Regardless of what the economy is doing, choosing the most energy-efficient appliances\u00a0isn\u2019t just<\/a>\u00a0good for the climate: It\u2019s also one of the simplest ways to save money. Many manufacturers these days advertise the energy efficiency of the various dishwashers, air-conditioning units, clothes dryers, etc., that they\u2019re trying to sell us, but given that energy efficiency is a relative term, what do those labels mean, exactly?<\/p>\n Two programs administered by the federal government \u2014\u00a0EnergyGuide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Energy Star<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 help put energy efficiency into perspective. Though they\u2019re separate from (and frequently confused with) one another, they work together. Here\u2019s what they are, and how they operate in tandem to give you a better idea of the savings you\u2019ll see in both dollars and carbon emissions when replacing an outdated appliance.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever shopped for a new refrigerator, dishwasher, air-conditioning unit, or other large-ish household appliance, you\u2019ve probably seen the canary yellow \u201cEnergyGuide\u201d tag listing information about the appliance\u2019s energy consumption. If you\u2019re like many consumers in the market for a new appliance, you may have other things on your mind at that moment: style, size, and price being chief among them. It\u2019s true that the most energy-efficient products can be more expensive than their less efficient counterparts (although, usually not by that much<\/em>). But it\u2019s also true that, over time, choosing one of these home appliances will save you considerable amounts of money on electric bills. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the average U.S. household spends up to $2,200 a year on energy costs, but maximizing energy efficiency in the home can\u00a0cut these costs<\/a>\u00a0by as much as 25 percent.<\/p>\n The EnergyGuide tag is essentially a public energy efficiency report card administered by the\u00a0Federal Trade Commission<\/a>\u00a0(FTC). It doesn\u2019t apply to every single appliance category on the market, but under the 1975\u00a0Energy Policy and Conservation Act<\/a>, manufacturers are required by law to make the EnergyGuide tag visible to consumers.<\/p>\n The FTC updates the tags every five years to reflect any advances in technology, revisions to federal minimum energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy, and changes in the national average cost of electricity. The last update took place in\u00a0October 2022<\/a>\u00a0and started appearing on tags in mid-2023 \u2014 which means that any tag you see in 2023 or 2024 is up-to-date.<\/p>\n In the bottom right-hand corner of many (though not all!) EnergyGuide tags, you\u2019ll find the Energy Star logo. It\u2019s provided without any context or additional information \u2014 which is a shame, because consumers might miss its significance.<\/p>\n More than 30 years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the\u00a0Energy Star program<\/a>\u00a0to encourage manufacturers of computers and home appliances to go above and beyond meeting the minimum energy efficiency standards set by the federal government. Since its start in 1992, the program has expanded considerably: Today, Energy Star certification is available not only to home appliances and computers but also to the\u00a0homes and apartments<\/a>\u00a0that contain them, as well as to\u00a0commercial buildings<\/a>\u00a0and even\u00a0industrial facilities<\/a>. Between its certification program and its related\u00a0rebate program<\/a>, Energy Star can boast that it has saved 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoided more than $500 billion in energy costs, and kept more than 4 billion metric tons of polluting and planet-warming greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.<\/p>\n The idea behind Energy Star is simple. The EPA sets and\u00a0frequently updates<\/a>\u00a0energy efficiency specifications across a spectrum of products and buildings. Manufacturers and developers that meet these standards \u2014 as determined by an\u00a0independent third party<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 get to display the logo on their products. And finally, consumers and business leaders who care about their climate footprint get to use this information when making their choices.<\/p>\n Unlike the EnergyGuide program \u2014 which requires participation from all manufacturers \u2014 Energy Star participation is voluntary. With that said, most major manufacturers are more than happy to take part: Over the years, the Energy Star certification logo has become a highly desirable imprimatur, a way for appliance makers to broadcast their commitment to promoting energy efficiency to the general public.<\/p>\n According to the EPA\u2019s Shayla Powell, Energy Star specifications \u201care routinely reviewed and updated to ensure that they provide meaningful differentiation for highly energy-efficient products,\u201d as well as to \u201chelp to increase the share of energy-efficient products in the marketplace.\u201d The rapid rate of development in energy efficiency technology means that these updates are taking place almost constantly. The results speak for themselves. Today, an Energy Star\u2013certified washing machine uses 20 percent less energy than an uncertified one. Dryers bearing the logo consume 30 percent less. Amazingly, an Energy Star refrigerator with the freezer on the top (the most energy efficient of all fridge designs) can require\u00a0less energy<\/a>\u00a0than a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.<\/p>\n Powell notes that Energy Star released revisions for residential dishwashers in 2022. This year will see revisions for residential electric cooking products, clothes dryers, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators. (Up next, in 2024: washing machines!) On the Energy Star website, she says, consumers can click on a\u00a0Product Specification<\/a>\u00a0search tool to find the most up-to-date specifications for all appliances covered under the program, as well as information on rebates and tax credits. And to maximize your dollar, Energy Star\u2019s\u00a0Rebate Finder<\/a>\u00a0allows you to plug in your zip code to see how much money you can get back after buying a certified appliance in your area; savings can be as much as 30 percent.<\/p>\n This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can\u2019t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can\u2019t republish our material wholesale or automatically \u2014 you need to select stories individually; you can\u2019t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you\u2019ve used one of our stories.<\/p>\n By\u00a0Jeff Turrentine<\/a>, senior writer in NRDC\u2019s communications department. Republished from\u00a0NRDC<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n SOURCE: EnergyGuide<\/h2>\n
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