Cool New Efficiency Standards

By Alison Rogers

Refrigerators must now meet higher efficiency standards to qualify for the Energy Star label, which helps consumers identify products that use less energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have increased the program’s efficiency requirements for full-size units to 20 percent more than those of current models, effective April 28. The DOE recently was criticized for its failure to comply with a schedule to update standards, but now says it is aggressively developing and implementing improvements. The new refrigerator standards, according to the DOE, will save U.S. consumers up to $23.5 million in energy costs.