Give a Gift to the Environment this Holiday Season with ENERGY STAR

This holiday shopping season, consider gift options that give more! The EPA is recommending numerous ENERGY STAR gift-giving ideas that will help your friends and family give back to the environment and make an important difference in the fight against global warming — all while saving money! The typical household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills, and with ENERGY STAR, you can save more than 30%, or about $700. Over the lifetime of ENERGY STAR products, a household can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 120,000 lbs and save more than $10,000 in energy costs. A few ENERGY STAR gift options and ideas include:

• Home Electronics. If a television, DVD player, stereo, or cordless phone is on your list, looking for the ENERGY STAR is "on the money," since ENERGY STAR points you to the most energy efficient product models. Today's ENERGY STAR qualified TVs meet new, stricter requirements and offer up to 30% energy savings over standard models. An ENERGY STAR qualified TV uses less energy when it is both on and in standby mode. Also look for the ENERGY STAR on the external power adapters that come with cell phones, cameras, and MP3 players for more energy-saving gifts!
• Office Products. This holiday, help someone get their home office up and running with ENERGY STAR qualified office products. The ENERGY STAR label is on a number of office products from computers and monitors to fax machines, printers, and copiers — everything you need to make your home office work energy efficiently for you. A home office that has replaced all of its equipment with ENERGY STAR products and has enabled power management features on the ENERGY STAR PC and LCD monitor will save a consumer more than $160 over the lifetime of the products. Make sure you remind your gift recipient to keep the power-management features enabled on their new computer or monitor. Power management places computers and monitors into a low-power "sleep mode" when not in use and allows them to awaken within seconds, saving more than $25 per year. You can save even more by plugging your electronics into a power strip and turning the strip off when not in use.
• Power Tools and Appliances. For that handyman or handywoman on your list, consider power tools with ENERGY STAR battery chargers, which means that they are the most efficient available. EPA now qualifies products with popular brands such as Black & Decker, Makita, Bosch, and others. You can also choose from a number of other ENERGY STAR gifts such as appliances — clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators — and decorative lighting, such as ceiling and wall fixtures, table lamps, and more.