How to Read the EnergyGuide Label

Different Types of Plumbing Pipes

When you’re shopping for new HVAC equipment and home appliances, fixtures, and electronics, how can you be sure you’re buying quality merchandise? These days, when it comes to such products, “quality” applies to both performance and energy efficiency. Regarding the latter factor — how well the product uses or saves energy — the Energy Star label and EnergyGuide label both provide essential information about a product’s energy efficiency. Both are the result of a program coordinated between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy.

Energy Star Label

This familiar blue label can be found on a wide range of energy-using products that meet minimum standards set by the federal government. These include water heaters, TVs, refrigerators, A/Cs and heat pumps, windows, and insulation, among many others. An Energy Star-certified product must achieve the following:

• Provide substantial energy savings throughout the country.

• Come with features and performance demanded by customers. In effect, energy efficiency can’t come at the cost of other characteristics of quality.

• If the Energy Star product costs more than a similar product with less energy efficiency, the product must provide energy savings that more than compensate for that extra cost.

• Technology in a qualifying product must be available from more than one manufacturer.

• The product’s energy use must be measurable and verifiable.

EnergyGuide Label

The EnergyGuide label differs from the Energy Star logo in that it doesn’t signify a superior product. Rather, the EnergyGuide label – affixed by manufacturers to most appliances – provides hard data about that product’s energy use, as compared to other, similar products. This includes the product's annual energy consumption and operating costs.Information on the label includes:

1. Maker, model number, and appliance size.

2. Estimated yearly operating cost, based on the average of electricity costs throughout the country.

3. Whether the product has qualified for the aforementioned Energy Star.

4. Estimated consumption of electricity every year.

5. Key features of this particular model class.

For more information on the Energy Star and EnergyGuide labels, please contact us at Air Assurance, providing quality HVAC services in the Broken Arrow area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Public Domain/Wikipedia”

Everything You Need to Know About the EnergyGuide Label

That distinctive yellow sticker on new appliances like A/Cs, water heaters and heat pumps is called the EnergyGuide label, but it might as well be called the energy-saving label. If you use this federally mandated label as intended to compare the energy-saving potential for a given appliance to that of similar appliances, it can save you money on energy bills throughout the life of the appliance you choose. If you're shopping for a furnace, the EnergyGuide label will show you how one furnace compares energy-wise to other furnaces with the same size and features.

You'll find the EnergyGuide sticker on a broad range of appliances, but not all of them. The label is affixed to air conditioners, heat pumps, dishwashers, clothes washers, furnaces, freezers, TVs, refrigerators and pool heaters. The label isn't placed on clothes dryers, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, ovens and ranges.

Reading the Label

You'll find the following pieces of information on the EnergyGuide label:

• Estimated yearly operating cost: A single-line continuum graph shows where a particular appliance stands in regard to energy costs compared to similar models. These numbers are based on average national electrical costs.

• Estimated electrical usage: The label uses kilowatt hours to show how much electricity the appliance will consume annually, based on typical users.

• Details on key features of the appliance: Other appliances used for comparison purposes will have the same basic features and size. The tag also will provide details on the model and manufacturer.

• The Energy Star logo: If the appliance you're considering has achieved minimum energy efficiency standards set by the federal Energy Star program, it will feature the familiar blue logo on the EnergyGuide label. Appliances with this designation use less energy than an equivalent product that doesn't sport the Energy Star while offering the same or better functionality and quality. If at all possible, make sure any new appliance you buy comes with the Energy Star logo.

For more information on the EnergyGuide label, please contact the pros at Air Assurance. We proudly supply excellent service to the Tulsa metro area, including Broken Arrow.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “iQoncept/Shutterstock”