(NAPSA)—America,it’s time to “Flip Your Fridge”! If your refrigerator is 15 years old orolder, replacing it with a new ENERGY STAR’ certified model can save you more than $270 over the next five years and reduce yourcarbon footprint. Accordingto the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if all refrigerators 15 years old or older in the United States were replaced with new ENERGY STAR certified models, Americans would save more than $1 billion in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 1 million vehicles. ‘There are an estimated 170 million refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers currently in use in the United States. Morethan 60 million are over 10 years old, costing consumers $4.4 billion per year in energy. A newrefrigerator that has earned the ENERGY STAR uses less energy than two 60-watt lightbulbs and includes energy-saving features that provide performancebenefits, such as: Quieter, high-efficiency compressors that create less heat; Improved insulation in doors and exterior walls to help food stay cold and muffle noise; More precise temperature and defrost mechanismsthat help the refrigerator operate moreefficiently; a Here’s a cool idea: Get a new refrigerator to help you save food, money and theplanet. Innovative drawer designs and improved temperature controls to keep food fresher, longer. It's better for you and the environment to replace your old refrigerator rather than hang on to it. Keeping a secondrefrigerator in your basementor garage could be costing you $110 every year! Makesure to properly recycle your old refrigerator to prevent the release of refrigerants and foams that contribute to climate change. Nowis a great time for savings on a new refrigerator that has the “little blue label”! Certain utilities even offer rebates you can apply to the cost of an ENERGY Star certified refrigerator or toward properly recycling your old refrigerator. For information on rebates and other special manufacturer offers, visit www.energystar.gov/flipyourfridge.
