Join Seal and Insulate ENERGY STAR Program
for Residential Insulation Manufacturers
To become an insulation manufacturer partner:
1. Determine Partnership Eligibility:
ENERGY STAR requires manufacturers (brand owners) that sell products as ENERGY STAR in the U.S. to enter into a manufacturing partner agreement with U.S. EPA. Partnership is not available to original equipment manufacturers that do not sell directly to consumers.
See the ENERGY STAR Partnership Commitments and Definitions and Testing Requirements Version 1.0 (Rev. Mar-2013) (PDF) (99 KB) for information about included product types, test requirements, criteria, and partner commitments.
NOTE to Residential Insulation Installers and Contractors – Contractors are not eligible for partnership under the residential insulation product program, but may be eligible to participate in a local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.
NOTE to Air Sealing Product Manufacturers – EPA only certifies insulation products. EPA does not certify air sealing products whose main purpose is to reduce air leaks or ensure that homes have a high performance air barrier.
2. Download and review the ENERGY STAR Partnership Agreement (PDF, 125 KB) :
Once you have reviewed the Agreement, fill out the fields on page 1. Sign the Partnership Agreement by checking the authorization box, entering the date of signature, and entering the contact information of the signatory on page 3. If you are already an ENERGY STAR partner and wish to expand your partnership with ENERGY STAR, please contact join@energystar.gov.
3. Download and complete the ENERGY STAR Participation Form Product Brand Owner (PDF, 1.3 MB) :
Check off the appropriate box(es) to indicate the product category(ies) for which you intend to sell ENERGY STAR certified products. (Category: Home Building Envelope Products, Program Area: Residential Insulation Products)
Fill out the contact information for your organization’s ENERGY STAR partnership on page 2. All contacts listed on this page will receive ENERGY STAR correspondence for the appropriate products category(ies). The primary contact will serve as the main contact for the organization’s ENERGY STAR Partnership. If this page is left intentionally blank, the responsible agent listed in the Partnership Agreement will serve as the primary contact.
4. Return the Partnership Agreement and Participation Form:
Return the completed forms to insulation@energystar.gov.
5. Preliminary Product Review with EPA:
Upon submission of a completed Partnership Agreement and Participation Form, EPA will conduct a preliminary product review before approving the Partnership Agreement. If EPA identifies any concerns that they believe would prevent certification, EPA will reach out to the primary contact listed on the Participation Form. If there are no potential concerns, the Partnership Agreement will be approved and a copy of the signed Partnership Agreement will be returned to you for your records.
6. Get product line(s) tested and third-party certified:
Once the Partnership Agreement (PA) has been approved, the manufacturer will be granted Active Applicant status. Each Applicant is given 1 year to get at least one product line through the certification process.
Applicants should submit the requested test data on their residential insulation product line(s) for evaluation by an EPA-recognized third-party insulation certification body (CB). The testing must be done by an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory. If the manufacturer does not have data that meets this requirement, they can contact their CB to help them find a test lab that meets the requirements.
The CB will also request product installation instructions and diagrams (or illustration or pictures) on how to install the product.
The CB will issue an ENERGY STAR product certification report for each product line. If a manufacturer has a product line report (code report) less than 3 years old that meets the ENERGY STAR report requirements, it may be used to comply with these requirements.
7. Return the Manufacturer Information Form to ENERGY STAR at the following email address:
Complete the Manufacturer Information Form (MIF), which will be provided once the Partnership Agreement has been approved, and submit to insulation@energystar.gov. The evaluation of this form includes reviewing that all manufacturer website and marketing claims meet the requirements in the Partner Commitments. Issue letters will be sent to the manufacturer requesting changes to the web content on an as needed basis.
If you have any questions about the MIF evaluation process, or would like to check on the status of your paperwork, please send an email to insulation@energystar.gov.
8. Partnership is granted!
Once the first ENERGY STAR product certification report is completed by the CB, and the MIF is received and approved by ENERGY STAR, the manufacturer will be notified that they are an Active Partner and will be granted access to the Partner Mark, the Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR Educational Mark, and the Insulation Educational Mark through a My ENERGY STAR Account (MESA).
9. Stay informed:
Find program resources and archived documents for the Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR Program on the Program Enhancement and Development Page.
If you have any general inquiries or if you would like to receive program updates, please send an email to insulation@energystar.gov or Doug Anderson, EPA Seal and Insulate Program Manager, at anderson.doug@epa.gov.
