About ENERGY STAR for 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 and more than 300 million ENERGY STAR certified light bulbs in 2017, 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.

The power of partnership

Consumers, utilities, and retailers all depend on the ENERGY STAR program to highlight products that deliver real consumer savings and give partners the tools they need to differentiate their efficient products.  In 2018, approximately 2000 manufacturers and 2000 retailers partnered with ENERGY STAR to make and sell millions of ENERGY STAR certified products across more than 75 residential and commercial product categories. Utilities and retailers also teamed up with ENERGY STAR to coordinate on consumer education, leveraging ENERGY STAR materials to provide consistent information to consumers, including a focused effort in 2018 to raise awareness about more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners, laundry equipment, pool pumps, water heaters, smart thermostats and light bulbs.

Evolving with the market

As technology improves and industries change, ENERGY STAR evolves with the market to deliver continued savings. For example, in 2018, EPA updated performance requirements for five product categories: computers, televisions, pool pumps, enterprise servers, and imaging equipment. In 2018, EPA also added residential storm windows to the program. In 2019, EPA anticipates completing an additional 10 revisions across all major product categories including electronics, heating and cooling equipment, appliance, and commercial food service.  In 2018, more than 2,800 product models from nearly 170 manufacturers were recognized as “ENERGY STAR Most Efficient,” a distinction that recognizes products that deliver cutting-edge energy efficiency along with the latest in technological innovation. Televisions were added as an ENERGY STAR Most Efficient product category eligible for recognition.

Ensuring program integrity

In 2018, EPA oversaw robust third-party certification of ENERGY STAR products, administered by 23 independent certification bodies and more than 600 labs. EPA also requires that a sample of products be tested directly off retailers’ shelves. In 2017, EPA-recognized certification bodies administered post-market verification testing on more than 1,700 products, resulting in 115 unique disqualifications for a compliance rate of 93%, affirming consumer confidence in the label.  Learn more at energystar.gov/integrity.

Program savings

In 2017, ENERGY STAR certified products helped consumers save 170 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid $18 billion in energy costs, and protect the climate by achieving 130 million metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.

Spotlight on:  saving energy without sacrificing performance

The ENERGY STAR label is influential among consumers because the products that earn it deliver energy savings without compromising performance. When they initially arrived on the market, poor-quality CFL bulbs soured purchasers on energy-efficient lighting. These poor-quality CFLs led many consumers to believe that energy efficiency came at the expense of product performance, at least for CFL bulbs.

After many years and the introduction of a range of performance-related ENERGY STAR requirements (to address light quality, flicker, bulb longevity, light distribution, among other things), ENERGY STAR certified LED bulbs emerged as the market winner. These bulbs delivered on both energy efficiency and performance, earning the trust of millions of consumers.

Dramatic increases in the efficiency of home appliances and electronics have required that the ENERGY STAR Program remain vigilant to the potential for trade-offs in performance.  The ENERGY STAR Program took steps to ensure consumers did not have to sacrifice product performance when choosing certain ENERGY STAR certified appliances and electronics. In 2015, in the face of increasing negative performance reviews for some of the most efficient dishwashers, the ENERGY STAR Program adopted a minimum cleaning performance metric for dishwashers earning the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient recognition. The Most Efficient designation is reserved for the highest levels of ENERGY STAR performance. As of early 2019, more than 80 models have differentiated themselves at an extremely high level of efficiency while demonstrating cleaning performance.  In the 2019 ENERGY STAR Most Efficient criteria, the program added a similar minimum cleaning performance floor for clothes washers. More than 10 clothes washers have already earned this recognition. 

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.