Thanks to the financial incentives offered by state- and government-sponsored plans, homeowners are being energized to “go green” and “save green” at the same time.
Energy Trust
www.energytrust.org
The Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing how Oregonians use energy. Customers of Pacific Power, Portland General Electric, and Northwest Natural Gas are eligible for services, cash incentives, and the expertise of qualified contractors to help make their home more energy efficient.
Through this program, homeowners can upgrade everything from basic appliances to home systems. The list includes front-loading clothes washers, windows, heat pumps, furnaces, ductwork, and insulation in existing single-family homes.
Some of these improvements are also eligible for a tax credit from the State of Oregon.
Energy Trust sometimes offers added financial incentives on Energy Star products; visit their website for more info.
To get started on making your home more energy efficient, take the Home Energy Analyzer, available online at www.energytrust.org. The analysis takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete, and you will receive four free compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Energy Star
www.energystar.gov
This is a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal of the program is to encourage consumers to choose, where available, energy-efficient products and appliances.
Surveys conducted by Energy Star show the program is working: In 2006 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star-rated goods, saved about $14 billion on their energy bills, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 25 million vehicles. This program has been operating since 1992.
Green Seal
www.greenseal.org
This program has no state or government backing, nor does it offer consumers cash incentives for making green choices. Still, Green Seal, a non-profit program founded in 1989, carries a powerful punch.
According to its website, Green Seal is dedicated to “safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services.”
Hundreds of residential and commercial products bear the Green Seal logo, including MetroPaint (the only recycled paint to be certified), Miller paint, Rodda paint, Andersen doors and windows, and Trane electric chillers.
The WaterSense Label
www.epa.gov/watersense
WaterSense, a new voluntary public-private partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is making it easy to find and select water-efficient products with a label backed by independent testing and certification. WaterSense will also recognize professional service programs that incorporate water efficiency.
In order to use the label, a company must sign a WaterSense partnership agreement, as well as follow proper use of the label on products, on packaging, and in marketing and other promotional materials. Products that bear the WaterSense label meet all the criteria in EPA’s specifications for water efficiency and performance.
Generally speaking, WaterSense-labeled products will be about 20% more water efficient than their less efficient counterparts in the same category. In addition, WaterSense-labeled products perform their intended function as well as or better than their less efficient counterparts.
The WaterSense label is appearing first on professional certification programs for landscape irrigation professionals. WaterSense will also make the label available for water-efficient products in the home, beginning with toilets. As defined by EPA’s WaterSense specification, high-efficiency toilets (HETs) use less than 1.3 gallons per flush. You can find the most up-to-date list of labeled products and programs on the WaterSense website.
Be a Star
For homeowners dipping a toe in the green stream, choosing Energy Star-rated appliances can be a good place to start, notes Larry Snider, co-owner of Gladstone, OR-based Hamilton’s Appliance.
Refrigerators, dishwashers, and clothes washers — some of the most heavily used appliances in the home — are the best candidates for the research and development necessary to achieve the Energy Star rating.
Government standards already call for these basic appliances to use so many kilowatts of power per year of operation. “An Energy Star rating is between 10 to 15% higher than what the federal mandate calls for,” he explains.
For example, an Energy Star-rated front-loading clothes washer can save users $100 per year over its top-loading brethren.
It is more expensive to manufacture these energy efficient products, and that cost is reflected in the sticker price. Energy Star-rated appliances cost about 10% more than their same style counterparts, but save more energy.
Even so, “We’re seeing a shift towards Energy Star appliances. All things being equal, people will take it,” Snider says. “You’re not going to sell something to somebody that costs more money unless they can see the value of it.”
