ENERGY STAR Awareness

ENERGY STAR® is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in America. In fact, more than 90% of households recognize the blue ENERGY STAR label.

That’s just one finding from the latest national household survey of consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR, sponsored by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). Since 2000, the survey objectives have largely been the same: to collect national data on consumer recognition, understanding, and purchasing influence of the ENERGY STAR label, as well as data on messaging and product purchases.

Download the full 2019 report or read through its key findings, below.

Awareness

U.S. households show high levels of recognition of the ENERGY STAR label. In 2019, ninety-one percent of households reported recognizing ENERGY STAR when they were shown the label (aided recognition). Eighty-three percent of households reported seeing or hearing about ENERGY STAR prior to being shown the label (unaided recognition). Trends in awareness over time are shown in the chart below.

Recognition of the ENERGY STAR Label

Recognition of the ENERGY STAR Label illustrates the change in aided and unaided recognition of ENERGY STAR among U.S. households from 2001 to 2019. There is a general upward trend in aided and unaided awareness, with aided awareness increasing from 38% in 2001 to 91% in 2019, and unaided awareness increasing from 24% to 83% over the same time period. The survey was not conducted in 2017 or 2018.

Understanding

U.S. households have a high level of understanding of the ENERGY STAR label. In 2019, seventy-four percent of households demonstrated a high understanding of the label and eighty-two percent exhibited at least a general understanding. Trends in understanding over time are shown in the chart below.

Understanding of the ENERGY STAR Label

Understanding of the ENERGY STAR Label illustrates the change in U.S. household understanding of the ENERGY STAR label from 2001 to 2019. There is a general upward trend with understanding increasing from 56% in 2001 to 82% in 2019. The survey was not conducted in 2017 or 2018.

Purchasing

In 2019, fifty-six percent of U.S. households report knowingly purchasing at least one ENERGY STAR-labeled product in the past 12 months. Trends in ENERGY STAR purchasing over time are shown in the chart below.

Knowingly Purchased an ENERGY STAR Product

Knowingly Purchased an ENERGY STAR Product illustrates the change in the percentage of U.S. households that knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR-labeled product from 2001 to 2019. There is a general upward trend with ENERGY STAR purchasing increasing from 22% in 2003 to 56% in 2019. Exceptions to the trend occurred in 2005 and 2009 when there were decreases in purchasing when compared to the preceding survey. The survey was not conducted in 2017 or 2018.

Influence

In 2019, sixty-eight percent of the U.S. households that recognized the ENERGY STAR label and knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR certified product, report being "very much" or "somewhat" influenced by the label.  Trends in ENERGY STAR influence over time are shown in the chart below.

Influence of ENERGY STAR Label on Product Purchasing

Influence of the ENERGY STAR Label on Product Purchasing illustrates the change in reported influence of the ENERGY STAR label among U.S. households that purchased at least one ENERGY STAR product. In 2001, 48% of purchasers reported being influenced by the label. From 2002 to 2009 there is a general upward trend with ENERGY STAR influence growing from 46% to 80%. From 2010 to 2016, ENERGY STAR influence was at or above 70%. In 2019, 68% of purchasers reported ENERGY STAR was influential in their purchasing decision. The survey was not conducted in 2017 or 2018.

Loyalty

In 2019, of those who knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR product in the past 12 months, thirty-four percent of households report they would be “extremely likely” to recommend ENERGY STAR products to a friend (answering 10 on a 0- to 10-point scale with 0 being extremely unlikely and 10 being extremely likely). The likelihood of recommending ENERGY STAR products to a friend is greater than “5” for 71 percent of all surveyed households. Trends in ENERGY STAR loyalty are shown in the chart below.

Likely to Recommend ENERGY STAR

Likely to Recommend ENERGY STAR illustrates trends in loyalty to the ENERGY STAR label among U.S. households that purchased at least one ENERGY STAR product beginning in 2006 and ending in 2009. In general, purchasers reporting to be “very or somewhat” likely to recommend ENERGY STAR products was 70% or greater, with a high of 93% likelihood in 2009. The chart also plots the percent of purchasers that reported they were “extremely likely” to recommend ENERGY STAR, which ranged from 27-35% over the same time period. The survey was not conducted in 2017 or 2018.

Data source:  EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Climate Protection Partnerships Division. National Awareness of ENERGY STAR® for 2019: Analysis of 2019 CEE Household Survey (PDF, 2.3 MB). U.S. EPA, 2020.

2019 National Awareness Report Cover

National Awareness of ENERGY STAR for 2019 (PDF, 2.3 MB).