What is an Energy Star rating on Appliances?

Shopping for major appliances can be nerve-wracking, particularly when you consider that most household appliances, from refrigerators to dishwashers and garbage disposals, should keep humming for the next 10 to 20 years. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took one part of the worry away. Thats when the governmental group launched Energy Star, a program that singles out appliances that use fewer environmental resources and cost you less to operate. Today, you can spot an Energy Star label on more than just appliances. Office products, building materials, lighting and electronics all carry the logo.

Energy Savings Energy Star appliances are about 20% more energy efficient than ones without the rating. That makes a difference. According to the EPA, in 2009, Energy Star alliances helped Americans save nearly $17 billion on their utility bills. Whats more, using less electricity, which comes from processing coal and natural gasand contributes to greenhouse gases, prevented a significant amount of those environmental hazards from entering the atmospherethe equivalent of taking 30 million cars off the road. Energy Star labels arent difficult to read. Most have a rating that shows how many kilowatt-hours (kWhs) per year the appliance is expected to use. When shopping for a new appliance, look for the lowest number, which means fewer kWhs and more energy efficiency. As a bonus, some Energy Star appliances, such as hot water heaters and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, qualify for a federal tax credit, which puts even more money in your pocket.

How a product earns an Energy Star label Keep in mind, that Energy Star labels assess energy efficiency, not every aspect of performance. An ice maker on a non-Energy Star refrigerator, for example, could work better than one with the government seal. But what you can be assured from an Energy Star appliance is that it has met or exceeded some strict standards of efficiency set up by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy.

At the bare minimum, an Energy Star appliance must provide significant energy savings and be as high-performing as other appliances of its kind. If the Energy Star appliance has a higher sticker price than unlabeled models, it has to prove that you will recoup your investment through savings on your utility bill. And all Energy Star appliances have to prove, via testing, that they actually are energy efficient.

In addition, every type of appliance has individual benchmarks it must meet. For instance, Energy Star dishwashers can use no more than 5.8 gallons of water per cycle, while refrigerators must be 15% more energy efficient than federal standards. One appliance you wont see an Energy Star label on is clothes dryers. Currently, all dryers in the U.S. use just about the same amount of energy so theres no need to compare models.

Hotpoint have recently been voted the Most Trusted Domestic Appliance Brand in the UK for the 9th consecutive year through the Readers Digest Survey. What is it which makes Hotpoint such a popular brand? It is down to several factors included in their range of appliances, such as price, style, reliability, features and functionality. The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer is a brilliant example of an appliance which is popular and contains brilliant features to help you when doing the laundry.

The Hotpoint Aquarius TVM562 tumble dryer is a really practical machine, if you are looking for an appliance which offers excellent cleaning quality teamed with everyday features and functions then this could be the tumble dryer for you. The Hotpoint TVM562 tumble dryer is C energy rated and has been recognised as being Energy Saving Recommended by the Energy Saving Trust. Everyone should be doing their bit to be greener starting in the kitchen with energy saving appliances can be a great way of starting to help to protect the environment.

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has some brilliant features and functions, such as the reverse tumble action. This feature prevents clothing from tangling when drying which results in less creasing this also means less ironing for you which is a great bonus!

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has an end of cycle alarm which alerts you when the dry load is ready to be emptied. It is all too easy to forget about a laundry load when its tucked away in the machine having a gentle reminder to empty the load is great for those who forget! Empting close to the end of a cycle will help to prevent additional creases.

Other features of the Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer include high and low heat settings, set and forget sensor drying, final cool tumble, easy iron, delay timer and safety start button. All of which contribute to a hassle free life when it comes to doing the laundry!

The Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer comes in a choice of either polar white or graphite, both of which are great colours to fit in with any kitchens design.

Vented tumble dryers will carry any moisture which is created when drying your clothing through an external venting hose which means that this type of appliance must be placed next to an outside wall so that the moisture can be vented successfully.

When buying a tumble dryer it is important to decide which features you will find useful, the Hotpoint TVM562 vented tumble dryer has everything you need to feel confident when drying every laundry load easy iron programmes are a favourite around the UK because lets face it, no one like spending time doing the ironing!

When the kids head outside to play, it gives mom time to do other things. She can tackle some chores, soak in a hot bath, or relax and read a book. Sounds great, right? There is just one problem – the peace and quiet is constantly destroyed by the sound of kids yelling and screaming right outside the window.
Even though she knows they are just playing, no mom can relax or focus on a task when the ear piercing cries of her children are reaching her. You know the kids are fine and one of the other kids will be quick to inform you if there is a real problem, but you just cant help being distracted by the racquet. So whats the solution?
A great solution is sound proof windows. Noisy children are just one motive to invest in soundproof windows, though. Here are 7 valid reasons all moms deserve soundproof windows in their home.

7. Eliminate the Sound of Rowdy Children

It really is not necessary to hear the kids taunting and teasing each other or whooping and hollering as they play their games. Its even less necessary to hear the kids next door when they are creating a cacophony of noise. Eliminate that racket with soundproof windows.

6. Shut out Those Noisy Neighbors

Soundproof windows effectively reduce the noise made by your neighbors lawn mowers, stereos, and domestic disputes. Keeping those sounds out will help make your home a more tranquil place to live.

5. Increase Your Homes Value

Odds are you will sell your home some day. Installing sound proof windows increases the value of your home, so not only do you enjoy a quieter, more peaceful place to live, you are making a sound investment in your home.

4. Save on Taxes

When you install Energy Star soundproof windows, you are eligible for tax rebates. You can enjoy the peace and quiet even more when you know you also have a tidy tax savings wrapped up.

3. Increase Energy Efficiency

When you replace older windows with soundproof windows, you not only reduce noise, you also reduce energy costs. Soundproof windows are a great way to help retain heat and energy in your home instead of letting it escape outside.

2. Durable

Soundproof windows are strong and resilient. They often last much longer than other types of windows. You may never have to worry about replacing windows again.

1. Better Quality Sleep

After you install your soundproof windows you may be surprised just how much better you find yourself sleeping. You wont be disturbed by traffic noise, barking dogs, or thunderstorms. Even those noisy garbage trucks wont wake you up in the wee hours of the morning. And lets face it, a mom who gets a good nights sleep and wakes up feeling rested and refreshed is a much happier and more energetic mom. Thats a bonus for the whole family.

During the summer months it is nice to imagine that winter is far off and that the last thing we need to be worrying about is the condition of the furnace. Unfortunately, as a suburb of Chicago we do not have that luxury. For about nine months a year we are huddled indoors with our furnaces on full blast. This is something that we have become accustomed to and may even take for granted until we are faced with a below zero night without a functional heating system. To prevent this from happening to you, it is important to be a proactive homeowner.

There are a few checks that you can make before attempting to use the heating equipment.

Check the air filter-First, you should replace the air filter. A dirty or clogged air filter can prevent the unit from firing up and decrease airflow causing the unit to work harder to heat the home.

Check the thermostat- Also, you should check the thermostat. You should make sure that it has a fresh set of batteries, and if it is programmable, you may want to set an energy efficient program for the winter season.

Test the Furnace- Now you should test the furnace. You must first make sure that the switch is in the “on” position on the actual unit. Then you can turn the system on at the thermostat and raise the temperature a few degrees. For optimal energy efficiency the fan setting should be set in the “auto” position. Allow the unit to run for a few hours to make sure that the temperature is rising.

Schedule a Maintenance Check- Finally, you should have the furnace or boiler system tuned up and cleaned.

Four Seasons offers a 29 point tune up and cleaning for your furnace performed by one of our NATE certified technicians. Dirt and debris can cause major problems for a heating system. Not only will it diminish the efficiency of the unit, but also waste fuel and prevent lubrication of various components of the unit. Wasted fuel will lead to higher energy costs, and dirty, poorly lubricated parts can lead to system failure. This process will not only ensure that your furnace is working properly, it will also improve the efficiency of the unit. We are so confident in this service that we offer a no breakdown guarantee with our certified furnace or boiler tune up!

There are some things most people today know about oil.

* Global oil output is going to plummet
* Prices are going to rise forever
* The transition to alternative energy will be long and painful
* There will be more oil wars and industrial civilization may collapse
* Oil and gas will cause catastrophic climate change

The problem is that these ideas are wrong. Oil ran out first in 1885, and perhaps another five times since then. Every time, new finds, new technologies and changes in oil use confounded the pessimists.

Oil prices above $140 per barrel seem to encourage the growing belief that we are approaching peak oil and that supply cannot increase any more. But what has changed since 1998 when oil cost $10 a barrel? Just that a long period of under-investment in new energy supplies collided with rapid growth in Asia (and, easily forgotten, the USA). It takes years to turn the energy super-tanker around, to develop new oil fields, even though there is plenty in the ground.

There is a real debate over how much oil the world holds. But ideas of a vast conspiracy involving some mix of OPEC, the US government and Big Oil to exaggerate oil reserves are fantasy. Official figures are, if anything, somewhat under-stated, and, as recent massive finds in deep water offshore Brazil show, new exploration frontiers still exist. Out-dated environmental moratoria in the USA could be lifted to yield more domestic hydrocarbons. New technologies continue to wring more out of old fields. Most importantly, unconventional oil sources hold many times the volumes of conventional oil – from the famous Albertan oil sands, to fuels from natural gas, coal and plants, to cooking oil out of shales that hold trillions of barrels in the USA alone.

So there is no need to fight resource wars to secure oil. Invading oil-rich countries is vastly expensive and makes oil supplies less, not more, secure. The Middle East is a growing part of the world economy, not a nest of terrorists, desperate to cut off oil supplies in order to bankrupt themselves and invite vengeance. Propping up dictators in return for energy favours is not a valid long-term strategy either. The West, China, India and the oil exporters will gain far more from co-operating on energy, than following the mirage of energy independence.

Should we invest massively to move to a renewable energy system? Well, we already are — $100 billion in 2006 alone, and not only in the West, but in China, India, Brazil and other rising powers. Its hard to grow renewable energy any faster. Renewables are clearly a key part of powering the future, and of fighting global warming, but oil (and gas, and coal) are going to be the main sources of energy for decades to come. Capturing the carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, and storing it underground, is entirely practical and should be a major part of climate change policy. renewable energy and hydrocarbons are not enemies — we need to use them both.

So the end of oil is not imminent — neither is the collapse of industrial civilization. Even if oil supplies started declining, we could fill the gap with improved efficiency and new energy sources. Its neither necessary nor desirable for us to go back to some Year Zero of pre-modern society. Oil will never run out; it will be replaced, probably decades hence, by something better. That is the best and most positive reply to fears about the end of oil.

2008 Robin M. Mills

Author Bio
Robin M. Mills is an oil industry professional with a background in both geology and economics. Currently, he is Senior Evaluation Manager for Dubai Energy. Previously, he worked for Shell. Mills is a member of the International Association for Energy Economics and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. He holds a Master’s Degree in Geological Sciences from Cambridge University. His book, The Myth of the Oil Crisis: Overcoming the Challenges of Depletion, Geopolitics, and Global Warning, is available August 2008 from Praeger Publishers.