Rinnai Corporation, the world's largest gas appliance manufacturer and leading tankless water heater manufacturer, was recently awarded the Super Nova Star Award by the Alliance to Save Energy, a nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy, and national security.

Rinnai is headquartered in Peachtree City.
The Super Nova Star Award is given to organizations with less than $150 million in annual revenue that have shown leadership in energy efficiency. Rinnai is only the second Japanese company after Toyota Motor Corporation to receive one of the Alliance's prestigious Stars of Energy Efficiency awards.

"With today's rising energy costs, it has become increasingly important to provide innovative, cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions to our consumers, while at the same time maintaining a commitment to environmental conservation," said Phil Weeks, general manager of Rinnai America Corporation. "We are honored to be recognized by the Alliance to Save Energy and will continue to make strides which underscore our long history of innovation in the energy efficiency of tankless water heaters."

Rinnai tankless water heaters are up to 30 percent more energy efficient than a traditional natural gas water heater and up to 50 percent more efficient than an electric tank water heater. Because they spend energy to heat water only when needed and shut off automatically when the water supply is closed, Rinnai tankless water heaters provide users with significant energy savings.

"The Alliance to Save Energy was pleased to designate Rinnai one of our 'Stars of Energy Efficiency' earlier this year in recognition of its long-time leadership in innovative gas appliance technologies," said Alliance President Kateri Callahan.

"Our award also recognized Rinnai's instrumental role in the U.S. Department of Energy's February 2007 decision to establish an ENERGY STAR program for residential water heating - the only major residential energy end use without an ENERGY STAR designation at that time."

The Alliance to Save Energy estimates that the average U.S. household will spend about $2,350 this year on home energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy says that 45 percent of home energy goes toward home heating and cooling costs. In an effort to promote year-round energy efficiency, the Alliance to Save Energy offers consumers a variety of simple energy-saving tips, including:

1. Turn down the thermostat by just one degree to reduce home heating energy costs by four percent, which can be between $30 and $60 a year, depending on the fuel being used to heat the home.

2. Plug leaks or gaps around windows and doors with materials such as caulking, weather-stripping, and foam sealants.

3. Install proper insulation, especially in the attic and crawl spaces, to reduce household energy costs from $70 to $460 per year.

4. Close vents in unoccupied rooms and use small space heaters to heat occupied areas to save a significant amount of energy and money. There is usually about 80 percent of space that is not being used at any given time in the home.

5. Set the water heater at 130 degrees.

6. Use pipe insulation to insulate the first six to ten feet of the hot water supply pipe.

7. Wash clothes in cold water to save your household up to $83 a year.

8. Use a programmable thermostat to consumers reduce your home heating and cooling bills by up to 10 percent a year.

9. Replace the four most used bulbs in your home with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulbs to save about $195 over the lifetime of the bulbs.

10. Purchase new heating and cooling equipment, home electronics, appliances and many additional types of products with the ENERGY STAR label - see www.energystar.gov for the more than 50 different product types - to save up to 30 percent on related electricity bills.

"At Rinnai, we pride ourselves on our steadfast commitment to technological leadership, which has a positive impact on our consumers' comfort and their inherent desire to be environmentally responsible," said Yuzo Yoshida, president of Rinnai America Corporation. "Energy efficiency is, and will continue to be, an important focus of Rinnai's product innovation, and we applaud the Alliance to Save Energy for their promotion of efficient energy use."
For more information about Rinnai, visit www.foreverhotwater.com. For more information about Alliance to Save Energy, visit www.ase.org.

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