Programmable Thermostats Specification

The ENERGY STAR specification for programmable thermostats was suspended on December 31, 2009 and the ENERGY STAR label is no longer available for this category. Manufacturers were required to cease using the ENERGY STAR name and mark in association with all products manufactured on or after December 31, 2009. While EPA recognizes the potential for programmable thermostats to save significant amounts of energy, there continue to be questions concerning the net energy savings and environmental benefits achieved under the previous ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat specification.

EPA plans to continue to advance energy efficiency through advanced HVAC controls with ongoing education efforts, and to work with industry and other experts to design and implement an ENERGY STAR specification for them that differentiates products based not only on energy efficient HVAC control, but also on enhanced usability that encourages increased use of energy saving modes and features.

Recent research and industry discussions indicate that today's programmable thermostat is evolving into a more usable, capable and connected device. An Energy Management System that includes a Communicating Climate Control will provide energy users with vastly improved and potentially real-time information on HVAC energy consumption and cost. Similar results are possible for Communicating Climate Controls integrated into utility AMI and/or Demand Response systems. Armed with HVAC consumption data in kWh and dollars, the user will be empowered to take actions to reduce energy use and see the results in real-time. Combined with enhanced usability, EPA believes these capabilities make it more likely that consumers will take effective steps to save energy.

Recognizing that such products and associated protocols are already under development, EPA has launched a specification development process for a Version 1.0 ENERGY STAR Residential Climate Control specification.

Partners and other interested parties who have questions or concerns may contact Abigail Daken, EPA, by e-mail at daken.abigail@epa.gov.

Stakeholder Comments on Draft 1 Version 2.0 ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostat Specification

With the goal of creating a specification that differentiates products and delivers energy savings, EPA distributed a Draft 1 Version 2.0 Revised Programmable Thermostat Specification for stakeholder review on October 29, 2009. The Draft specification and related materials are available for review, below. Responses to these comments accompanied Draft 1 Version 1.0 ENERGY STAR Residential Climate Controls specification. They can be found on the Climate Control specification page.

Programmable thermostat manufacturers and other interested parties were encouraged to submit written comments on EPA's Draft 1 Version 2.0 specification. To date, EPA has been given permission to post the following comments. Please note that these do not comprise all of the comments received by EPA; only those EPA has received permission to post.

ENERGY STAR Online Stakeholder Meeting — November 18, 2009

Draft 1 Version 2.0 Specification for Programmable Thermostats — October 29, 2009

Memo to Stakeholders on Suspension of Programmable Thermostat Specification

Documents Related to Final Version 1.2 Specification

Documents Related to Revised Partner Commitments

ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostat Educational Campaign Meeting

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Washington, DC

This meeting addressed the latest thinking in terms of the new ENERGY STAR mark and messaging for programmable thermostats. EPA will send out additional correspondence shortly about next steps for partners and interested parties. Please find the presentation and meeting notes attached below:

EPA asked for comments on the Draft Partnership Agreement and Program Requirements for manufacturer review. All comments should be sent to Gwen Duff, ICF International, via e-mail at gduff@icfi.com. Below please find these documents for your review and comment:

ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostat Industry Meeting

Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Washington, DC

This meeting addressed EPA’s latest efforts to revise the specification. EPA presented a proposal for discussion and feedback looking at transitioning ENERGY STAR for programmable thermostats toward an educational campaign focused on user behavior. All interested stakeholders will have until Monday, February 27, 2006 to provide feedback on this proposal. Below are all of the documents pertaining to the meeting:

Stakeholder Comments on Programmable Thermostat Proposal

Programmable thermostat manufacturers and other interested parties have been encouraged to submit written comments on EPA’s Programmable Thermostat Proposal. To date, EPA has been given permission to post the following comments. Please note that these do not comprise all of the comments received by EPA; only those EPA has received permission to post.

Draft 2 Programmable Thermostat Specification

Stakeholder Update: February 27, 2004 (PDF, 32 KB)

Draft 1 Programmable Thermostat Specification

Draft 1: Programmable Thermostat Specification, Version 2.0 (PDF, 162 KB)

Memo to Manufacturers on Programmable Thermostat Specification Review

ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostat Industry Meeting

Monday, October 27, 2003
Portland, Oregon

In conjunction with the ENERGY STAR HVAC Partner Meeting, EPA hosted a separate meeting with manufacturers and other interested stakeholders to discuss the latest Draft 1 version of the revised programmable thermostat specification. Below are all of the documents pertaining to the meeting:

Presentations: