LG Taps UL To Confirm Energy Ratings
By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 10/28/2009
Englewood Cliffs, N.J. - LG Electronics USA has enlisted UL Environment, a subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, to evaluate the manufacturer's water and energy consumption claims for its major appliance and CE products.
LG is the first CE/majap vendor to enroll in the lab's Environmental Claims Validation program, which is designed to provide manufacturers with a new source for independent, third-party green claims validation.
To date, UL Environment has corroborated LG's energy and water savings claims for it WM3001HWA SteamWasher, and for the overall energy consumption of its 47LH90 LCD TV in both "on" and "standby" power modes.
The tested models were all purchased at retail.
Test results showed that the LG SteamWasher uses a minimum of 50 percent less water and energy than Energy Star requirements effective July 1, 2009, and exceeds 2011 requirements for energy consumption by at least 35 percent and water consumption by at least 40 percent.
The LG LCD TV uses a minimum of 70 percent less energy than required by Energy Star 3.0 requirements in standby mode, lab tests showed, while using a minimum of 40 percent less energy in the on mode than Energy Star 3.0 requirements.
"Using this comprehensive UL Environment third-party testing program to validate environmental claims such as energy and water efficiency will instill further confidence in our products' performance and will help maintain consumers' confidence in voluntary programs such as Energy Star," said Teddy Hwang, president of LG Electronics USA.
LG intends to expand its participation in the UL Environment program to cover other product lines including refrigerator-freezers, dish washers, plasma TVs and Blu-ray Disc players.
UL Environment president Steve Wenc said the validation program's rigorous, independent testing process "brings a new level of confidence to consumers to make informed purchase decisions when shopping for energy efficient products," while differentiating manufacturers in the increasingly competitive "green" product space.
