Portland, Ore. – The
Northwest
Energy Efficiency Alliance
presented evidence Tuesday that its
super-efficient TV initiative, called Energy Forward, has had a significant
impact on Northwest U.S.-based retailers stocking and selling super-efficient
TVs.
The NEEA, working in tandem with Northwest utilities, said it is
using the excuse of the upcoming holiday selling season to raise awareness
about Energy Forward TVs by using a variety of social-media outreach efforts.
This will include information streamed on Twitter, as well as an Energy Forward
contest offering a super-efficient TV giveaway that has launched on
.
The Facebook contest, which is called the Big Picture Photo
Contest, invites residents of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington to enter to
vote for their favorite captions. Five winners will receive new Energy Forward
Samsung LED TVs.
Energy Forward was
developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) working in cooperation
with the NEEA, environmental groups and utility companies to help consumers
identify the most energy-efficient, technologically advanced televisions on the
market, the group said.
Qualifying TVs have a distinctive orange Energy Forward sticker
indicating that it was engineered to be the very best of Energy Star — the U.S.
government-backed standard for energy efficiency.
“We designed Energy
Forward to make it easy for consumers to find TVs that deliver the most
technologically advanced performance and energy efficiency,” said Stephanie
Fleming, NEEA residential sector manager. “Now we’re expanding on that effort,
using social media to build a consumer community who want to increase their
energy-efficiency literacy and be ‘Energy Forward’ when it comes to
televisions.”
The NEEA also collaborates
with its partners to develop more stringent product specifications, and works
with retailers to stock and promote the most efficient TVs.
“The goal is to accelerate the market adoption of super-efficient
TVs in the Northwest and to raise the bar for energy efficiency in TVs on a
national scale,” according to an NEEA statement.
Since the Energy Forward program
began at the end of 2009, retailers representing 80 percent of TVs sold in the
Northwest have partnered with the NEEA to promote Energy Forward TVs in their
stores and to their consumers, the group said.
At the start of 2011,
energy-efficient TVs that were promoted with the Energy Forward sticker
represented 12 percent of televisions sold in the Northwest by participating
retailers. NEEA said it anticipates that by the end of 2011, 35 percent to 40
percent of TVs sold in the region will be Energy Forward.
The NEEA claimed that from 2009 through 2010, the NEEA’s regional
television initiative saved the region approximately 13.7 average megawatts in
energy savings, the equivalent to powering 10,453 homes each year.
According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 85
percent of the region’s new demand for electricity over the next 20 years can
be met by using energy more efficiently. The council estimates some of the
biggest energy savings could come from more Northwest residents choosing
super-efficient televisions.
The group said Energy Forward TVs can be purchased at major retailers,
including Best Buy, Costco, Kmart, Sam’s Club, Sears and Walmart, and a range
of regional and independent retailers throughout the Northwest.
