The EPA has announced a brand new energy efficiency certification for clothes dryers under the Energy Star label. As known energy hogs, the potential savings are big: if all residential clothes dryers sold in the U.S. meet these new requirements, the utility cost savings will grow to more than $1.5 billion each year and more than 22 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented.

Over 80% of U.S. homes have a clothes dryer, which on average account for approximately six percent of residential electricity consumption. In order to reduce dryers’ energy use by over 20% of the minimum 2015 standards, Energy Star dryers will incorporate technologies such as:

• Auto termination sensors
• Heat pumps to recapture lost hot air
• Performance data and alerts
• Smart grid readiness

Explains U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy: “Working with industry on innovative approaches to address our changing climate, we are helping consumers select more energy efficient appliances, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Read more about this news from the EPA newsroom.