Why is there a special ENERGY STAR®  label found on heating and cooling equipment?

How can buying products which have this Special ENERGY STAR® label help the customer save energy cost?

How does using products tagged with a Special ENERGY STAR®  label help the environment?

ENERGY STAR® is a U.S. government-sponsored program that guides businesses and homeowners toward purchases that save energy and help the environment.

For the past ten years or so,  governments have pledged to somehow reverse. . . or at least diminish. . . the damaging effect of gas emissions on the ozone layer.

As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had two goals in mind:

  1. Diminish the damaging effect of gas emissions on the ozone layer by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy, and
  2. Help people recognize at a glance which products were most energy efficient but still provided top service.

The best way to accomplish their goals was

  1. Have the manufacturers come up with products that would be manufactured in such a way that it would render the same or better performance, features, and comfort but use less energy to do so, and . . .
  2. Provide a special labeling which manufacturers could put on their products to better differentiate these new high-efficiency products which could help both the customer and the environment.

Thus the special ENERGY STAR® label was born.

The EPA then introduced the following guidelines for the manufacturing of such high-efficiency products.

The manufacturer who wishes to use the Energy Star labeling must have a  product that . .  .

  1.  Contributes significant energy savings worldwide and thus helps the environment by reducing damage to the ozone layer,
  2.  Satisfies the customer by giving them  the same or even better performance, features, and comfort and at the same time reduce the amount of energy needed to do so,
  3.  Provides a way to measure and verify with testing the energy consumption and performance of the product,
  4.  Achieves this energy efficiency by using  well known non-proprietary technologies that any manufacturer can use,
  5.   Makes it possible for  purchasers to recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings within a reasonable period of time especially if the qualified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart,

If manufacturers did as asked, the EPA would then allow the high-efficiency product to have a special ENERGY STAR® labeling that would be easily spotted by the purchasers and that would effectively differentiate products that have followed the above guidelines.

Thus the Special ENERGY STAR®  labeling was put into effect.

The best part about choosing  ENERGY STAR® qualified heating and cooling products is that you not only know you’re making a smart decision that can significantly reduce your monthly utility costs but by doing so can make you eligible for tax credits or rebates.

 

 

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