Madison Gas & Electric
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CALL: 252-7117

Buying new appliances? Look for the Energy Star label.

When shopping for new appliances and equipment, choose those with an ENERGY STAR
label.

It means you’ve found a model that uses considerably less energy than its standard
counterpart.
Depending on the type of equipment, ENERGY STAR models can typically save from 10% to
50% of the power used by a standard model. You can select from over 40 kinds of ENERGY
STAR products - from air conditioners to windows, insulation to lighting.
If, over the next few years, you replace all your appliances with ENERGY STAR appliances,
your
individual savings could be about $320 in annual energy costs. This represents 25% of an
average customer’s annual electric bill.

For more information about ENERGY STAR and to see how your energy
savings can add up, visit
mge.com/energystar.

ENERGY STAR Savings
• New refrigerators use less than half as much electricity as those built before 1993, and
ENERGY STAR models save an additional 15%. The typical Wisconsin refrigerator uses about
1,000 kWh per year. The average new ENERGY STAR refrigerator uses about 480 kWh per
year,
for an annual savings of about $60.
• ENERGY STAR-labeled dishwashers are required to use at least 25% less energy than
a new standard dishwasher. At least 65% of local homeowners have an automatic
dishwasher, and these households wash an average of about 215 loads per year. Each year,
roughly 8,000 new dishwashers are purchased in MGE’s service area.
• ENERGY STAR-labeled dehumidifiers use about 10% to 20% less electricity to remove the
same amount of moisture as a standard dehumidifier.
• Purchasing a new ENERGY STAR-labeled clothes washer saves energy mainly by reducing
the amount of hot water needed for a wash cycle. There are added savings in the electricity
needed to operate the washing machine, as well as reduced clothes dryer energy, because
ENERGY STAR washers remove more moisture from the wash load.