Energy Efficient Appiances

Today is the Earth Day Earth Day in recognition and respect for our Planet Earth, a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress. Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day and every day is a time to act to protect our planet.

With all the debate surrounding global warming, reducing our energy foot print would go a long way to help conserve our resources. How do we go about? Well lets start with our household appliances. Your household appliances contribute heavily to your monthly utility bill and certainly use up substantial amounts of energy. To see for yourself, get an inexpensive digital power meter from your local hardware store and plug it between the appliance and the wall socket to track energy usage.

To reduce impact on the environment buy only appliances that have high efficiency ratings from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Energy Star Program. EPA posts Energy Guide ratings, on appliances listing annual operating costs and energy consumption. A substantial number of products in more than forty categories now carry the Energy Start Label from home electronics to office and commercial equipment. If all Americans switched to these labelled products over the next fifteen years, the energy costs would be reduced by over $100 billion and the savings in greenhouse gas emissions would equal to taking 17 million cars off the road.

Other simple tasks to reduce energy is to switch off appiances when not in use. Other ways to conserve energy is to dry clothes on a clothesline or rack and reduce the dependence on the dryer which typically burns tremendous amounts of energy.

Newer technologies have reduced energy usage levels manyfold. Appliances from Staber, Sweden's Asko and Germany's Miele have introduced energy efficient models. Mainstream brands such as Kenmore, Maytag and Whirlpool have also made significant strides in reducing energy usage.

So in general, looking out for Energy Star rated appliances and taking simple common sensical steps to turning off power when not in use can go a long way in reducing the energy foot print.

Here are some energy saving tips from EPA

Use the Energy Star program http://www.energystar.gov to find energy efficient products for your home. The right choices can save families about 30% ($400 a year) while reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases. Whether you are looking to replace old appliances, remodel, or buy a new house, the can help.

Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.

Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)

Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)

Have leaky air conditioning and refrigeration systems repaired.

Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.

Insulate your home, water heater and pipes.

Keep in mind that every trip adds to air pollution. Learn more at It All Adds Up http://www.italladdsup.gov.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star qualified Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL). If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with a CFL, it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls