Between June 18^th and 19^th, the Town Hall of Timisoara hosted the “Energy Days 2012 Timisoara”, an event aimed at tackling environmental protection and energy efficiency issues. The RoRec Association was present during the two-day event and delivered a presentation on the importance of using energy efficient home appliances.

Andreea Idriceanu Calev, Communication Manager, represented the RoRec Association, delivering a presentation focusing mainly on the use of home appliances with low energy consumption in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change was also on the agenda of the presentation delivered by the RoRec representative, as the European Union set several targets for 2020, namely reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, increasing energy efficiency by 20% and producing 20% of EU’s energy from renewable resources.

According to a survey carried out by CECED, the European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers, there were approximately 188 million large home appliances more than 10 years old in the EU (25 countries) in 2005. By replacing these obsolete appliances with new ones, with low energy consumption, consumers can save up to 44 billion kWh. This would also result in a CO₂ emission reduction by up to 22 million tons per year, the equivalent of withdrawing 6.5 million cars from the European roads.

We can all help reduce energy consumption by replacing old appliances with new ones that are also energy efficient. Today, the most efficient refrigerators use 60% less energy than a refrigerator manufactured in the 1990s. Also, the energy efficiency of the new washing machines is 40% higher compared to those manufactured in 1985, consuming 62% less water. – source: ICEMENERG

In Romania, residential consumption accounts for 15.7% of the total energy consumption, according to the statistical directory and most of this energy is used by home appliances. The energy savings of a class A+ refrigerator can help depreciate the acquisition costs within a period ranging from one year (if replaced with an absorption refrigerator) to four years (if replaced with a compressor refrigerator) – the source ICEMENERG measurements, Electrolux campaign.