·
The cornerstone of the
Cable Muse Network campaign is the ENERGY STAR pledge. This pledge challenges people to “do more” to help fight
global warming by making energy-efficient choices at home and at work. If every American household took part in the pledge,
we would save more than 110 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent
greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars. ·
The energy used in the
average house can cause twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the average car. Make a difference by saving energy at home
and work—start by changing a light, and then think about bringing energy savings to the rest of your home or workplace!
·
Most power plants burn
fossil fuels to make electricity. By using less energy, you can reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned, which means
less of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
·
Most people want to
protect our environment, but many don’t know where to start. Choosing ENERGY STAR qualified products and energy-saving
practices is a simple way to save money, energy, and time, while helping to keep our planet a healthy place to live.
·
Every
product or practice changed is a step in the right direction. From changing a light to enabling computers to power down while
not in use to using a programmable thermostat correctly when at home, asleep, and away, to choosing ENERGY STAR qualified
products when making a new purchase, these simple, everyday actions can change the world.
·
Take EPA’s ENERGY
STAR Pledge at energystar.gov/changetheworld and join with millions of others in using products and practices that save energy, save money, and protect the environment.
Together, we can all make a difference.
·
Products
that earn the ENERGY STAR reduce greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.
MORE INFORMATION ON STEPS INCLUDED IN THE PLEDGE
ENERGY
STAR Qualified Lighting
·
If every home in the
U.S. replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, we would save enough energy to light about 3 million homes for a year,
save more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent
to the emissions of about 800,000 cars.
·
An ENERGY STAR qualified
light bulb can save about $30 or more in electricity costs over its lifetime and prevent 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
over its lifetime—the equivalent of keeping more than 200 pounds of coal from being burned— compared to using
an incandescent bulb.
·
ENERGY
STAR qualified compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are available in different sizes and shapes, including mini-spiral, spiral,
and A-line, which fit in almost any fixture.
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· ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs
use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times
longer.
·
Wondering where to get
the most energy savings? Replace light bulbs (or entire fixtures) where lights are typically left on the longest, such as
your family and living room, kitchen, dining room, and porch. Place bulbs in open fixtures that allow air flow and, if replacing
a bulb operating on a dimmer switch, look for bulbs specifically designed for this use. ·
ENERGY STAR qualified
light fixtures come in hundreds of popular styles, including portable fixtures—such as table, desk, floor, and torchiere
lamps—and hard-wired fixtures such as outdoor, cabinet, suspended, ceiling-mount, wall-mount, and more.
CFLs
and Mercury
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing—an average of 4 milligrams
per light bulb. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, CFLs contain about 1/100th of the
mercury that older thermometers contain.
Coal-burning power plants are the single largest source of human-caused mercury emissions in the United States,
contributing to more than 40 percent of all emissions. Because CFLs use 75 percent less energy than the incandescent bulbs
they replace, they help to reduce net mercury emissions by requiring less coal to be burned at these plants. |
