John Davis: Energy-efficient holiday gifts keep on giving

This holiday season is an opportunity to pick out special gifts that your family will appreciate and that have the added bonus of delivering energy savings and a smaller carbon footprint.

When you select appliances, electronics and lighting that carry the ENERGY STAR® label, you can trust that your gift meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For a wide variety of energy-efficient holiday gifts, including special deals and rebates, the Minnesota Commerce Department recommends the ENERGY STAR website.

An ENERGY STAR-certified smart thermostat is one of the many gifts that will keep on giving for years with energy savings. Check out these other gift ideas…

Gifts for tech lovers:

Televisions: Make the easy gift choice of ENERGY STAR-certified TVs, which offer all the cutting-edge features and are 25 percent more energy efficient than standard models.
Wireless speakers: ENERGY STAR-certified wireless speakers are the perfect gift for the music lover on the go, since they use 22 percent less energy and still deliver the latest in technology and quality.
Digital media players: Digital media players with the ENERGY STAR label offer the latest technology and are about 44 percent more efficient than standard models.

Gifts for the home:

Clothes washers: ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washer do the job using about 25 percent less energy and 45 percent less water than regular washers.
Clothes dryers: Clothes dryers use the most energy of all household appliances. You can use 20 percent less energy just by picking a dryer with the blue ENERGY STAR label.
Dishwashers: ENERGY STAR dishwashers are on average about 12 percent more energy efficient and 30 percent more water efficient than standard models.

Gifts for kids:

Computers: ENERGY STAR-certified computers are engineered with efficient power supplies for those long nights in the library, epic movie marathons and everything in between.
Tablets: Tablets that are ENERGY STAR certified use 10 times less power to stream than a game console, seven times less power than streaming directly to your television, and six times less than streaming to a desktop computer or monitor.

Last-minute gifts:
Be ready for all of the unexpected gift needs of the holidays with a stack of ENERGY STAR-certified LED bulbs wrapped and ready under the tree. A single ENERGY STAR-certified LED lightbulb lasts at least 12 years with typical use and saves about $55 in electricity costs over its lifetime.

Minnesota Energy Tips is provided twice a month by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. Contact the Commerce Department’s Energy Information Center at energy.info@state.mn.us or 800-657-3710 with energy questions.