes in personal and

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

transportation markets to further reduce energy use. *Industry – Applies unique experience in energy efficiency for the

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

sector (including

distributed energy resources Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to ...

such as

combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

), and assesses

technologies Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, practices, programs, and policies to achieve increased energy efficiency in manufacturing. *Economic analysis – Encourages the use of sound

economic model In economics, a model is a theoretical construct representing economic processes by a set of variables and a set of logical and/or quantitative relationships between them. The economic model is a simplified, often mathematical, framework desig ...

ing practices, studies the impacts of energy policies on the economy, and projects the economic benefits of energy efficiency technologies, practices, and policies. *Local policy – Promotes energy efficiency at the local level and provides key resources to support local policymakers, program implementers, and efficiency advocates. *State policy – Cross-program effort that combines expertise from other research programs to assess state energy policies, analyze the potential for energy efficiency at the state level, and collect key resources to support state policymakers, program implementers, and efficiency advocates. *Federal policy – Develops policy recommendations and documents how efficiency measures can reduce energy use, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions while benefiting the economy. *International – Works with colleagues from transitional economies to adapt technology, program, and policy experiences from the United States to these economies.

Outreach

ACEEE attempts to reach out to and inform diverse audiences in a variety of ways:

Conferences

ACEEE holds several conferences each year that aim to bring together disparate stakeholders to focus on multiple aspects of energy efficiency and the role it plays in addressing critical issues such as

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

energy resources World energy resources are the estimated maximum capacity for energy production given all available resources on Earth. They can be divided by type into fossil fuel, nuclear fuel and renewable resources. Fossil fuel Remaining reserves of f ...

, utility structure and regulation, and energy use in buildings, industry, and agriculture. Recurring conferences include: *Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry *Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings *Hot Water Forum *Energy Efficiency Finance Forum *Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference (BECC) *National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource

Publications

ACEEE provides research and technical analysis of current energy efficiency policies and practices, as well as forecasting future trends. These publications include research reports, white papers, legislative testimony, and conference proceedings. Major recent ACEEE reports include: *''The 2020 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard'' *''The 2020 City Clean Energy Scorecard'' *''The ACEEE State Transportation Electrification Scorecard'' *''How High Are Household Energy Burdens? An Assessment of National and Metropolitan Energy Burdens across the U.S.''

The Web

ACEEE shares its work online by providing publications and conference presentations on the internet. While not a consumer-focused organization, ACEEE has several web resources devoted to educating consumers about making wise energy efficiency choices relating to their homes and their vehicles, through:
SmarterHouse.org

GreenerCars.org
(Online presence of ''ACEEE's Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks'')

Ally Program

ACEEE convenes primary stakeholders in discussions and networking opportunities through policy briefings,

webinars Web conferencing is used as an umbrella term for various types of online conferencing and collaborative services including webinars (web seminars), webcasts, and web meetings. Sometimes it may be used also in the more narrow sense of the peer-l ...

covering recent published research and analysis, and one-to-one interaction with staff and Board members

Funding

ACEEE's sources of funding in 2019 were broken down as follows: *

Foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

(66.64%) *Corporations (11.15%) *Nonprofits (11.49%) *Public Agencies (9.87%) *Individuals (≈1%)

References

External links

ACEEEAppliance Standards Awareness ProjectACEEE's GreenerCars

ACEEE's SmarterHouseACEEE's State and Local Policy Database
;News
Reuters
* ttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7217594 NPR {{DEFAULTSORT:American Council For An Energy-Efficient Economy Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Environmental organizations based in Washington, D.C. International energy organizations Energy conservation in the United States