03 April 2009

The Ever-Expanding Universe of Energy Star

 

American consumers have learned to shop for the Energy Star label when buying home appliances.

American consumers have learned to shop for the Energy Star label when buying home appliances.

By Kathleen Hogan

One of the U.S. government’s flagship programs in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency is Energy Star®, and its name has become very familiar to U.S. consumers. If they’ve chosen their purchases with care since the program began, the Energy Star label might appear on products throughout the home of an average American consumer. Greater availability and purchase of more efficient goods has translated into vast energy savings and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been with the agency for 20 years. Courtney Upshall, special assistant to Ms. Hogan, contributed to this article. 

By mid-morning on any given workday, millions of Americans will have gone through this routine: watched television, turned on the computer, made copies of a business document, and spoken on a cordless phone. In many households, a person might have used an Energy Star-qualified product for every one of those activities, and in doing so, saved energy, reduced the utility bill, and reduced the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

The consumers who chose products that earn the Energy Star — whether for a home, a business, or a major industrial complex — saved $19 billion on their utility bills in 2008 alone, and prevented the GHG emissions from the equivalent of 29 million vehicles.

In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced Energy Star as a voluntary labeling program, with computers and monitors designated as the first labeled products. The Energy Star label can now be found on more than 60 product categories, including major appliances, office equipment, lighting, and home electronics. For more than 10 years, the Energy Star label has also been an option for new homes and commercial and industrial buildings.

Energy Star is a platform for retailers, utilities, and others to deliver energy-efficient products and services to customers with greater credibility and overall effectiveness. The program has engaged more than 16,000 organizations in energy efficiency and the results have been tremendous. Consumers have chosen the Energy Star label on more than 2.5 billion products since 2000. The program is on track to more than double these benefits over the next decade.

Why Energy Star Works

One key to Energy Star’s success is its objective to overcome market barriers to the adoption of energy-efficient products and services, and a continued pursuit of that goal will allow the program to further expand its influence. In today’s market, consumers have many money-saving opportunities to improve efficiency of homes, buildings, and industries. However, many consumers are reluctant to pursue these opportunities because they lack information or an understanding of their incentives – problems we call “market barriers.”

By taking such steps as reducing transaction costs and lowering investment risks, Energy Star reduces these barriers so that potential energy-saving projects become more attractive to businesses and consumers. The program provides credible, objective information upon which businesses and homeowners can make better-informed decisions, directing private capital toward energy efficiency investments.

Evaluating the energy efficiency of a product or a service is another complex task. EPA has developed rigorous, industry-accepted testing procedures to evaluate efficiency specifications of products and services. When consumers purchase products or services that bear the Energy Star label, they know the goods save energy and produce fewer emissions, and that they have undergone tests to demonstrate that they perform as well, if not better, than unlabeled items.

 

The grocery chain Giant Eagle won a Sustained Excellence Award in 2008 from Energy Star for its commitment to energy efficiency.

The grocery chain Giant Eagle won a Sustained Excellence Award in 2008 from Energy Star for its commitment to energy efficiency.

Other key strategies Energy Star has used to good effect include:

• New Homes: Since 1995 EPA has urged builders to aim for efficiency levels in new homes higher than that required by local building codes. By 2007, about 12 percent of new homes were built to Energy Star levels.

• Standardized Measurement of Building Energy Use: EPA developed a standardized measurement for efficiency in buildings, similar to the miles-per-gallon rating on motor vehicles. The standard is being gradually adopted with some 5,000 buildings bearing the Energy Star label, using 35 to 40 percent less energy than average.

• Whole-Home Improvement: In this decade, EPA strives to improve efficiency in the nation’s existing housing stock by taking a “whole-home” approach. The program hopes to overcome market obstacles to home improvement, allowing homeowners to achieve 20 percent energy savings per household while linking them to qualified home improvement professionals.

Confidence in the Energy Star Brand

Now in its 17th year, the Energy Star program continues to benefit from increased interest from consumers and manufacturers both in the United States and abroad. Each year, more than 10 million visitors peruse the Energy Star Web site. Media articles that mention Energy Star reach about 1 billion readers and viewers annually.

Public awareness of the Energy Star label grew to more than 75 percent in 2008, and the trademark is also recognized worldwide.

Manufacturers and service providers are increasingly interested in working with Energy Star. The program has active licensing or partnership agreements with more than 2,000 manufacturers, 2,000 retailers, 6,000 home builders, 570 efficiency program administrators, 550 industrial companies, and hundreds more.

Energy Star in the International Community

EPA is working with organizations in a number of countries to promote energy efficiency as a low-cost solution for addressing global climate change. International efforts are focused primarily on harmonizing test procedures and energy efficiency levels for labeling programs like Energy Star. This approach prevents development of a patchwork of standards that would require manufacturers to expend excessive resources to achieve compliance in multiple countries.

EPA has developed agreements or correspondence with agencies in foreign countries, giving them authority to implement the Energy Star program for specific product categories. The expectation is that the agencies will promote Energy Star to consumers in their markets and monitor the use of the Energy Star logo (U.S. registered mark) to ensure it is used properly. EPA currently has agreements with the European Union, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), Australia, and New Zealand.

As the program continues to develop, we hope to help further in the fight against global climate change by expanding our work with the international community. 

The Future of the Energy Star Program

As awareness of the environmental and financial benefits of energy efficiency grows, Energy Star will continue to expand. In addition to using partners’ input on how to enter new, targeted sectors and markets, EPA will strive to make the adoption of energy-efficient technologies and practices even easier. Energy Star’s proven results put it in the position to continue to lead the way in energy efficiency, making it simple for all of us to become Energy Stars.