The US Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing a radical improvement in the energy conservation standards for cold drinks vending machines.

Under the new rules, refrigerated vending machines that dispense cold canned and bottled drinks could be required to cut energy consumption up 42%, for glass- or plastic-front machines, or 15% for more traditional solid-front machines.

According to the DOE, the new regulations could save as much as 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity over 30 years – equivalent to the annual usage of 800,000 homes – and reduce costs of vending machine owners of $250 million.

The proposed new regulations are currently open for comment until the end of July.

PepsiCo is already testing new vending machines that are 15% more efficient that the current average. The new machines also use CO₂ for cooling instead of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are a potent greenhouse gas. PepsiCo is also testing other ‘green’ refrigerants isobutane and propane.

For further information:
www.energy.gov
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/beverage_machines_nopr.html
www.pepsico.com/