Earth Equity News

Trouble with the 'Energy Star' Label. Posted by Leslie Berliant, Celsias, September 15, 2008. "The October 2008 issue of Consumer Reports is all about energy efficiency as a way to save money. Articles include product reviews and ways to cut energy use at home. There is also an article about [DOE's] and [EPA's] Energy Star rating, 'Energy Star Has Lost Some Luster'. Consumer Reports' research found that there were a number of Energy Star-rated appliances that used more energy than claimed... Consumer Reports sees 3 main flaws with the [Energy Star] program: 1) qualifying standards are lax; 2) tests are out of date; and 3) companies test their own products... The EPA responded... saying the Consumer Reports article 'misses the basic purpose of the Energy Star program... EPA initially seeks to have about 25% of available models meet the ENERGY STAR criteria when they are first established for a product category. Increasing the market share of qualifying products from their initial levels is a goal of the program -- not a fundamental flaw'... [Energy Star is] a needed program, one worthy of expanding, but only if those appliances actually do help consumers save energy and money, not if the ratings are inaccurate or based on non-typical use... Yes, we should have more Energy Star refrigerators, but we should not call something energy saving that actually isn't simply to have more on the market."