Make Sure Your Energy Savings Products Really Save you Money

As prices for electricity and gas soar, companies have been offering energy-saving devices that should save you bucks.  In many cases, these companies are legitimate and their products earn the government-backed “Energy Star” seal of approval. But some products are not saving you much, if at all.

There are two main reasons why this area has been infiltrated by con artists:

1. Money-savings from energy-efficient products is not immediate.  It takes time to see the cost-effectiveness of your sparkly new appliance or contraption.  By the time you realize you bought a bogus product, the scammers will be long gone.

2. The market for energy-efficient products is filled with technobabble, making it hard for consumers to fully understand what’s going on

Want to avoid falling in the trap?  Here are some tips:

• Ask for back-up information.  By law, companies are required to back-up their energy-savings claims with scientific data.  If a product is the real deal, the company will have the info to back it up.

• Make sure you understand how long it will take to pay a product off with the money you save on energy bills.

• Don’t get tripped up by technobabble.  Make sure you understand everything before you take the plunge, even if it means asking 100 questions.

• Double-check that the device is actually an energy-efficient device by going to the Energy Star website.

• Shop around or get a second-opinion.