What else should I look for when buying a refrigerated beverage vending machine?
Most sites have a contract spanning several years with a vender operator, who is responsible for providing drinks, snacks, and other vending services. Generally the operator owns the vending machines but you may have some opportunities to work with them to get energy efficient machines that will cost you less to operate.
If your beverage contract will soon expire, request ENERGY STAR machines in your next request for proposals.
If you are currently in the middle of a vending contract, talk to your operator about either converting your current fleet of vending machines to more efficient ENERGY STAR models or upgrading your existing machines to ENERGY STAR levels.
Consider selecting vending machines with a lower Global Warming Potential refrigerant. Refrigerants with lower global warming potential (GWP) for vending machines include R-290, R-600a, and R-744 (CO₂). Selecting an ENERGY STAR certified model with a lower GWP refrigerant means your product will have a much lower impact on the climate if the refrigerant is released into the environment. The GWP compares the warming power of a substance to an equivalent amount of CO2 (GWP = 1 for CO2). Some refrigerants are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are powerful greenhouse gases with GWPs hundreds or thousands of times higher than CO2. Find vending machines that contain refrigerants with a lower impact on global warming here.
Be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR when shopping for a vending machine
Current Specification Effective Date: April 2020
Commercial Vending Machine Key Product Criteria: ENERGY STAR
