Energy Star Updates

Was busy yesterday doing some updates to the Saving Energy section of the Website. That section contains the Energy Star Ratings for home appliances including kitchen appliances, home heating and cooling appliances, home electronics, lighting and home office equipment. The ratings are done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the DOE and as far as I am concerned the program is one of the few really useful programs the federal government is still providing.

The ratings are regularly updated so yesterday was my day to update all of the ratings tables on the Web site. You can also find these tables at the government site, http://www.energystar.gov/. I put them on the Energy Bible site because my basic principle on this site is to bring all of the information on renewable energy into one place rather than making consumers plow through hundreds of public and private Web sites to find out what they need.

The great thing about the Energy Star program is that it provides an incentive for both appliance manufacturers and home builders to do a better job in making their appliances or homes energy efficient. Many new home builders now publicize the fact that the homes are installed with Energy Star rated appliances. And most equipment manufacturers will advertise the models which have earned an Energy Star rating.

The one thing to keep in mind when looking at the Energy Star ratings is that they are ratings within a single appliance category. They do not compare efficiencies between devices. Suppose, for example that your oil furnace is just about worn out and you need to replace it. It is all well and good to look at the Energy Star ratings to see what is the most heat efficient oil furnace. However, you will probably end up far better off if you consider the economics of a completely different type of home heating system such as a geothermal heat pump or wood furnace. For this type of comparison look at a comparison chart like the one we have in our Bio section at http://energybible.com/bio_energy/comparing_fuel_costs.html.

Nonetheless, if you are in the market for a new appliance of any kind please do check out the Energy Star ratings in the Saving Energy section of the Web site. Thanks!