MALVERN, Pa., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Department of Energy has recognized the energy saving benefits of USA Technologies' unique VendingMiser® energy management solution in an executive order prepared by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).
The executive order promoting VendingMiser will be posted on the Energy Department's web site, and sent to Federal Government energy managers worldwide http://www.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/beverage_vending_machines.pdf.

The report directs Federal Agencies to purchase vending machines that comply with ENERGY STAR® standards and consume significantly less power, and to consider installing USA Technologies' VendingMiser or similar solutions in existing vending machines as an alternative.

The report states: "Agencies that use these guidelines to buy efficient products can realize substantial operating cost savings and help prevent pollution. As the world's largest consumer, the federal government can help "pull" the entire U.S. market towards greater energy efficiency, while saving taxpayer dollars."

There are an estimated 500,000 facilities, owned and leased by the Federal Government, making the Federal Government the largest single energy consumer in the United States.

FEMP reports it wants to reduce energy consumption in the federal sector by 30 percent by 2005, saving the government more than $1 billion annually, and set a clear example of responsible and smart energy management.

The executive order states that some vending machines use up to 16 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, totaling $350 per year in operating costs. USA Technologies' VendingMiser has the capacity to reduce energy consumption by nearly half.

The FEMP report directs federal agency energy managers to "ask the distributor if VendingMisers or other external control devices can be connected to the beverage machines. These devices use motion sensors to power down the vending machines when the area surrounding them is unoccupied for several hours."

"USA Technologies was the first energy conscious company to develop a solution with controls that reduce lighting and cooling energy use at night, weekends or other unoccupied periods," said Wendy Jenkins, Vice President of Marketing for USA Technologies. "VendingMiser can be manufactured directly into new vending machines, or can be fitted to existing machines, making them ENERGY STAR® compliant to meet FEMP's executive order."

According to FEMP: "The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program works to reduce the cost and environmental Impact of the Federal government by advancing energy efficiency and water conservation, promoting the use of distributed and renewable energy, and improving utility management decisions at Federal sites."

"We are delighted FEMP recognizes our VendingMiser as contributing towards responsible energy management and environmental conservation," said Ms. Jenkins.

About USA Technologies:

USA Technologies is a leader in the networking of distributed assets, wireless non-cash transactions, associated financial/network services and energy management. USA Technologies provides networked credit card and other non-cash systems in the vending, commercial laundry, hospitality and digital imaging industries. USA Technologies is an IBM Business Partner and an inaugural member of the Sprint Enabling Application Service Provider Program for e-commerce. The Company has marketing agreements with the Sprint, Motient, MEI, Unilever and the ZiLOG Corporation. http://www.usatech.com