Purchasing Toolkit - Introduction

This guide was developed to make it easier for you to purchase energy-efficient products. Tools in this guide help address common purchasing barriers, including lack of information, first-cost bias and life-cycle cost-analysis requirements. Often, confusion arises due to a perception that change requires a reduction in quality or performance or to not knowing where and how to find what you need. This guide provides clear answers to questions about energy efficiency specifications, product performance and costs and how to find products. With this information, it becomes easy to recognize and communicate the benefits of choosing energyefficient products.

Address Common Barriers
Using this guide and the savings calculator, you can address the following common barriers before they even arise:

• Lack of Tools – This guide gives you the tools you need to make informed decisions about purchasing energy-efficient products. The information provided will help you answer questions about how to specify energy-efficient products, where to find them and how to determine potential cost savings. Refer to the guide's drop-in procurement language and source references for product listings. Use the calculator's life-cycle cost analyses and the communications tools available on the Web site.

• First-Cost Bias – By using the savings calculator, you can tailor a real-life example of a major purchase and compare the first cost of an energy-efficient product with that of a standard product. Often, there is no added initial cost for the energy-efficient product, but the lifetime savings benefits are significant.

• Life-Cycle Cost-Analysis Requirements – The savings calculator provides a life-cycle cost analysis for the actual lifetime use of a product. The calculation considers purchase price, energy consumption and maintenance costs; provides input for fuel costs; and converts savings into carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions. You can tailor this detailed analysis for your upcoming purchases, to demonstrate the economic and environmental impacts and benefits of energy-efficient products.

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to successful identification, specification and procurement of energy-efficient products.