• Allison Miles •
• Originally published May 22, 2008 at 9:28 p.m., updated May 22, 2008 at 9:28 p.m.

Between manning the phones, grabbing extra merchandise from the shelves and fielding customer questions, Dennis Deering and his associates at Lowe’s have had a busy few days.

Texas’ first Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday takes place Saturday through Monday and the store’s general manager said people are ready to take advantage of the savings.

“We’ve had more than 20 calls just on air conditioners today,” he said Thursday afternoon. “We have people who say they’ll be here at 6 a.m. if they need to be.”

The break comes to reward Texans who choose the most energy-efficient appliances available, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said in a news release.

Appliances labeled with the blue Energy Star logo use between 10 and 50 percent less energy and water than other models, according to the release.

Energy Star is a program maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, according to the state comptroller’s Web site. Products must meet specific energy efficiency standards to qualify.

Certain restrictions apply to the savings.

Clothes washers are eligible but dryers are not. Refrigerators costing more than $2,000 and air conditioners priced at $6,000 or more are also ineligible.

Deering said he’s glad to see the state urging people to purchase the earth-friendly products, but is surprised at the timing.

Memorial Day weekend is hectic for retailers, he said.

“We’re expecting day-after-Thanksgiving chaos,” he said with a laugh. “But it will be good. Everybody likes to save a buck.”

Allison Miles is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6511 or amiles@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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