Energy Star - What's All the Hype?

'When Canadians want to save energy and money and help the environment, they look for the ENERGY STAR symbol to identify energy-efficient products.

What is ENERGY STAR?

ENERGY STAR is the international symbol for energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR symbol helps consumers identify products that operate at premium levels of energy efficiency without sacrificing the features, versatility and quality expected of high-performing products.

ENERGY STAR is good for consumers, for the environment and for business:

• The more energy efficient a product is, the less it costs to operate – an important consideration for consumers in these days of rising energy costs. Choosing ENERGY STAR qualified products when replacing old equipment can increase energy efficiency by 10 to 50 percent and can cut household energy bills significantly.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  ENERGY STAR qualified products must meet or exceed strict technical standards for energy efficiency.
• In many parts of Canada, fossil fuels are burned to produce electricity. This results in the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to global climate change and other pollutants that contribute to urban smog and acid rain. Energy-efficient products consume less electricity, thus reducing power demand and associated GHG emissions. Energy-efficient products also help Canada conserve natural resources.
• As an internationally recognized, government-backed symbol of energy efficiency, ENERGY STAR can help manufacturers, distributors and retailers of energy-using equipment increase their sales of qualifying products. Participating in ENERGY STAR is also an opportunity for businesses and others to play a leadership role in Canada’s climate change response.

The power of the ENERGY STAR symbol is its simplicity. No special knowledge is needed to select an energy-efficient product – the ENERGY STAR symbol on a product or its packaging or in its advertising or literature identifies the product as one of the most energy efficient on the market.'

SOURCE:  http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/business/energystar/energy-star-in-canada.cfm, Retrieved April 5, 2011.