I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5070 
To assess the potential of smart electronics to reduce home and office elec-
tricity 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 elec-
tronics into the Energy Star Program, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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: 
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(1) The International Energy Agency estimates 
new electronic gadgets will triple their energy con-
sumption 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 green-
house 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 tech-
nologies could slash gadgets’ energy consumption by 
more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 
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50 percent at a small cost, meaning that total green-
house 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 ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental 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. 
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(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 effi-
ciency with multiple functions on semiconduc-
tors. 
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 inte-
gration of smart electronics technologies and capa-
bilities in all products that are reviewed by the De-
partment of Energy and the Environmental Protec-
tion 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 
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specific Energy Star program focus on smart elec-
tronics; and 
(4) analyzes and ranks the potential of cost-ef-
fective smart electronics technologies. 
SEC. 5. INCORPORATION OF SMART ELECTRONICS IN EN-
ERGY STAR PROGRAM. 
To the extent that it is consistent with the findings 
of the report under section 4, the Secretary and the Ad-
ministrator 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 Ad-
ministrator shall establish a Smart Electronics Registry 
that provides a voluntary mechanism for electronics manu-
facturers 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. 
Æ 
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