This holiday season, why not give energy efficient gifts that keep people smiling long after the festivities are over. Energy efficient gifts save money, energy, improve quality of life and help the environment. And let’s not forget, there’s some serious cutting-edge technology out there as well!
Home Entertainment
There are a lot of great energy efficient gifts to choose from if you’re looking at home entertainment. Look for ENERGY STAR labeled products like:
- DVD/BLU-RAY players
- Digital picture frames: ENERGY STAR certified digital picture frames use 25% less energy than non-qualified models.
- Televisions: ENERGY STAR certified TVs offer up to 30% energy savings over standard models.
Home Office Products
Increasing numbers of people are working from home nowadays; what better gift than helping them set up an energy efficient home office? Once again, look for ENERGY STAR labeled office products, such as:
- Fax machines
- Printers
- Copiers
- Computers and monitors: putting these into “sleep mode” when not in use provides more than $25 in annual savings and $160 over the lifetime of the products.
- Telephone systems
ENERGY STAR Battery Chargers
Think about how much money you spend on batteries for:
- Video game controllers
- Digital cameras
- Shavers
- Hand vacuums
- Power tools
When you add it all up, it can come to hundreds of dollars a year! ENERGY STAR qualified rechargeable batteries and chargers can put an end to that; they use 35% less energy than conventional chargers.
These are only a few ideas, of course, but hopefully enough to get you thinking! And the great thing about energy efficient gifts is they’re not just fun to give, but also fun to get!