News Brief: Energy Star Here to Stay

Students can expect to find shiny Energy Star labels on all new appliances purchased by the University. Last month, the Green Buildings Committee, a subcommittee of the Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship (SAGES), composed of students, staff, and administrators, unanimously approved a policy that all new appliance and equipment purchases must meet Energy Star requirements.

The Energy Star label is an international standard used on a wide range of electronics, including home appliances, televisions, and lighting. The Energy Star specification varies from product to product, but to qualify for the label, the product must be 20 to 30 percent more energy efficient than required by federal standards.

“It was a purchasing decision primarily affecting the facilities department within my jurisdiction,” wrote Joyce Topshe, Associate Vice President for Facilities and current member of the Green Buildings Committee in an e-mail to The Argus. “I made an executive decision to make it a policy.”

“The incredible thing about working with the administration is that they can snap their fingers and make things happen. A few phone calls and it was taken care of,” said Josh Levine ’12, member of the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) and the Green Buildings Committee.

The issue first surfaced when Topshe noticed that many of the refrigerators being purchased by the University were not meeting Energy Star standards.

“I would guess that Wesleyan probably has close to 1,000 refrigerators on campus in houses, apartments, and offices,” Topshe wrote. “We replace several refrigerators nearly every month.”

Household refrigerators are the most commonly replaced appliance at the University and the Green Building Committee looked into ways to reducing energy consumption with newer purchases. While Energy Star products, including refrigerators, cost more than their non-qualified counterparts, their energy savings reduce their lifetime costs. Old, inefficient appliances will be replaced as they fail.

“By 2020, expect all appliances on campus to be Energy Star,” Levine said.