Federal Court Overturns DOE Air-Conditioner Standard
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Bush administration acted illegally in 2002 when it issued energy efficiency standards for central air conditioners that were weaker than those developed by the Clinton administration. In a Jan. 13 decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Abraham, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act bars the Dept. of Energy from easing efficiency benchmarks for certain home appliances.
On Jan. 22, 2001, the Dept. of Energy published a standard developed by the Clinton administration that set a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of 13 for central air conditioners, up from a SEER of 9.7 or 10 (depending on the type of system) mandated by Congress in 1987.