You are reading this on a computer so chances are that you have seen the Energy Star logo listed in the settings for your monitor. You might be surfing on a laptop labeled with an Energy Star badge. You are a clever person and realize that the Energy Star logo means that your machine runs more electrically efficient than a machine without the logo. When you set your monitor to suspend activity during idle time you are applying the energy-saving features of your PC. What you may not realize is that computers are not the only products that bear the Energy Star seal. The Energy Star program encompasses goods such as traffic lights, home heating appliances plus Energy Star compliant buildings.
The Energy Star program is the brainchild of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The mission is to decrease greenhouse gases, emitted by power plants. The method is to diminish output by encouraging the public to buy products that use less electricity. Energy Star compliance is optional. Manufacturers choose and customers choose. You don't have to buy a product with an Energy Star label but you will save energy if you do. Your city could install energy-wasting street lights or it could use energy-saving lights and spare your town a lot of expenditure. When more cities and individuals purchase Energy Star products, they further reduce power plant output. The public awareness campaign began in the early nineties with personal computers. Since that time, the label has garnered respect and brand name recognition. It's nice when your computer saves energy. It's even better when it's your washing machine saves electricity.
Our future as a species is in trouble because of the way we produce and use electricity. Different power plants generate electricity differently but some damage the atmosphere more than others. Fuel-burning power plants release carbon dioxide and ozone. Those gases destroy the protective filter keeping the Sun from turning our Earth into a desert. Other electrical power plants use millions of gallons of our most precious resource, water.
We still need electricity but if we cut back on personal use, the power plants produce less in turn. Alternative energy is wonderful but we still must correct the problems already in place. There are thousands of power plants in the world that are currently operational. Millions of people get their electricity from these existing plants. Most of these existing plants are either fuel-burning or water-powered. We don't have 50 years to wait while the old plants are replaced by the newer, cleaner ones. The ice caps that cool our planet are melting rapidly, due to greenhouse gas emissions. That friendly, blue Energy Star sticker could save our lives.
You'll find the Energy Star label in over 50 product categories. Battery chargers, air conditioners, roofing materials, windows and doors, home electronics, refrigerators. Thousands of items carry the Energy Star logo. You can also claim tax credits for home improvements made with Energy Star merchandise. Store shelves are brimming with Energy Star goods because consumers buy them and the companies that make them get tax breaks. If it involves the use of electricity there is an Energy Star appliance, sheet of insulation or light fixture easily available in your local store.
Energy Star compliant wares save you, the consumer, 30% on your annual electricity costs. In 2006, Energy Star users saved almost 14 billion dollars.
That alone speaks to the scope of the effectiveness of the EPA's campaign. Maybe you can't afford that new Energy Star dishwasher but you can afford to weatherproof your drafty doorways and leaky windows with Energy Star materials. That LCD Energy Star television is too pricey but a new Energy Star power adapter for your old tube TV isn't. You don't have to spend a lot of money to save a lot of money because Energy Star products are so diverse. You can convert costly, hard-to-replace machines into energy efficient ones. You can afford to replace small appliances with Energy Star items and save electricity collectively. You have the power and the means to cut back on electricity usage for every room in your house, every workstation in your office. Whether you re-design or re-arrange, if you're going to make improvements to your space, consider the way you consume electricity to be one of those improvements.
Try as you might, you can't escape your responsibility to help insure a cleaner, safer atmosphere. The more you do, the better off we all will be. It's as easy as buying Energy Star light bulbs the next time you go to the grocery. Pick up an Energy Star charger for your cellphone or rechargeable AA batteries. Use the shutdown and suspend modes on your computer. Follow Energy Star guidelines if you plan to remodel or build. Pay a little extra for the Energy Star toaster or lamp. Visit the EPA's Energy Star website to learn more about the program and the products available. You'll be astounded at how many things boast that little, white star.
* Play the PC Usage Game
The Energy Star website hosts a calculator that shows you exactly how much money you spend running your home computer. Grab your electricity bill and compare it versus the savings you garner when you simply set your monitor to automatic standby mode. If you keep your PC turned on 24 hours a day change the numbers on the calculator to see how much you lose wasting electricity. Play the PC Usage Game with your electric bill and the Energy Star by going here.
* A Small List of Energy Star Products
Wall sconces, dehumidifiers, clothes washers, ceiling fans, televisions, DVD players, commercial and civic lighting, home sealing materials plus hundreds more. You use electrical items in each room of your home and office. They are a part of your overall design. Surely there is one element that you can improve efficiently as well as aesthetically.
* Use The Home Energy Yardstick
The EPA's Energy Star website lists several pages of electricity-saving tips, products and tools. With the Home Energy Yardstick, you can compare your bills against similar costs in other cities and states. Maybe prices are higher where you live. Maybe it's time to do something about it.
* Do You Need an Advisor?
You want to be more energy efficient but you don't know where or how to start. Perhaps you're overwhelmed by the array of choices in the Energy Star program. Get detailed advice straight from the US government with the Energy Star Home Advisor.
|
|
Thirty percent less usage equals thirty percent more cash in your pocket. That's the immediate benefit of the EPA concept. In the long term, the benefits will be immeasurable. There is no price for human survival.
Electrical plants burn fuel and waste water. When we burn fuel and waste water we damage filters in the atmosphere and evaporate a substance humans need to thrive. The Energy Star program provides incentive to manufacturers and a variety of options to the consumer. This is a bandwagon anyone can ride. Catch the movement. Spend a few dollars so you can enjoy the savings and the ride. Shop Energy Star and reap both financial and environmental rewards.