WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has proposed new energy conservation standards and consumption thresholds for refrigerated vending machines that dispense bottled or canned soda and other drinks.The proposed measures would cut energy use of glass- or polymer-front machines by as much as 42% compared to the current energy consumption of these machines, while energy use in solid-front vending machines would be cut by about 15%.“With roughly 3 million beverage-vending machines in the U.S., or one for every 100 Americans, a strong national standard means real savings for all the universities, park districts, hotels, and other institutions and businesses that pay the electric bills for these machines,” Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.Each machine manufactured under the new standards would save about $320 per year in energy costs, he estimates.A public hearing on the proposed standards is scheduled for June 17. After a review period, barring opposition, the rules will be adopted in August with the standards taking effect in 2012.Horowitz, along with representatives of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, also said that requiring smart controls on vending machines could save even more electricity and money, according to GreenerBuildings. These devices could automate certain features of the equipment and, for example, put lights in sleep mode or turn them off when the machine isn’t in use.Parameters established by the Bush administration currently limit DOE’s authority to set such a requirement, but standards adopted after July 1, 2010, will allow the department to incorporate these kinds of provisions.The proposed standards for vending machines are the first of approximately 25 new standards for a variety of products that the DOE must complete by January 2012 as mandated by court orders or Congressional deadlines. Fluorescent lighting tubes, refrigerators, water heaters and air conditioners are among the products subject to new standards.
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