With today's focus on the environment, everyone wants to be as environmentally friendly as possible - including being energy efficient in your home.

ENERGY STAR helps you make the most energy efficient choice suitable to your needs when purchasing new appliances or other household items. Energy efficient choices can save families 33% on their energy bill - with similar savings in greenhouse gas emissions - without sacrificing features, style or comfort.

The ENERGY STAR symbol helps you quickly and easily identify home appliances and energy-using equipment that save energy without compromising your standard of living. It does this by identifying products as high efficiency performers in their category.

ENERGY STAR requirements

In order to display the ENERGY STAR symbol, products must meet or exceed technical specifications designed to ensure that they are among the most energy efficient in the marketplace. Requirements vary from one category to another, but typically an ENERGY STAR model must be from 10 to 50 percent more efficient than a conventional model.

ENERGY STAR products

ENERGY STAR labelled products which will be labelled and promoted in Canada are:

• Appliances (refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers and bottled-water coolers);
• Residential heating and cooling equipment (residential boilers, gas furnaces, air-to-air heat pumps, central air-conditioning units, louvered room air conditioners with no reverse cycle, programmable thermostats and dehumidifiers);
• Office equipment (computers, monitors, printers and fax machines, copiers, scanners and multi-function devices, bottled water coolers);
• Consumer electronics (TVs, VCRs, TV-VCR combinations, audio equipment and DVD products);
• Windows and sliding glass doors sold in Canada;
• Lighting equipment (compact fluorescent light bulbs, exit signs and traffic signals)
• Commercial and industrial products (refrigerated beverage vending machines and commercial solid door refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers and freezers)
• New homes built in Ontario and Saskatchewan under the ENERGY STAR for New Homes initiative.

For an energy-efficient household appliance, home heating or office equipment, consumer electronics or other products, look for the ENERGY STAR symbols.

And check out these government websites for more information:

U.S. Government's ENERGY STAR website Natural Resource Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency

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