The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) announced last week they’ve exceeded their goal of placing 200 VendingMisers on cold-drink vending machines, resulting in energy savings of over 335,000 kilowatt hours per year—roughly $26,800 in lowered bills.
“After reaching our initial goal of 200 we’ve challenged ourselves to stretch that goal to 500 by May 1,” said Diana McKeown, Metro CERTS Network Coordinator for the Green Institute.
The VendingMiser Bulk-Buy Campaign, offered by CERTs, EnergyMisers, LLC, and Minnesota Waste Wise’s Energy Smart program, encourages schools, businesses, local governments, and anyone else with a cold-drink vending machine to join in and save.
“A VendingMiser is a simple little device that lowers the energy use of a beverage vending machine without affecting its performance,” says Lissa Pawlisch, CERTs Statewide Coordinator.
Most vending machines cost around $300 a year in energy costs. VendingMisers have been shown to cut a vending machine’s energy consumption by 46% and earn savings of around $130 per year. Typically a VendingMiser costs roughly $179, but between until May 1, organizations or businesses can participate in a statewide VendingMiser Bulk-Buy Program that will reduce this cost. VendingMisers typically boast a payback of around 16 months. Numerous utilities across the state are offering rebates of $50-$75 per VendingMiser purchase, shortening the payback even more.
To learn more about the VendingMiser Bulk-Buy Campaign, visit here.
An online form is available to make an order.
Television coverage of the project is here.
The Clean Energy Resource Teams connect community members with resources to identify and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. CERTs is made up of community members across Minnesota who share a bold vision for Minnesota’s energy future: to foster strong communities, to create local jobs, and to develop clean and reliable energy from clean sources. CERTs is a partnership of the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, the Green Institute, Southwest Regional Development Commission, The Minnesota Project, and the Office of Energy Security, MN Department of Commerce.
Photo supplied by Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams.
I’ll this on to my uncle who runs a grocery store. It’s a win win situation for a retailer i.e saving costs and causing less harm to the environment