Lax standards and out-of-date test protocols undermine the credibility of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program, accordin to a recent Consumer Reports investigation.
The report, featured in the magazine’s October issue, notes that the percent of products that qualify for Energy Star is increasing because standards are too easy to reach and federal test procedures haven’t kept pace with new technology. In addition, Consumer Reports’ tests found the energy consumption claims reported on some products’ EnergyGuide label to understate significantly what consumers are likely to experience.
The EPA said the article "misleads consumers."
Energy Star is a 16-year-old federal voluntary program administered
by the DOE and EPA that covers more than 50 product categories. The
program grew out of efforts by the federal government to forge a set of
nationwide guidelines and create a logo that clearly indicates
energy-efficient products. Qualifying Energy Star appliances and
consumer electronics should use less energy–about 10 to 25% less than
the DOE’s maximum allowed amount for that category.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 25% of products in a category should qualify for Energy Star. But until recently, for example, 92% of all dishwashers qualified, according to Consumer Reports. Under a tighter standard, it’s now about 50%. A high number of residential-use oil-fired boilers (67%) and dehumidifiers (60%) also qualify for the program.
Energy Claims Not Met In Consumer Reports’ Tests
In comparative tests, Consumer Reports found Energy Star models whose annual energy consumption would likely be far greater than that claimed on their EnergyGuide labels.
For example, an LG LMX25981ST French-door fridge claims it uses 547 kWh per year, but Consumer Reports’ tests found that real-life energy use would be more than double. In the case of the LG models, the Energy Star protocol allows for the ice maker to be turned off during testing, resulting in the ice melting. Consumer Reports believes that consumers would not turn off the icemaker, and that appears to be a primary reason for the discrepancy between the Energy Star and Consumer Reports’ test results.
Consumer Reports also notes another flaw with the Energy Star program. To qualify, many companies must self-certify that their products comply with the standards. The DOE does not test products for compliance with Energy Star standards. There’s often no independent verification of what manufacturers report. Instead, the government relies mostly on manufacturers to test their competitors’ appliances to the same standards and report back on results of suspicious energy-
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