Region 1: EPA New England
Help the Environment By Adding Energy Efficiency to Your Holiday Shopping List
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
By Robert W. Varney
December
12, 2002
With cold weather upon us and household and government budgets being squeezed, energy efficiency is a solution that makes sense both for the environment and the bottom line.
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Across the country, efforts like EPA’s Energy Star program are making it easier for businesses and consumers to improve their energy performance, their environment - all while saving money. Last year alone, energy efficiency saved Americans $6 billion – enough energy to power 10 million homes and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 12 million cars.
But there's much more to be done, especially here in New England where bitter cold temperatures can make or break budgets for everyone from homeowners to school superintendents to businesses.
Consumers can do their part by looking for the Energy Star label when shopping for holiday gifts. Many items on wish lists around the region - TVs, VCRs, DVD players, stereos and cordless telephones - are available with the Energy Star label. By choosing these products, New Englanders can save energy and money and help protect the environment. If energy use from these products doesn’t seem like a big deal, consider this: by 2015, small household appliances and home electronics will be responsible for nearly 40 percent of all household electricity use.
EPA New England is working with various partners across the region — from small DPW garages to Fortune 500 companies – to help them slash their energy bills. We’re particularly focused on large energy consumption sectors such as municipalities, school departments, hospitals, hotels and food retailers.
Next month in Connecticut, we'll be training municipal and school officials on how to benchmark the energy efficiency of their buildings. (Schools spend more money on energy – more than $6 billion nationwide a year – than on books and computers combined.) Building managers will learn how to access Energy Star’s free online tools to measure the energy performance of their schools, town halls and public works garages. After exposing the potential savings of improved building energy performance, we’ll offer steps for upgrades that will capture those savings for the community - so they can put that money to a better use.
Many cities and towns across New England are already doing this kind of work, much of it through a new coalition known as the New England Cities for Climate Protection. Medford, MA, a coalition member which spends $1.5 million a year heating and lighting its buildings, has implemented dozens of energy saving measures as part of its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent compared to 1998 levels. Among those steps: installing energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode bulbs in place of incandescent bulbs at hundreds of traffic lights. (The local utility provided rebates for most of the bulbs which are 80 to 90 percent more energy efficient.); installing solar panels and energy-efficient lighting at City Hall, as well as heating the building with natural gas instead of oil (annual savings in first year, $7,000); and adding five electric cars to its fleet. The city is also benchmarking most of its buildings in the coming months.
Burlington, VT has gone even further, launching a “10 Percent Challenge” aimed at achieving a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by businesses, individuals and public entities alike. The city has already cut energy usage below 1989 levels, with many of those cuts resulting from an $11 million bond issue to fund energy efficiency improvements. The improvements are saving ratepayers $5 million a year on their energy bills. The city is also committed to using clean renewable power; last summer, the City Council approved a contract to buy up to 7 percent of the city’s power from Burlington a new wind project on Little Equinox Mountain.
EPA also is working closely with businesses, including the hotel industry which spends nearly $5 billion a year on energy bills. This summer EPA Administrator Christie Whitman launched an Energy Star benchmarking tool so hotel operators can evaluate their energy performance against other hotels. In launching the program, Whitman recognized the 1,215-room Sheraton Boston Hotel as one of only two hotels in the country to receive the Energy Star label for superior energy performance.
EPA New England is also ‘walking the talk’ by reducing its own energy usage. We recently opened a 66,000-square-foot regional laboratory in Chelmsford, MA that is being powered with on-site photovoltaic solar cells and off-site renewable power purchased through a contract with a wind-generation company, Green Mountain Power of Vermont. We’ve also audited our regional headquarters in Boston which has resulted in sweeping changes in our energy management systems. We’re shooting for a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption by 2003.
Every individual, every business and every community has the power to make a positive difference. Whether you’re buying a gift, heating the home or running a business, make energy efficiency a part of your decision. Think of it as adding yourself, the environment, and future generations to your holiday shopping list.
Robert W. Varney is regional administrator of EPA’s New England Office in Boston.
For details about the benchmarking workshop in Connecticut and other energy efficiency efforts, please contact EPA’s Bill White at white.william@epa.gov or at 617-918-1333.