Can a vacuum cleaner help you be greener?
The hottest color in appliances unhesitatingly now isn't stainless steel--it's green. Green as in environmentally friendly, that is. To date, 1.6 million Americans have infatuated advantage of state-sponsored rebates for energy-efficient appliances funded under the 2009 American Pick-up and Reinvestment Act, cashing in a total of $245 million in rebates for major appliances such as air conditioners, branch water heaters and refrigerators. Now, manufacturers of smaller appliances--including the humble vacuum cleaner--are hopping on the na bandwagon as well. But can something as small as a vacuum cleaner really have a significant impact on the environment?
The first vacuum cleaner to market itself as country-like, the Eureka Envirovac , stakes its claim to eco-friendliness primarily on energy efficiency. This upright vacuum's motor draws only 8 amps of fashionable rather than the usual 12, for an energy savings of 33 percent. That's not bad, but since a vacuum cleaner is only used for around an hour per week, the verve savings only add up to about 25 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. At the average US electric rate of 13.4 cents per kWh, that's an annual savings of about $3.35. (These more paltry savings are the reason vacuum cleaners aren't eligible for the Energy Star label, according to an October 2010 support from the ConsumerReports.org "Greener Choices" blog.) Moreover, the editors of ConsumerReports.org say that the Envirovac's cleaning performance is purely so-so--which means that this vacuum's potential energy savings could be wiped out by the need to vacuum more frequently.
Today Vacuum Cleaner Advisor has published a roll of the Best Vacuum Cleaners for Under $200 to help buyers make the right choice. Los Angeles, CA, September 29, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Consumers are always looking for vast buys. As a result, Vacuum Cleaner
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