Energy Star Zeitgeist

Patrick Walsh, another one of my smart Harlem colleagues, tells me that the more appropriate term is zeitgeist for these strange coincidence-like (synchronicity) encounters that I have been experiencing in the blogosphere. So as soon as I finish Jack Karney's "Work of Darkness" his son Richard, "Mr. Energy Star," appears on WCCO News (Minnesota). It's hard to believe that Richard actually runs a successful gvt project. Here's the interview. Here's the transcript: I-TEAM: Energy Star Products Saving Americans Cash (WCCO) When you're looking to be more energy efficient in your home, many people start by finding the Energy Star label on appliances. It's a name consumers trust and with good reason. Energy Star products cut utility bills and help the environment. At Best Buy -- and other stores selling appliances -- Energy Star is a sales star."Customers are willing to pay more if they are educated on what it's going to save them," said Best Buy salesman Bill Wiemann. Jill Sonnesyn, from Plymouth, Minn., is one of those customers. She was eager to update her kitchen with Energy Star products."Just being energy conscious and I think it's an important thing for everyone," she said.Sonnesyn did a lot of research about Energy Star products. She still wonders, who runs Energy Star? "I would assume it must be governmentally regulated," she said. Actually, Energy Star is a partnership between the federal government and manufacturers. Government sets the performance standards for energy efficiency. Manufacturers get to slap an Energy Award label on their product if it exceeds those standards. "I believe the label has moved the market," said Richard Karney, who runs Energy Star for the Department of Energy."The companies that we work with work very hard to get the Energy Star label on their products," Karney said. "They're always looking for ways of saving energy, but let me remind you, at the same time they are not reducing at all any performance of their products." But Energy Star is sometimes a victim of its own success. For examples, clothes dryers use too much energy to qualify for the program. Yet our hidden camera found dryers in local stores displayed along with the Energy Star. Leigh Gallagher, with SmartMoney magazine, said not all appliances are put to the same tough tests. "There is a testing process and in some categories the tests are more rigorous than others," said Gallagher. SmartMoney found the Energy Star logo was reliable on products like dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines. The logos were less reliable on TVs and air conditioners. Critics also say Energy Star has been watered down. Only the top 25 percent of appliances in each category are supposed to get the star. Gallagher said that's no longer the case."The label is on some 85 percent of new dishwashers, 98 percent of computers. Well that sort of dilutes the value then," she said.Tougher requirements for dishwasher take effect next year. New TV and computer standards are in the works." Karney said the Department of Energy will update their standards for Energy Star when the market is saturated. "We have to make sure the consumer sees that the label differentiates the products from others," Karney said. Last year, Energy Star saved Americans $12 billion on their utility bills. It also cut greenhouse gases the equivalent of taking 23 million cars off the road. And that makes Jill, and other consumers, feel like they're part of something much bigger than themselves.