ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) has partnered with the Alliance to Save Energy, the Edison Electric Institute, and NBC Universal’s Sci Fi Channel on a campaign to educate Americans about how to reduce energy consumption in their homes.
“Considering central air conditioning accounts for about 15 percent of the electricity consumed by U.S. households, in order to conserve energy we must replace older, inefficient cooling systems with newer, more efficient technology,” said Stephen Yurek, ARI president. “But these gains can only be achieved if new systems are properly installed. In fact, poorly installed air conditioning systems can be up to 40 percent less efficient than the certified efficiency rating noted on the equipment. We hope this campaign will help us reach more Americans with these important energy-saving messages.”
The campaign includes a national contest for a home energy-efficiency makeover that will be promoted on air, online, and through other communications vehicles reaching millions of Americans. Based on an energy audit, the grand prize winner could receive up to $25,000 worth of energy-efficiency improvements to create a “smarter” home. To enter, contestants must go to www.scifi.com/homemakeover. There they will be asked to answer a few energy-oriented questions about their homes and write a brief essay about why they deserve an energy-efficiency home makeover.
“ARI’s member companies, which produce the vast majority of central air conditioning systems installed in American homes, would not only like consumers to take advantage of the highly-efficient systems they offer, but also to learn about what characterizes a quality installation and why they will save energy by working with qualified installers,” said Yurek. “As part of this campaign, ARI will be providing resources on its Website to help consumers optimize the efficiency of their cooling systems.”
Other partners in this national campaign include the U.S. Department of Energy, American Gas Association, Consumer Electronics Association, Whirlpool Corp., OSRAM Sylvania, The Dow Chemical Co., and CMC Energy Services.
For more information, visit www.ari.org.
Publication date:07/02/2007
