Terms and Conditions



This User Agreement (or "Agreement") is a legal agreement between you and Electricity Ratings, LLC ("EnergyRatings Web Site" or "us") governing your participation on the EnergyRatings.com site which is referred to as the "EnergyRatings Web Site." By using, accessing or registering or leaving content on any EnergyRatings Web Site, you agree to be bound by and hereby become a party to all the terms of this Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions in this Agreement, you may not use any EnergyRatings Web Site.

We can amend this Agreement by posting the amended terms on any EnergyRatings Web Site, which take effect when we post them. By continuing to access or use any EnergyRatings Web Site after any such amendment, you agree to be bound by the terms of the amended Agreement. Otherwise, this Agreement may be amended only by a writing physically signed by us.

A Note About Minors: The EnergyRatings Web Site is not targeted towards, nor intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. By using an EnergyRatings Web Site, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older. If you are not at least 18 years of age, do not use, access or register with EnergyRatings Web Site. We reserve the right to terminate your membership in the event that EnergyRatings.com becomes aware you are under 18.

Membership: You may become a "Member" of the EnergyRatings Web Site, which may grant you additional privileges, by completing the membership application form or become a member of the EnergyRatings Web Site. Becoming a Member allows you to post content on the EnergyRatings Web Site. You agree as a condition of use and membership that we may contact you for the purpose of informing you of changes to this Agreement or describing new services available on the EnergyRatings Web Site. You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access any secure areas of the EnergyRatings Web Site. You agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You agree to take sole responsibility for any activities or actions under your password, whether or not you have authorized such activities or actions. You will immediately notify EnergyRatings.com of any unauthorized use of your password.

Content: EnergyRatings provides a number of different services to assist you in comparison shopping for products. EnergyRatings.com provides information regarding products and third party merchants, and links to third party merchants that are selling listed products. EnergyRatings.com is paid by merchants or other third parties to list products on the EnergyRatings Web Site. The products listed on the EnergyRatings Web Site are sold by third party merchants, and are not sold by EnergyRatings.com.

EnergyRatings does not sell, resell or license any products listed on the EnergyRatings Web Site, nor is EnergyRatings acting as an agent of sale. EnergyRatings disclaims any responsibility for, or liability related to, such products (see Disclaimer of Warranties below). Any question, complaints or claims should be directed to the appropriate merchant or seller.

EnergyRatings.com does not warrant that product descriptions, pricing, editorial commentary or any other content of the EnergyRatings Web Site, regardless of its source, is accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. EnergyRatings Web Site content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement by EnergyRatings.com of any product, merchant, seller or service. You should not rely on such information in situations where its inaccuracy would cause you to suffer any loss (see: Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability Limits below). EnergyRatings.com assumes no liability for inaccuracy or incompleteness in its search results, editorial content, user ratings ( e.g. user merchant rating, user product rating) or other content on the EnergyRatings Web Site.

Consumer reviews and ratings on the EnergyRatings Web Site are from our members who have elected to post a review on the EnergyRatings Web Site. As such, these reviews and ratings are informative for those wishing to use them, but they do not guarantee any level of performance by a merchant or other third party in any given transaction.

Participating merchants and other third parties may pay EnergyRatings.com to be presented on the EnergyRatings Web Site or to have their product or service offerings highlighted on our website and may also purchase research from EnergyRatings.com, but in no event do such payments affect the reviews or ratings given to any merchant by participating members.

You may download, view and print a single copy of any other content, solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes, subject to the restrictions set forth in this Agreement. All right, title, and interest in and to the EnergyRatings Web Site, and any other content appearing on the EnergyRatings Web Site, will remain the exclusive property of EnergyRatings.com and its licensors. Except as expressly permitted in this Agreement, you may not reproduce, modify or prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, or otherwise use the EnergyRatings Web Site, or any other content appearing on the EnergyRatings Web Site. You may not copy or modify the HTML code used to generate web pages on the EnergyRatings Web Site. You may not use the EnergyRatings Web Site, or any other content appearing on the EnergyRatings Web Site, on or in connection with any other website, for any purpose.

Content Submission: By contributing or submitting any content to the EnergyRatings Web Site, you warrant that you are the author and owner of the intellectual property rights thereto, and you grant EnergyRatings.com a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell and/or distribute such materials and/or incorporate such materials into any form, medium or technology without compensation to you. In addition, you warrant that all "moral rights" that you may have in those materials have been voluntarily waived by you. None of the materials shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of EnergyRatings.com, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, co-brand partners or other partners and their respective directors, officers and employees. EnergyRatings.com reserves the right to change, condense or delete any content on the EnergyRatings Web Site that EnergyRatings.com deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of this Agreement.

You agree that you shall not post any information:

  • that is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
  • that infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
  • that violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
  • that is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
  • for which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any third party;
  • that includes any information that references addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
  • or that contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
  • In addition, you agree to comply with EnergyRatings' Site Rules, which are deemed to be incorporated into this Agreement.

    You retain all ownership rights to information, text, graphics, or other materials you publish on the EnergyRatings Web Site. However, we can reproduce, publish and distribute all or teaser portions of your content online and offline and permit others to do the same. You can edit or remove your content from the EnergyRatings Web Site at any time; but if we have distributed your content to others, we may be unable to require them to make the same changes.

    It is not a violation of the User Agreement to post your reviews to other sites. As of September 13th, 2006, posting substantially similar reviews to other price comparison sites, in particular, may make you ineligible for status as a Top Reviewer, Advisor, Moderator, or Category Lead. Please see the FAQ for more information on cross-posting reviews to other sites.

    We ask that you refer or provide links to EnergyRatings if you choose to republish your content elsewhere, although this is not mandatory.

    Copyrights: All content available on the EnergyRatings Web Site, including site design, text, graphics, interfaces, and the selection of arrangements thereof is copyrighted by EnergyRatings.com, with all rights reserved, or is the property of EnergyRatings.com or third parties protected by intellectual property rights.

    EnergyRatings?®, is a service marks of EnergyRatings. EnergyRatings service marks/trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not provided by the EnergyRatings web site, in any matter that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits EnergyRatings.com.

    If you believe content on the EnergyRatings Web Site infringes your copyright, you should send notice of copyright infringement to EnergyRatings.com's Copyright Agent. Your notice must meet the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (as required under 17 U.S.C. §512) by providing the following information:

    1. An identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
    2. An identification of the material that you claim is infringing so that we may locate it on the site
    3. Your address, telephone number and email address
    4. A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law
    5. A statement by you that the above information in your notice is accurate, made under penalty of perjury, and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest involved
    6. Your signature

    Other Rules: You agree to comply with EnergyRatings' Site Rules, which are incorporated into this Agreement, and with all laws and regulations applicable to your access and use of the EnergyRatings Web Site and publishing your content. You may not harvest personal data (including email addresses) from the EnergyRatings Web Site, and specifically you may not use email addresses displayed on our sites to ask users to join or contribute to your services. We have the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above to the fullest extent of the law. We may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who violate the terms of this Agreement. You acknowledge that EnergyRatings.com has no obligation to monitor your access to or use of the EnergyRatings Web Site, but has the right to do so for the purpose of operating the EnergyRatings Web Site, to ensure your compliance with this Agreement, or to comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental body. Unless we explicitly agree otherwise in writing, you may not use any automated means (such as scripts) to access the EnergyRatings Web Site or collect information from it.

    Indemnity: By choosing to use the EnergyRatings Web Site, you agree to indemnify EnergyRatings.com, its officers, agents, partners, and employees from any and all claims or damage, including reasonable attorney's fees, made by third parties due to, or arising out of Content you choose to submit, post or transmit through the EnergyRatings Web Site; or of your use of or connection to the EnergyRatings Web Site; your violation of the User Agreement; or, your violation of any rights of another.

    Release: Because we are a venue, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more users of the EnergyRatings Web Site, you, on behalf of yourself (and any of your officers, directors, employees, agents, predecessors, successors and assigns), hereby irrevocably, release and discharge EnergyRatings.com, our officers, directors, employees, attorneys, predecessors, successors, assigns and agents from, against and in respect of all past, present and future claims, rights, actions, causes of action, suits, indemnification obligations, losses, liabilities, matters, issues, cost, and expenses, of any kind or nature whatsoever, including without limitation court costs and attorneys' fees, whether known or unknown, concealed or hidden, fixed or contingent, suspected or unsuspected, in law or in equity concerning, related to, or arising out of any such disputes. To ensure that the release provided in this Agreement is fully enforceable in accordance with its terms, you knowingly and voluntarily waive any protection that you might have in relation to the release set forth in this section by virtue of §1542 of the Texas Civil Code, which provides: A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR. In addition, you hereby knowingly and voluntarily waive any protection that may exist under any comparable or similar statutes and/or principles of common law applicable in states other than Texas as it pertains to the enforcement of the release in this section.

    Liability Limits: EnergyRatings.COM INC. AND ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH EnergyRatings.COM AND ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARY OR AFFILIATE COMPANIES, OUR SERVICES OR THIS AGREEMENT.

    CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

    Governing Law/Arbitration: This Agreement is governed by Texas law as such laws apply to Agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within Texas between Texas residents and without regard to conflict of laws. Any claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the EnergyRatings Web Site shall be settled by binding arbitration in Harris County, Texas in accordance with the American Arbitration Association's commercial arbitration rules. Any such claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, not consolidated with another party's claim.

    Integration: This Agreement, EnergyRatings' Site Rules and our Privacy Policy, (which is incorporated herein by reference) constitute the entire Agreement, and supersede any other Agreements or understandings (oral or written), between you and us with respect to their subject matters.

    Disclaimer of Warranties: THE ENERGYRATINGS WEB SITE AND ITS SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND WE EXPLICITLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PA RTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

    Assignment: You agree that this Agreement and all agreements and information incorporated herein may be automatically assigned by EnergyRatings.com, in its sole discretion, to a third party. You may not assign your obligations to another entity.

    General: This Agreement does not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment or franchise relationship. Because you are not an employee, minimum wage laws do not apply to your relationship with the EnergyRatings web site. Our failure to act in a particular circumstance does not waive our right to act with respect to that or other circumstances. We shall be excused for any problem due to a factor beyond our control. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the Agreement will remain in full force and effect, and the provision affected will be construed so as to be enforceable to the maximum extent permissible by law. Any waiver of any provision of this Agreement will be effective only if in writing and signed by EnergyRatings.com.

    Communication and Marketing: By opting into any Electricity Ratings, LLC text program, you expressly consent to receive text messages that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialling system, by or on behalf of Inspire Electricity Ratings, LLC and our affiliates, at the phone number you provide. Consent to receive texts is not a condition of purchasing any products or services.

    You can cancel the SMS service at any time by texting "STOP". We will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this message, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to start receiving SMS messages again, reply "START" to any of our messages or contact our Customer Service Team at customersupport@texaselectricityratings.com or call us on (866) 303-9147 to be resubscribed.