Have you ever considered how much cash you save on monthly utility bills because of more efficient appliances? You may have but it's unlikely you've tallied 15 years' worth of savings. ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) and ASAP have done it for you in their new report entitled: The Efficiency Boom: Cashing In on the Savings from Appliance Standards.The results might surprise you. An average homeowner will save close to $10,000 in utility bills in the next 15 years simply by buying appliances that meet the latest national efficiency standards. And if you consider the period from 1995 to 2040, the household savings grow to $30,000!

On a national level, the savings are equally astounding. Taking into account products sold from the inception of each national standard through 2035, existing standards will net consumers and businesses more than $1.1 trillion in savings cumulatively - that's more than the entire U.S. spent on hospital care in 2010. New and updated standards will add another $165 billion to the savings through 2035.

Through 2035, cumulative energy savings from existing standards will reach more than 200 quads, an amount equal to about two years of total U.S. energy consumption. Cumulative savings from new standards through 2035 will be around 42 quads. Annual CO2 emissions reductions from new and existing standards will reach about 670 million metric tons in 2035, an amount equal to the emissions of 167 average-sized coal-fired power plants.

Read more:Fact Sheet, Executive Summary, Full Report

The report analyzes potential energy savings for 34 residential, commercial and lighting products. The top ten energy- saving products are listed below. For reference, the current U.S. annual energy consumption is 98 quads (quadrillion Btu).

     Product                             Cumulative quad savings

                                                               (through 2035)

1. Residential electric water heaters                   4.1
2. Incandescent reflector lamps                          3.9
3. Residential air handlers                                  2.9
4. Walk-in coolers and freezers                            2.4
5. Distribution transformers                                  2.3
6. Outdoor light fixtures                                       2.3
7. Set-top boxes                                                  2.3
8. Electric motors                                                1.9
9. Computers and monitors                                 1.7
10. Candelabra & intermediate base                    1.3
    incandescent lamps