Energy Star Rating really saves energy? Do you consider it while shopping?

Oh and welcome back, have not seen you in a while. Hope all is well.

I could be better but no absolute complaints on my end, as I truly feel blessed. I am glad that you are doing well, and happy to hear your transcription job is going well. Good to hear that you still enjoy the site and I will drop by you from time to time. Be well and stay blessed my friend.

Hello HardworkingGurl, How are you doing? Yes, as explained to me, this star rating system just put the appliance on a standby mode and in this way they save energy, but it is useless to save energy in this way. For instance, in my case, if my air conditioner will go on standby after some time in order to save energy, there will no air conditioning for that period of time. And in this extremely hot climate at my place, Rajasthan, India, it is just useless as it will never cool the room. I also think that auto switch off or auto standby mode is not the right way of saving energy as some appliance needs to be working constantly, like as you say, a PC or an AC. Furthermore, this work should be done by auto-off technology and not by star-rating. I think star rating should something different; it should be something related with components which utilize less energy or something. As explained to me switching off at a certain interval is not ideal or good. I agree with you that they do not save energy. And, thanks for the welcome. Yes, all is well. I was just logging-in and responding to a single discussion per day as myLotting consumes quite a good time which could be utilized in a more productive way. As you know, I am a registered medical transcriptionist, and I have typed a lot here and still have not reached the mark of minimum payout. For the same lines I have typed here, I could have made 1000 times more with my profession. This is the reason for my less activity here; although, I love being here with all my friends like you and do log-in daily in order to enjoy and satisfy myself.

Hello Sid, How are you doing? Well said dear, "under test conditions" it is a real puzzle for everyone. Although, we have constant power supply here without any fluctuations and additionally there will be a stabilizer in place, but still it is not possible, I think. How can an appliance like refrigerator or AC consume only 275 or 450 units a year? I agree that these are advertizing stunts, but government is also promoting these type of star rating even though those appliance cost a lot more than single rated appliance. For exam, there was a difference of Rs. Five thousands at least in single-star and five-star AC of almost all brands. Sid, I am extremely sorry for not being as active as I was in the past for the reason mentioned above to Hardworkinggurl. I too miss myLot and my friends like you here, but I have no option dear. Hope your health is good now. Godspeed!

Oh yes, you are quite right about the reasons of your devoting less time here... I read that response after I had posted my comment on GFs. As far as I know, these A/Cs come in tonnes capacity and that determines their load or usage of electricity. I remember at my last office, where we had a 2 tonne a/c and that was said to be star compliant - videocon - but the bills were always above 5k - though it was a residence / non-professional billing system and we did have 10 laptops working 8-10 hrs per day. The raise was felt much in the summers as the bills soared higher than the normal of 2000.00 For Indian Government, nothing is impossible... they always turn a blind eye to the essential things of life... Their logic - if you have the capacity to pay the bills, pay them, put on more and more a/cs we get the payments for us...

Hi thesids I thought I pop in and share the as well.

Hello zhpshql, It is great that you consider this star-rating label while you purchase any electric appliance, but have you noticed any decrease in electric bill after using them? As these appliances comes costly than their normal counterparts, we must contemplate whether they really save energy or not? I was not sure, but wanted to save energy, so I opted for a 3-star appliance as the 5-star would have cost me more than this. Further, I was not sure about their energy saving and my dealer also denied that they save any energy for us.

Nowadays, all brands have adopted the idea of energy star rating. You will see this star rating label on the box itself. It is also pasted on the body of appliance. Shibham, did you notice any change in your electric bill after purchasing the 4-star refrigerator. Was it your second refrigerator as you could notice a change only when you have replaced it with an old one, right?

Thanks for the response based on experience! I was awaiting a response like yours. It is encouraging that your electric bill showed a decrease due to the use of star-rated appliance. . In case of refrigerator and freezer, when it was not in use, for example, at nighttime, this star-rating system would have put them on standby mode saving you energy. I think it is good in this sense only. When there is no need for the compressor to work, it will shut off automatically thus saving energy for us.

That's great. It means you practically can say that these star-rated equipments really saves energy for us. It is a big relief for me because they are priced more due their star rating. It is good that you are even able to quantify your savings per month due to those equipments. Thanks a lot for your valuable response. Have a great day...

Yes, you are right in pointing out the best methods of energy saving and procedures which we should adopt in order to save energy. These wise habits can save up to 60% energy and ultimately a lot of money for us, but have you any experience regarding these star-rated appliances? Do you think they really save energy? Thanks for your great response. Other than these star-rated appliances, I will keep in mind your tips on energy saving.

Exactly, that was the reason behind this discussion. I wanted to learn the real thing about these star-rated appliances. Only consumer or people who have used these appliances can tell whether they save energy or not, and such a discussion I could have only here at myLot. I also think that it is just a trick to make more money. They do not save any energy as such. This dealer is my friend and he had explained it in a great manner. I cannot imagine that a refrigerator (as per example above) can run for a whole day by consuming just 0.75 units even if it is not opened for a single minute! That is just impossible. Maybe they can prove it under "test conditions," but this is just a fraud-type of thing according to me. They are just cheating with consumers and making money out of so called another notion of "energy star rating".

Actually, the dealer provided the calculation for that refrigerator like this: Star rating label shows 275 units per year. = 275/365 = 0.75 units per day --- Just impossible! If you will notice, you can find similar labels on all the star-rated appliances. If we will calculate by dividing it for a day with 365, the results are unrealistic. I think they put the appliance on standby mode, which in turn can save energy, but this is is not the right way of saving energy. Appliance like AC, refrigerator, PC, etc. needs to be run constantly for hours. Energy should be saved by using better components in the appliance, not by putting it on a standby mode.

That's why I got puzzled. Electric appliance even with star rating are not saving any energy is very sad to take not of. Only those who have used these types of appliance can tell better. Since you have purchased a dryer with energy star rating and per your experience it had not saved you any money in terms of electricity bill, I am thankful that I made the right choice by not choosing a 5-star product. Thanks for your prompt response. Have a great day!