DOE Sets Efficiency Standards for Vending Machines

On September 1, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new energy efficiency standard for the 2.3 million beverage vending machines in the United States. Vending machines, found in almost every public building, have never been accountable to energy standards. This new standard would curb energy use and carbon dioxide emissions. “The average energy use of the most common new cold beverage vending machines would be cut by about 42%” reports the Appliance Standards Awareness Project . The standard, taking effect in 2012, will save 9.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2012 to 2046 or “roughly equivalent to removing over 2 million automobiles from the road for a year,” according to the DOE. It will also help vending machine owners save a total of $38 to $52 million per year on energy bills.

President Obama encouraged the DOE in February 2009 to enact a series of new energy efficiency standards for appliances. DOE has also released new standards for kitchen appliances, general service incandescent lights, fluorescent lamps, and commercial air conditioners and boilers. Energy efficient appliances represent an important means of reducing energy in buildings , which comprise 40 percent of U.S. energy use.