Energy saving opportunities in American homes are immense with current technology, but new product standard mandates will be needed, according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute.

The research group’s study... concludes that projected electricity consumption in residential buildings in the United States in 2020 could be reduced by more than a third if compact fluorescent light bulbs and an array of other high-efficiency options including water heaters, kitchen appliances, room-insulation materials and standby power were adopted across the nation.

The energy saving over that time, if achieved, would be equivalent to the production from 110 new coal-fired 600-megawatt power plants, the researchers estimate. That would result in a significant reduction in the amounts of fossil fuel burned and carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, spewed into the atmosphere...

The McKinsey policy prescriptions resemble the California model. Starting in the 1970s, the state began imposing requirements for appliances and building materials, among other energy-saving measures. A consumer, said Terry Tamminen, a former director of the California Environmental Protection Agency, is not forced to choose between, say, appliances that are power hogs and ones that are energy-efficient.

“Enlightened regulation ensures that all your choices are relatively good ones,” said Mr. Tamminen, now director of the climate program at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute...

The report will be presented at an energy symposium in Washington sponsored by the New America Foundation and the Climate Group, a nonprofit organization. It is available at www.mckinsey.com/mgi.

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To learn more about New America's energy symposium, please click here.