ENERGY STAR Overview

ENERGY STAR^® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions that improve air quality and protect the climate. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped save American families and businesses nearly 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions, equivalent to the annual emissions of over 600 million cars. In 2017 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans avoid $30 billion in energy costs.

ENERGY STAR products

ENERGY STAR is the simple choice for energy efficiency, making it easy for consumers and businesses to purchase products that save them money and protect the environment. EPA ensures that each product that earns the label is independently certified to deliver the quality, performance, and savings that consumers have come to expect. It’s that integrity that led Americans to purchase more than 300 million ENERGY STAR certified products in 2017 and more than 300 million ENERGY STAR certified light bulbs, with a market value of more than $100 billion.  In fact, an average of 800,000 ENERGY STAR certified products were sold every day in 2017, bringing the total to more than 6 billion products sold since 1992. Learn more about ENERGY STAR products.

ENERGY STAR for buildings and plants

ENERGY STAR tools and resources help businesses identify cost-effective approaches to managing energy use in their buildings and plants—enabling the private sector to save energy, increase profits, and strengthen their competitiveness. From commercial properties such as hospitals, schools, and offices, to industrial facilities such as cookie and cracker bakeries and integrated steel mills, thousands of businesses and organizations look to ENERGY STAR for guidance on strategic energy management.

The program’s popular online tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®, was used to measure and track the energy, water, and/or waste and materials of more than 270,000 commercial properties, comprising 26 billion square feet of floorspace, across the nation in 2018. For eligible buildings, the tool calculates a 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, which has become the industry standard for rating a facility’s energy performance.  Studies find that ENERGY STAR certified buildings command a premium of up to 16 percent for sales prices and rental rates. EPA’s ENERGY STAR tools for industrial plants include industry-specific Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs), which provide companies with the information they need to make smart investment decisions. Learn more about ENERGY STAR for commercial buildings and industrial plants.

ENERGY STAR for homes

ENERGY STAR certified homes are at least 10% more energy efficient than homes built to code and achieve a 20% improvement on average, while providing homeowners with better quality, performance, and comfort. Homebuyers have more energy-efficient homes to choose from, with ninety percent of the nation's largest homebuilders building ENERGY STAR certified new homes and apartments and helping to contribute to nearly 2 million homes built as of 2018. Additionally, in 2018, 83,000 homeowners retrofitted their existing homes for improved energy efficiency through the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.  Learn more about ENERGY STAR for homes.

Utilities and local governments rely on ENERGY STAR

Nationwide, utilities invested $7.9 billion in energy efficiency programs in 2017. With hundreds of disparate utilities scattered around the country, EPA plays a critical unifying role to guide their energy efficiency programs. EPA enables utilities to leverage ENERGY STAR as a common national platform, avoiding the creation of hundreds of independent utility programs across the nation, which could fragment the market and stall innovation. More than 700 utilities, state and local governments, and nonprofits leverage ENERGY STAR in their efficiency programs, reaching roughly 95% of households in all 50 states.

Additionally, as of the end of 2018, 29 local governments, three states and one Canadian province rely on EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® tool as the foundation for their energy benchmarking and transparency policies, creating uniformity for businesses and reducing transaction and implementation costs.

ENERGY STAR, jobs, and the economy

ENERGY STAR fosters economic development, greater competitiveness, and a healthy environment. ENERGY STAR certified products, homes, buildings, and plants helped save Americans families and businesses 370 billion kWh of electricity and avoid $30 billion in energy costs in 2017 alone.  Moreover, by increasing energy efficiency, ENERGY STAR is supporting U.S. energy security and helping improve the reliability of the electricity grid.

Additionally, according to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report, nearly 600,000 Americans are employed in manufacturing or installing ENERGY STAR certified appliances, certified heating and cooling equipment or other non-certified efficient HVAC equipment -- part of an estimated 2 million energy efficiency jobs in 2018.

ENERGY STAR and the environment

ENERGY STAR contributes to improved environmental quality and public health. Through voluntary action, ENERGY STAR provides states and local governments with more flexibility and reduced costs towards meeting their air quality requirements and their health, environmental, and climate goals.  In 2017 alone, ENERGY STAR helped Americans save 370 billion kWh of electricity with associated emission reductions of 290 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, 190,000 short tons of sulfur dioxide, 180,000 short tons of nitrogen oxides, and 21,000 short tons of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Since 1992, ENERGY STAR helped families and businesses achieve 3 billion metric tons in greenhouse gas reductions.

For additional details about ENERGY STAR achievements see ENERGY STAR By the Numbers. For ENERGY STAR facts and figures broken down geographically by state, see ENERGY STAR State Fact Sheets. For achievements by ENERGY STAR Award Winners, see the ENERGY STAR Award Winners Page.