Report: Energy Efficiency Clould Earn KY Families Hundreds of Dollars

Public News Service-KY
Monday, Mar 01, 2010

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Conservation groups backing new federal energy efficiency standards have been saying for months that those standards would save money for Kentucky families. Those who oppose the legislation say it would cost consumers more. It turns out both are right, according to new research from the Consumer Federation of America.

Report author Mark Cooper, who is the research director for the Consumer Federation, crunched the numbers on the costs of better appliances and insulation against the price of electricity, and found bottom-line savings. He says the most bucks are saved with a 30 percent increase in efficiency.

"Now, it's not free - you have to spend money to make money. On net, however, they'll end up at the end of the year with $300 more in their pocket."

Cooper explains that efficiency is simply a profitable investment.

"The cost of getting more efficiency in the building - more insulation, higher-efficiency appliances and so forth - is less than the cost of consuming the energy."

Cooper says natural gas savings for Kentuckians using the same equation would be about 60 dollars.

He notes that his numbers are based on assessments from federal research and from organizations that are not lobbying for, or against, energy legislation.

The full report, "Building on the Success of Energy Efficiency Programs to Ensure an Affordable Energy Future," is at <http://www.consumerfed.org>www.consumerfed.org

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