ith
the first heat wave of the summer, scores of people set off in
search of new air conditioners. How to cool off at home without
heating up (and messing up) the planet? Look for the Energy Star.
The Energy Star label identifies highly efficient products that
can save consumers up to 30 percent on their electric bills while
cutting pollution and protecting the environment. The Energy
Star website also offers tips on when to buy a new air conditioner
(if yours is more than eight years old it's a good candidate
for replacement) and buying the right one for the job (bigger
is not necessarily better - an oversized air conditioner is actually
less effective than one that's the correct size).
Energy Star
identifies winning products in lots of other product categories
as well, including household appliances, heating products, home
electronics, office equipment, lighting fixtures, and windows,
doors, and skylights. According to the folks at Energy Star,
if all Americans invested in only Energy Star-labeled products
over a 15-year period, we would save $100 billion on energy bills
and the reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions would be equivalent
to taking 17 million cars off the road in each of those years.
What to do
Visit
the Energy Star website or call the Energy Star hotline for product
information and store locations.
Who to contact
Energy
Star website at www.energystar.gov
Energy Star hotline: (888) STAR-YES (888-782-7937).
The
Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental
organization with 400,000 members nationwide and a staff of scientists,
lawyers and environmental experts. Their mission is to protect
the world's natural resources and improve the quality of the
human environment.
For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC, please contact them at: Natural Resources Defense Council 40 West 20th Street NY, NY 10011 212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax) nrdcinfonrdc.org.
ith
the first heat wave of the summer, scores of people set off in
search of new air conditioners. How to cool off at home without
heating up (and messing up) the planet? Look for the Energy Star.
The Energy Star label identifies highly efficient products that
can save consumers up to 30 percent on their electric bills while
cutting pollution and protecting the environment. The Energy
Star website also offers tips on when to buy a new air conditioner
(if yours is more than eight years old it's a good candidate
for replacement) and buying the right one for the job (bigger
is not necessarily better - an oversized air conditioner is actually
less effective than one that's the correct size).
Energy Star
identifies winning products in lots of other product categories
as well, including household appliances, heating products, home
electronics, office equipment, lighting fixtures, and windows,
doors, and skylights. According to the folks at Energy Star,
if all Americans invested in only Energy Star-labeled products
over a 15-year period, we would save $100 billion on energy bills
and the reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions would be equivalent
to taking 17 million cars off the road in each of those years.
nrdc.org.