ENERGY STAR Awareness

ENERGY STAR® is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in America. In fact, about 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 2022 report or read through its key findings, below.

Awareness

U.S. households show high levels of recognition of the ENERGY STAR label. In 2022, eighty-nine percent of households reported recognizing ENERGY STAR when they were shown the label (aided recognition). Seventy-eight 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

Illustrates the change in aided and unaided recognition of ENERGY STAR among U.S. households from 2001 to 2022. There is a 5% decline in unaided awareness from 2019 to 2022.

Understanding

U.S. households have a high level of understanding of the ENERGY STAR label. Eighty-four percent of households had at least a general understanding of the label in 2022. Additionally, sixty-eight percent of households had a high understanding of the ENERGY STAR label in 2022. Trends in understanding over time are shown in the chart below.

Understanding of the ENERGY STAR Label

Illustrates the change in U.S. household understanding of the ENERGY STAR label from 2001 to 2022. There is a general upward trend with understanding increasing from 56% in 2001 to 84% in 2022.

Purchasing

In 2022, forty-five percent of U.S. households reported knowingly purchasing at least one ENERGY STAR-labeled product in the past 12 months prior to the survey. Trends in ENERGY STAR purchasing over time are shown in the chart below.

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 2003 to 2022. There is a general upward trend with ENERGY STAR purchasing increasing from 22% in 2003 to 45% in 2022.

Influence

In 2022, fifty-seven 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

Illustrates the change in reported influence of the ENERGY STAR label among U.S. households that purchased at least one ENERGY STAR product. In 2022, 57% of purchasers reported ENERGY STAR was influential in their purchasing decision.

Loyalty

In 2022, of those who knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR product in the past 12 months, thirty-three 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 seventy-two percent of all surveyed households. Trends in ENERGY STAR loyalty are shown in the chart below.

Likely to Recommend ENERGY STAR

Illustrates trends in loyalty to the ENERGY STAR label among U.S. households. Across the years, 70% or more of purchasers report be “very or somewhat” likely to recommend ENERGY STAR products.

Data source:  EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Climate Protection Partnerships Division. National Awareness of ENERGY STAR® for 2022: Analysis of CEE Household Survey. U.S. EPA, 2023.