Energy-Efficient Equipment

When looking to improve the efficiency of your operations, don't overlook the significant amounts of energy consumed by equipment

Off-the-Shelf Equipment for Commercial/Institutional Use

• Arc Welding
• Air-conditioning units (19 -73kw)
• Battery Chargers
• Boilers and Steam Distribution Systems
• Commercial Kitchen Equipment
  • Cooking Equipment
  • Automatic Ice Makers (Ice Machines)
  • Refrigerated Vending Machines
  • Solid Door, Self Contained, Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers
  • Walk-in Commercial Refrigeration
  • Warewashing Equipment (Dishwashers, Pre-rinse spray valves)
  • Publication - Guide for commercial kitchens
• Electric Motors
• Lighting Products 
  • High Bay Lighting
  • High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting Systems
  • Pulse-Start Metal Halide Lighting
  • Traffic Signals
  • Exit Signs
• Pumps
• Transformers
• Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
• Variable Frequency Drives (VFD)

Compare product models for:

• HVAC Equipment
  • Gas unit heaters
  • Large air conditioners – 19 kW (65 000 Btu/h) to 70 kW (240 000 Btu/h)
  • Packaged terminal air conditioners
  • Large heat pumps – 19 kW (65 000 Btu/h) to 70 kW (240 000 Btu/h)
  • Packaged terminal heat pumps
• Commercial Products
  • Household-style commercial clothes washers
  • Ice makers (Ice machines)
• Lighting Products
  • Ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits
  • Compact fluorescent lamps
  • General service fluorescent lamps
  • General service lamps
  • General service incandescent relector lamps
  • Fluorescent lamp ballasts
  • Traffic signal and pedestrian modules

Specialized Plug Load Equipment

• Consumer electronics
• Office equipment

Residential Equipment for Small Commercial/Institutional Use

• Appliances – major
• Cooling and ventilating equipment and controls
• Heating equipment and controls
• Lighting
• Windows, doors and skylights

Purchasing Information and Equipment Labelling

Energy-efficient purchasing practices make sense for any business. The ENERGY STAR^® symbol makes it easy to identify the most energy-efficient products in their class for a wide range of equipment categories. The ENERGY STAR^® Purchasing Tool Kit provides ways to address common purchasing barriers such as lack of information, first-cost bias and life-cycle cost-analysis requirements, as well as:

• ENERGY STAR specifications for each product
• sample procurement language for tenders and contracts
• formation resources on products

The EnerGuide label allows you to compare the energy consumption of a wide range of equipment.

Most of the energy consumed by commercial and institutional organizations is used to:

• Operate auxilliary equipment – devices that supply energy services to the major process technologies during their operation and that are common to most industries. Auxiliary equipment falls into five categories:
  • steam generation
  • permanent lighting
  • heating
  • ventilation and air conditioning
  • electric motors, including pumps, fans, compressors and conveyors
• Supply plug load – the electricity demand from all equipment that is plugged into electrical outlets in buildings (principally office equipment, consumer electronics and portable lighting)

[Text version of pie chart of energy consumed by equipment.]

Commercial/Institutional Secondary Energy Use End-Use, 2002
Source: Energy Use Data Handbook, Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol is administered and promoted in Canada by Natural Resources Canada and is registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.