Why are the ENERGY STAR criteria changing for dishwashers and clothes washers?
Both Canada and the U.S. will introduce a new regulated minimum energy efficiency standard for clothes washers effective January 1, 2007. This new standard is designed to keep pace with technology developments that are enabling manufacturers to design and build products that achieve higher levels of energy efficiency than in the past. The new standard means that the least efficient models will be eliminated from the market, which in turn means that the ENERGY STAR criteria needs to be strengthened so that only those products that are in the top 25 percent of energy performers can use this international symbol of energy efficiency. In the case of dishwashers, the ENERGY STAR criteria has not been updated for several years, and almost all products currently on the market can meet the pre-January 1, 2007 requirement. In keeping with the ENERGY STAR objective to represent the top 25 percent of the market, the ENERGY STAR specification for dishwashers must be strengthened.
