GE - Appliances & Lighting receives fifth straight EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded GE - Appliances & Lighting the ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award for the fifth straight year. GE – Appliances & Lighting has more than 775 ENERGY STAR-qualified high-performance household lighting and appliance products that help curb energy spending and reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions. The award marks the seventh year GE (NYSE: GE) has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. Award winners are selected from more than 17,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

“EPA is recognizing GE – Appliances & Lighting with our highest ENERGY STAR award – the 2010 Sustained Excellence Award”

“EPA is recognizing GE – Appliances & Lighting with our highest ENERGY STAR award – the 2010 Sustained Excellence Award,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “GE – Appliances & Lighting’s continued leadership and commitment to energy efficiency is a testament to what we can accomplish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our global environment.” GE - Appliances & Lighting will receive the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010.

Since 2001, GE - Appliances & Lighting has invested well over $1 billion to develop and bring to market high-efficiency products. Since 2004, GE has introduced nearly 200 new high-efficiency lighting and appliance products that meet the DOE/EPA’s stringent ENERGY STAR requirements.

Last year alone, Americans, by using ENERGY STAR-qualified products, saved $17 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 30 million vehicles.

Lighting leads the way

In 2009, GE listed 293 ENERGY STAR-qualified Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) products, and 98 percent of total GE CFL sales were ENERGY STAR qualified.

In 2009, GE introduced a covered CFL that incorporates innovative design features that are subject to more than a dozen patent applications, allowing the lamp to have virtually the same size and shape as a standard A-line incandescent bulb. The CFL was developed to meet the needs of consumers who wanted a more aesthetically pleasing and energy-efficient bulb that would fit traditional fixtures and even be used with clip-on lampshades.

These new covered GE Energy Smart CFL bulbs are offered in three wattages (with nearly the same light output as the incandescent bulbs they replace) to meet a variety of lighting needs. Each offers an 8,000-hour rated life and a 5-year limited warranty based on four hours of daily use.

In addition to designing products that are energy-efficient and consumer-friendly, GE has incorporated ENERGY STAR awareness and education into sales force training, trade shows and fairs, corporate e-newsletters and educational campaigns. GE’s 2009 “Plant a Bulb” Earth Day event resulted in the planting of more than 78,000 bulbs, while significantly increasing awareness of GE ENERGY STAR lighting products.

Appliances help consumers do more with less

In 2009, 60 percent of GE’s revenues from appliances sales came from ENERGY STAR-qualified models, an increase of 6.4 percent over the previous year. GE offered 486 ENERGY STAR-qualified base model appliances, an 8 percent increase over 2008.

GE introduced many product design innovations for energy efficiency. Included among the new ENERGY STAR-qualified models is the GeoSpring™ hybrid water heater. The GeoSpring hybrid water heater is the first water heater to be ENERGY STAR® rated. This new energy-efficient heat pump electric water heater will reduce electricity costs by up to 62 percent, saving as much as $320 annually on energy bills.¹ According to the DOE, if just 10 percent of the nation's 4.8 million electric water heaters shipped annually were ENERGY STAR-qualified heat pump water heaters instead of conventional water heaters, the aggregate energy savings would amount to nearly 1.3 billion kWh per year. (www.energystar.gov)

Among the other ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances GE introduced in 2009 is the GE Profile™ SmartDispense™ Frontload Laundry Pair with steam technology that uses as little as 10 gallons of water for a small load. The ENERGY STAR-qualified washer can save more than 5,800 gallons of water per year compared to a typical top-load washer². Advanced water extraction and the dryer’s moisture sensors help reduce drying time for added energy savings.

About GE – Appliances & Lighting

GE – Appliances & Lighting spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliances, lighting, systems and services for commercial, industrial and residential use. Technology innovation and the company’s ecomagination^SM initiative enable GE - Appliances & Lighting to aggressively bring to market products and solutions that help customers meet pressing environmental challenges. General Electric (NYSE: GE), imagination at work, sells products under the Monogram®, Profile™, GE®, Hotpoint®, SmartWater™, Reveal® and Energy Smart® consumer brands, and Tetra®, Vio™ and Immersion® commercial brands. For more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money, and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 17,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

1. Based on DOE test procedure and comparison of a 50–gallon standard electric tank water heater using 4881 kWh per year vs. the GE GeoSpring hybrid water heater using 1856 kWh per year, and national average of 10.65 cents per kWh

2. Compared to model WWSE5240DWW.

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