The Energy Star Program began in 1992 during the Clinton Administration as an effort to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It is an internal standard for energy efficient consumer products.
To find a list of products with the energy star label click here.
The Energy Star Program has been a success in both the public and commercial sectors. Consumers can feel confident in ENERGY STAR because in 2009 alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR saved enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 30 million cars—all while saving nearly $17 billion on their utility bills. In 2009, ENERGY STAR Leaders together prevented more than 220 thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios. These savings are more than 4 times larger than the savings achieved in 2008 and represent the single greatest year of savings since EPA recognized the first ENERGY STAR Leaders in 2004. The complete list of ENERGY STAR leaders has grown to over 100 organizations.
The EPA and DOE have launched a two-step process to expand testing of ENERGY STAR qualified products:
- DOE began tests this week on six of the most common product types: freezers, refrigerator-freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers, water heaters and room air conditioners. These product types account for at least 25% of a typical homeowner’s energy bill. DOE will test approximately 200 basic models at third-party, independent test laboratories over the next few months.
- The EPA and DOE are also developing an expanded system that will require all products seeking the ENERGY STAR label to be tested in approved labs and require manufacturers to participate in an ongoing verification testing program that will ensure continued compliance.
The Energy Star Program has made advances in 2009 & 2010. See the timeline below.
- 2/5/09: President Obama ordered the Department of Energy to clear the logjam and issue long-delayed appliance efficiency standards. The Department subsequently met every deadline and issued six standards in 2009 that are expected to save consumers between $250 billion and $300 billion over the next 30 years.
- 7/23/09: DOE issued a subpoena to AeroSys Inc. to obtain the necessary test data to determine whether certain air conditioners and heat pumps comply with the applicable energy conservation standards.
- 9/24/09: DOE required AeroSys Inc., a manufacturer of air conditioners and heat pumps, to provide product samples for the Department to conduct its own testing to verify whether certain models meet the federal minimum energy efficiency standards.
- 10/13/09: DOE announced the formation of an enforcement team within the Office of the General Counsel, which is leading the Department’s efforts to monitor compliance with ENERGY STAR criteria and enforce minimum appliance standards. This includes a program to randomly review manufacturers’ compliance with DOE certification requirements and aggressively pursue any violations.
- 12/7/09: DOE and EPA announced they were taking steps to remove the ENERGY STAR label from 20 LG refrigerator-freezer models that multiple independent labs confirmed were consuming more energy than allowed under the ENERGY STAR criteria.
- 12/9/09: DOE announced that it would be aggressively enforcing reporting requirements that manufacturers are required to submit to the Department certifying the energy use of residential appliance models and compliance with energy efficiency standards. DOE offered manufacturers a 30 day window to submit complete and accurate reports to the Department. During that period, DOE received energy use reports from 160 different manufacturers, covering over 600,000 residential products.
- 1/7/10: DOE announced it had signed a Consent Decree with Haier on four of its freezer models—including two ENERGY STAR models—that were consuming more energy than reported. As part of the agreement with the Department, Haier is required to notify all affected consumers and repair any defective units, and has paid $150,000 to the U.S. Treasury.
- 1/25/10: DOE disqualified 34 CFL models from 25 manufacturers that did not meet all of the ENERGY STAR criteria for compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
- 1/28/10: DOE initiated enforcement actions against four showerhead manufacturers who failed to certify 116 product models as meeting the federal water conservation standards.
- 2/4/10: DOE initiated a civil penalty enforcement action against a manufacturer of air conditioners and heat pumps for failing to certify some of its products and for certifying other products when they had not been tested in accordance with DOE’s test procedure.
- 3/7/10: DOE initiated enforcement actions against two additional showerhead manufacturers who were suspected of selling products that do not meet the federal water conservation standards.
- 3/11/2010: EPA notified US Inc/US Refrigeration that their partnership with ENERGY STAR was terminated based on a history of logo misuse, unresponsiveness, and pattern of failure to comply with ENERGY STAR program guidelines.
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