On Jan. 8, 2016, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued its final rule of the proposed energy conservation standards on beverage vending machines and thanks to the active participation from industry members saved the industry nearly $2 million, said Eric Dell, senior vice president of government affairs at NAMA in an email to members. The changes in the final rule also created substantial energy conservation and protected consumers from higher prices. More than 1,000 industry members submitted comments to the DOE, with participants representing 40 states and every segment of the refreshment services industry.
According to Dell, the final rule created an estimated savings of $130,000 for small vending machine manufacturers; created an estimated savings of $421,000 for large vending machine manufacturers; created a cumulative reduction in CO2 emissions through 2030 amounting to 1.16 Metric Tons, which is equivalent to the emissions resulting from the annual electricity use of more than 160,000 homes; and relaxed the energy conservation standards for all classes of beverage vending machines to a technologically feasible and economically justifiable level.
“The savings impacts the entire industry, especially the end user: the vending operator,” said Dell. “If the proposed rule had been implemented there would have been a significant increase in costs of vending machines for vending operators.”
