I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2748 

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 

AUGUST 1, 2011 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smart Electronics 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The International Energy Agency estimates 

2 new electronic gadgets have the potential to triple 

3 their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt 

4 hours, the equivalent of today’s home electricity con5 sumption of the United States and Japan combined. 

6 (2) According to the International Energy 

7 Agency, electronic gadgets already account for about 

8 15 percent of household electric consumption, a 

9 share that is rising rapidly as the number of these 

10 gadgets multiplies. Last year, the world spent 

11 $80,000,000,000 on electricity to power all these 

12 household electronics, and that is projected to rise to 

13 $200,000,000,000 a year by 2030. 

14 (3) Most of the increase in consumer electronics 

15 will be in developing countries, where economic 

16 growth is fastest and ownership rates of gadgets is 

17 the lowest. 

18 (4) This proliferation in the use of devices will 

19 jeopardize efforts to increase the energy security of 

20 the United States and reduce the emission of green21 house gases. 

22 (5) The cost to business is even higher. Power 

23 consumed by the typical corporate data center is 

24 growing by 20 percent per year. Existing tech25 nologies could slash gadgets’ energy consumption by 


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1 more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 

2 50 percent at a small cost, meaning that total green3 house gas emissions from households’ electronic 

4 gadgets could be held stable at around 500,000,000 

5 tons of carbon dioxide per year. 

6 (6) Governmental policies and programs such 

7 as Energy Star have the potential to be enhanced to 

8 achieve even greater energy savings through clear 

9 mandates and incentives and upgraded implementa10 tion. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this Act: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

16 (2) CONSUMER ELECTRONICS.—The term ‘‘con17 sumer electronics’’ means electronic equipment in18 tended for everyday use, most often in entertain19 ment, communications, and office productivity. 

20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Energy. 

22 (4) SMART ELECTRONICS.—The term ‘‘smart 

23 electronics’’ means consumer electronics that include 

24 measures to reduce energy use and increase energy 

25 efficiency, such as the following: 


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1 (A) Power-factor correction. 

2 (B) Stand-by power mode. 

3 (C) Communication with smart grid and 

4 in-home and networked energy monitoring 

5 equipment. 

6 (D) On-demand and variable processing 

7 speed semiconductors. 

8 (E) Off-peak operation and charging. 

9 (F) Low power switchable modes. 

10 (G) The ability to achieve greater effi11 ciency with multiple functions on semiconduc12 tors. 

13 SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS. 

14 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 the Secretary and the Administrator shall submit a report 

16 to Congress that— 

17 (1) assesses the potential for cost-effective inte18 gration of smart electronics technologies and capa19 bilities in all products that are reviewed for potential 

20 designation as Energy Star products; 

21 (2) assesses the growth of consumer electronics 

22 utilization and the associated energy consumption; 

23 (3) analyzes the potential energy savings and 

24 electricity cost savings that could accrue through 


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1 specific Energy Star program focus on smart elec2 tronics; and 

3 (4) analyzes and ranks the potential of cost-ef4 fective smart electronics technologies. 

5 SEC. 5. INCORPORATION OF SMART ELECTRONICS IN EN6 ERGY STAR PROGRAM. 

7 To the extent that it is consistent with the findings 

8 of the report under section 4, the Secretary and the Ad9 ministrator shall develop a smart electronics emphasis as 

10 part of the implementation of the Energy Star program. 

11 SEC. 6. ENERGY STAR SMART ELECTRONICS REGISTRY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that it is consistent 

13 with the findings of the report under section 4, the Sec14 retary and the Administrator shall establish within the 

15 Energy Star program a Smart Electronics Registry that 

16 provides a voluntary mechanism for electronics manufac17 turers and sellers to register their smart electronics prod18 ucts. In operating the registry, the Secretary and the Ad19 ministrator shall— 

20 (1) work with manufacturers to develop testing 

21 and verification protocols to ensure that products 

22 qualify as smart electronics; and 

23 (2) work with sellers to develop qualification 

24 criteria for smart electronics sales location labeling. 


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1 (b) STATE STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section 

2 shall prohibit a State from enacting smart electronics 

3 standards more stringent than protocols and criteria es4 tablished pursuant to this section. 

Æ 


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