MEMORIAL DAY TAX HOLIDAY FOR SOME ENERGY STAR PRODUCTS
By Ella Tyler
Finally, an excuse that shopping is good for the environment! From 12:01 am on Saturday, May 24 to 11:59 pm on Monday, May 26, purchases of certain Energy Star products are exempt from Texas sales taxes. Products that can be purchased tax-free include refrigerators, air-conditioning systems, dehumidifiers, ceiling fans, light bulbs, dishwashers, programmable thermostats, and clothes washers. For details, see the program’s website.
Energy Star is an EPA/Department of Energy program that promotes energy efficient products and practices. In 1992 EPA introduced Energy Star as a voluntary labeling program to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first Energy Star products were computers and monitors, and now there are more than 50 types of products that can be Energy Star. EPA has extended the label to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. To see all the kinds of products that could be Energy Star, see the Energy Star guide.
Even though not all these products will qualify for the sales tax exemption, all will save money and save energy. If there is very little difference in energy efficiency among different models of a product, clothes driers for example, the product does not qualify for an Energy Star designation.
Conventional battery chargers — even when not charging — can draw as much as 5 to 20 times more energy than is actually stored in the battery! However, Energy Star qualified battery chargers use 35% less energy. Considering how many battery chargers we use at home and work – about 230 million of them – if all were Energy Star, we could save more than 1 billion kilowatt hours of energy per year. In money, this is more than $100 million annually. In greenhouse gas emissions, this is more than one million tons. In cars, it is about 150,000. The EPA doesn’t say what kind of cars, but I am sure they mean big gas-guzzlers.
I can spend a long time trying to decide which product is “greenest”, but I know that Energy Star products offer significant energy savings without sacrificing features, style or comfort. Even if they aren’t on sale, they’re a good deal.