Energy Star

Most of us have seen the Energy Star symbol before. Whether hopefully gazing at big screen monitors at the store or replacing a recently departed water heater, that little blue icon can be found on plenty of home electronics and appliances. When I see it, I assume that whatever I’m buying uses energy in some way that is good for the planet. However, until today, it was hard for me to actually explain what the Energy Star label meant. Which brings us to today’s posting, a little introduction to Energy Star.

Founded jointly in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Star is a voluntary labeling program that attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by identifying energy efficient products. Energy Star certifications are available for an increasing amount of products that fall in the following categories:

• Appliances :Refrigerators, Freezers, Washing machines
• Heating & Cooling: Air Conditioners, Dehumidifiers, Boilers
• Water Heaters: Heat Pump, Solar, etc..
• Home Envelope: Home sealing, Roof Products, Sky Lights
• Home Electronics: Cordless Phones, DVD Products, TVs
• Office Equipment: Computers, Servers, Printers
• Lighting: CFLs, Decorative Light Strings
• Commercial Food Service: Commercial Fryers, etc..

In order to use the Energy Star icon, a company must pass the specifications set for their particular product. Energy Star specifications differ based on the product category, but they have the same basic outline: definition of terms, test procedure and requirements, energy-efficiency specifications for qualifying products, and the effective date for these specifications.

For example, if you look at the specification for monitors, you would find that a monitor is defined as “A commercially-available product with a display screen and associated electronics, often encased in a single housing…” as opposed to a television which is defined as “A commercially available electronic product designed primarily for the reception and display of audiovisual signals received from terrestrial, cable, satellite, Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), or other digital or analog sources…”. They sound very similar but actually have different energy efficiency requirements. To qualify for a Tier 1 Energy Star rating, a monitor has to consume four watts or less in sleep mode. For a television to qualify for an energy star, it must consume only one watt or less while sleeping.

This is also where the largest criticism of the Energy Star program comes in. While Energy Star specifications define the test plans and qualifying results, neither the DOE nor the EPA perform the actual tests. Instead, they rely on testing done by the companies themselves. Additionally, the Energy Star tests have been accused of having loopholes, which allow companies to report better energy use than would realistically occur. The most popular example of unrealistic testing is that refrigerators be tested with the ice maker off, a situation that critics say happens rarely during consumer use.

Criticisms aside, the Energy Star program can be credited for increasing consumer awareness of energy efficiency. You can find an entire listing of Energy Star specifications on their website.