Savings estimates for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR voluntary product labeling program

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2008.02.021

Energy Policy

Volume 36, Issue 6, June 2008, Pages 2098-2108

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.02.021 Get rights and content

Abstract

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary energy efficiency-labeling program operated jointly by the United States Department of Energy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Since the program's inception in 1992, ENERGY STAR has become a leading international brand for energy-efficient products. ENERGY STAR's central role in the development of regional, national, and international energy programs necessitates an open process whereby its program achievements to date as well as projected future savings are shared with committed stakeholders. Through 2006, US EPA’S ENERGY STAR labeled products saved 4.8 EJ of primary energy and avoided 82 Tg C equivalent. We project that US EPA’S ENERGY STAR labeled products will save 12.8 EJ and avoid 203 Tg C equivalent over the period 2007–2015. A sensitivity analysis examining two key inputs (carbon factor and ENERGY STAR unit sales) bounds the best estimate of carbon avoided between 54 and 107 Tg C (1993–2006) and between 132 and 278 Tg C (2007–2015).

Section snippets

Introduction and study objectives

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling program operated jointly by the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). US DOE and US EPA enter into partnerships with manufacturers and key stakeholders to promote products that meet energy efficiency and performance criteria established by the agencies. The ENERGY STAR label allows consumers to more easily identify and purchase energy-efficient products. By transforming the market for

Study scope

ENERGY STAR consists of four programmatic areas: products, buildings and industrial plants, home performance, and new homes. Complete descriptions of these program areas can be found at www.energystar.gov. This article focuses only on labeled products such as office equipment, appliances, and electronics that are administered by US EPA. This article does not cover savings for buildings and industrial plants, home performance, new homes, or labeled products administered by US DOE. The

Program attribution

Numerous supporting stakeholders including utilities, regional energy partnerships, energy consortiums, and non-profit organizations leverage the ENERGY STAR program nationally. All stakeholders work towards advancing ENERGY STAR goals, improving ENERGY STAR consumer awareness, and promoting the sales of ENERGY STAR products. This paper provides a top-level summary of national savings achieved by US EPA ENERGY STAR voluntary product labeling and does not make an attempt to attribute the

Overview

We employ a bottom-up methodology for quantifying savings for US EPA ENERGY STAR labeled products. Each ENERGY STAR product type is characterized by product-specific inputs that result in a product savings estimate. ENERGY STAR program impacts are the sum of the impacts for each individual ENERGY STAR product type. The bottom-up model allows us to separately evaluate the implementation process for each product type and quantify US EPA's impact within each market. Since ENERGY STAR

Savings for US EPA ENERGY STAR labeled products

Through 2006, US EPA's ENERGY STAR labeled products saved 4.8 EJ of primary energy, $47 billion dollars in energy bills (discounted at 4%), and avoided 82 Tg C equivalent (eq.) through its voluntary program efforts (Table 4). Although US EPA ENERGY STAR labeled products encompass over 40 product types, only six of those product types accounted for 70% of all ENERGY STAR carbon reductions achieved to date. Those product types are as follows (ranked by total carbon avoided through 2006):

•
Monitors:

Limitations to the analysis

The analysis is based on a bottom-up model for quantifying US EPA ENERGY STAR labeled product savings. General limitations to a bottom-up approach occur in two main areas: (1) the model requires numerous detailed inputs to generate the end result and (2) uncertainty in those inputs are additive through the process. These limitations mean that collecting and documenting high-quality inputs is essential, which can be a labor-intensive and expensive process. As a result, identifying areas of

Conclusions

Since the program inception in 1992, ENERGY STAR has become a leading international brand for energy-efficient products. As such, ENERGY STAR achievements to date and projected savings have a critical impact on the success of both US and international energy efficiency programs. This paper summarizes energy, carbon, and monetary impacts from US EPA's ENERGY STAR voluntary product labeling program. Regional, national, and international stakeholders can use these results to evaluate energy

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, Office of Air and Radiation, under Department of Energy Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098. Several EPA staff have contributed to these forecasts over the years: Ann Bailey, Peter Banwell, Glenn Chinery, Andrew Fanara, Craig Hershberg, Katharine Kaplan, Ashley King, Linda Latham, Steve Ryan, Rachel Schmeltz, Robin Shudak, Stephan Sylvan, Jeremy Symons. Ed Barbour (Navigant Consulting), Bill

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Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Savings estimates for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR voluntary product labeling program

Abstract

Section snippets

Introduction and study objectives

Study scope

Program attribution

Overview

Savings for US EPA ENERGY STAR labeled products

Limitations to the analysis

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Energy—The International Journal

Energy Policy

Energy and Buildings

Energy Policy

A Caltrans Alternative Traffic Signal Illumination Draft Final Report

Ceiling fans: fulfilling the energy efficiency promise

Home Energy Magazine

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurements of Consumer Electronics

Life Cycle and Energy Cost Calculators for Food Service Equipment

Economic indicators of market transformation: energy efficient lighting and EPA's green lights

The Energy Journal

Electricity intensity in the commercial sector: market and public program effects

The Energy Journal

Changes in electricity demand in the United States from the 1970s to 2003

The Energy Journal

Televisions—Active Mode Energy Use and Opportunities for Energy Savings, March

Cooling Energy Savings Potential of Light-Colored Roofs for Residential and Commercial Buildings in 11 US Metropolitan Areas. LBNL-39433, May