I agree. Energy efficiency is a big scam -- I had the bad fortune of buying Maytag appliances in 2006. The company was going bankrupt, and their strategy to meet energy quotas was to undersize motors... Leading to dead appliances. Ditto with things like boilers who routine service requirements eat up most of the efficiency savings.<p>Light bulbs are worse. Shopping for a bulb is like buying a car.<p>And the focus on stupid efficiency gimmicks that save minimal resources (an efficient washing machine saves $30&#x2F;year) distracts from more useful retrofits like insulation, windows, solar hot water, etc.