Appliances & Consumer Products

Energy-efficient residential consumer products help reduce electric use year-round. ENERGY STAR®-certified appliances use less electricity and water than standard models, which helps reduce energy costs — without sacrificing performance, technology or premium options. BPA partners with ENERGY STAR® and NEEA to document energy-efficient models and determine their energy savings. BPA also supports utility-run appliance programs for eligible clothes washers and dryers, and other energy-efficient consumer electronics. BPA supports these programs by tracking upcoming changes in ENERGY STAR appliance specifications, maintaining total resource cost-effective measures with BPA payments, and providing access to qualified products lists and regional marketing opportunities.

Several consumer product measures are also available to income-qualified residents at a higher incentive, with additional coverage for related repair costs. Reference BPA's Low-Income Energy Efficiency page for more information.

At a Glance: Appliances & Consumer Products

Clothes Washers
According to energystar.gov, the average American family washes about 300 loads of laundry a year. An ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washer can reduce energy costs by about 33% and water costs by more than 50%.

Benefits:

Efficient motors spin clothes faster during the spin cycle to extract more water.
More thorough rinsing and gentler operation.
High-quality features for improved performance.

Clothes Dryers
Similarly, energystar.gov says their ENERGY STAR-certified dryers use up 20% less energy, most often through the use of moisture sensors that can shut the unit off when the desired dryness level is reached. Additional savings can be obtained through the inclusion of heat pump technology.

BPA supports utility-run appliance programs by providing access to qualified product lists for eligible clothes washers and dryers. The ENERGY STAR-qualified product lists are updated monthly and can be found on the Appliances and Consumer Products Essentials page. ENERGY STAR evaluates products for reliability, operation and energy efficiency. Products with the ENERGY STAR label are certified as meeting strict energy efficiency and reliability standards.

BPA also partners with NEEA on the Super Efficient Dryer Initiative, which offers tiered incentives for the highest performing models available. A qualified products list is also posted to the webpage, and is updated when new products have been tested and become available.

Electric Vehicle Chargers
Efficient Electric Vehicle Chargers, or EV Chargers, help reduce the energy used to charge electric vehicles by reducing standby losses, or energy consumption when the vehicle is fully charged. BPA offers a measure for efficient chargers that meet the ENERGY STAR-standard for Level 2 EV Chargers. More information is available on the ENERGY STAR website. An EV Charger infographic that explains the different charger levels and their benefits is available on the Appliances & Consumer Products Program Essentials page.

Appliances & Consumer Products Essentials

Retail Sales Allocation Tool (RSAT)

The Retail Sales Allocation Tool (RSAT) is a dynamic interface tool for creating transparent, accurate allocations of sales of energy-efficiency products to the utility service territory in which they were installed—without requiring end-user documentation.

The tool uses detailed data sources that combine:

Retailer profiles
Information about products and stocking practices
Seventy-two consumer profiles from Experian’s Mosaic^© customer segmentation data
GIS to map drive times and overlay the multiple data sources with all 142 public- and investor-owned utility service territories in the Pacific Northwest.

The current output of the tool is in the form of an Excel spreadsheet (with a choice of Macros or Filters) to allow for the tool to be used by all parties without the need for additional software or Web access.

For more detailed information, read the RSAT FAQ document.

BPA initiated this project:

To address utility requests for more accurate and transparent allocation percentages for the Simple Step, Smart Savings regional program
To identify a methodology to move appliance programs upstream and relieve utilities from the laborious practice of Appliance Incentive forms

In November 2011, BPA contracted with Portland Energy Conservation Inc. (PECI) to build the RSAT. The goal of the project was to provide public and investor-owned utilities in BPA’s region with a tool that provides percentage allocation by utility service territory, of sales of energy efficient retail products from a variety of retail outlets. Initial product categories were: lighting products (CFLs, LED, fixtures, lighting controls), showerheads, and appliances (refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers).

Today, the tool is updated annually and provided to utility customers for feedback prior to release. A current copy is available by contacting your Energy Efficiency Representative.

Additional Resources

Residential Sales Allocation Tool FAQ
Retail Sales Allocation Methodology Presentation (May 2012)
Retail Sales Allocation Tool Presentation (December 2013)

For quick access to guides and best practices, forms, specifications, marketing materials and other resources, please click on the Program Essentials icon.

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Appliances & Consumer Products

At a Glance: Appliances & Consumer Products

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Retail Sales Allocation Tool (RSAT)

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