Energy Star Efficiency Program
You may think the Energy Star program is about helping industry by making it easier and less expensive to manufacture product. Not particularly so; but, the Energy Star on a product could promote greater sales.
Much of the costs of manufacture are low as it is and due to offshoring manufacture of product. When manufacturing is taken offshore, you lose much of the Labor cost and the Overhead cost associated with Labor (which is greater than Labor cost). Spencer England and I would go back and forth on the topic of Labor v Overhead costs. Think of the cost of healthcare to a private company.
As it is today, it is costly to buy product. If you eliminate the efficiency of it and using it, your costs go up also as well as the consumer.
Energy Star, efficiency program steering consumer choice, targeted in cuts, NPR
The Energy Star program that has led to energy saves and also lower costs for consumers. More than likely the elimination of this program will lead to less efficiency and also higher costs.
An Environmental Protection Agency plan to eliminate its Energy Star offices would end a decades-old program that gave consumers a choice to buy environmentally friendly refrigerators, dishwashers and other electronics and save money on electric bills, consumer and environmental groups said.
The changes, outlined in agency documents reviewed by The Associated Press, are part of a broad reorganization at the EPA that would eliminate or reorganize significant parts of the office focused on air pollution. Those plans advance President Trump’s sharp turn away from the prior administration’s focus on climate change.
The EPA did not confirm directly it was ending the program, first reported Tuesday by CNN, but said the reorganization “is delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure that will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency’s core mission, while Powering the Great American Comeback.”
The EPA launched Energy Star in 1992 with the goal of tackling environmental protection and economic growth. It boosts the market for energy-efficient products and benefits companies that design appliances that earn the label. A home that decides to buy Energy Star products can save $450 annually on energy costs, the program’s website says.
“People recognize it right away, so they would be like ‘oh, it is Energy Star, so I should probably go with this one,'” said Francis Dietz, spokesperson with the trade association Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute.
Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said the program enjoyed bipartisan support until recently. It promotes efficiency by tightening standards when lots of products are able to meet the label requirements, he said.
Big savings in money and pollution
Since its start, the program has reduced energy costs by more than $500 billion and prevented about 4 billion metric tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to its website. Appliances can be responsible for tons of air pollution, but efficiency measures can reduce the carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and fine particulate matter that producing the electricity releases into the atmosphere. These pollutants can harm the heart and lungs, and cause other health issues.
Trump’s proposed budget asks that Congress eliminate the EPA’s entire Atmospheric Protection Program, which houses the offices that run Energy Star. The budget described the program as “an overreach of Government authority that imposes unnecessary and radical climate change regulations on businesses and stifles economic growth.”
But Sarah Gleeson, climate solutions research manager at the climate action nonprofit Project Drawdown, said America’s energy independence depends on the ability to meet U.S. energy demands, and cutting the program imperils that and strains households at the same time.
Gleeson said losing Energy Star will make it harder for consumers to have trustworthy information about products’ energy use.
Label is voluntary, and Congress ordered it
The Energy Star label is voluntary for products that meet certain efficiency levels, and differs from Department of Energy standards that set minimum efficiency requirements that products must meet to be legally sold. In the 2000s, Congress directed the EPA and Department of Energy to run an energy-efficiency program and promote Energy Star.
The DOE did not comment on the changes and its role moving forward, deferring questions to the EPA. According to the program’s website, DOE’s role includes developing product testing procedures. The EPA is responsible for setting performance levels and ensuring consumers can rely on the label.
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers said it supports a streamlined Energy Star program through the DOE. Spokeswoman Jill Notini said that “would meet the administration’s goals of preserving a full selection of products from which consumers can choose, and reducing unnecessary regulatory burden.”
The move is the latest in the Trump administration’s broader deregulatory effort. They’ve announced plans to slash Biden-era policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritized fossil fuels and an energy-dominance policy.
The president has been particularly keen on eliminating efficiency standards, arguing they result in products that cost more and are less effective, and that they deny consumer choice. Trump has reversed rules restricting water flow for showerheads and other household appliances.
Trump targeted Energy Star during his first stint in the White House, but faced backlash.
In a statement, deputy legislative director for clean energy and electrification at Sierra Club Xavier Boatright said . . .
“For an administration who keeps claiming the country is facing an ‘energy emergency,’ Trump continues to attack any and all efforts aimed at saving energy through efficiency. When we waste energy through inefficient appliances? The fossil fuel industry uses it as an excuse to extract and sell more of its product to make more money on the backs of the American people.”
“ENERGY STAR Impacts,” | Energy Star
As taken from the Energy Star Site.
“$500 Billion Consumer Savings”
The Energy Star program has delivered remarkable economic benefits since its launch in 1992, helping American families and businesses save more than $500 billion in energy costs over three decades.123 This translates to approximately $350 in energy cost savings for every dollar the EPA has invested in the program.14 Beyond the cumulative savings, the program continues to deliver substantial annual benefits:
- In 2020 alone, Energy Star helped Americans save over 520 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and avoid $42 billion in energy costs.25
- A typical household can save about $450 annually by choosing Energy Star certified products while still enjoying expected quality and performance.
Reagan-Era EPA Staffing Goals
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has announced plans to dramatically reduce the agency’s workforce to Reagan administration levels, targeting a reduction from approximately 15,000 current employees to around 11,400 – the staffing level seen in 1984 during Reagan’s presidency.12 This restructuring aims to save taxpayers an estimated $300 million annually by fiscal year 2026 while maintaining the agency’s core environmental protection mission through what Zeldin describes as “common sense policies.”13
The current downsizing mirrors Reagan’s early 1980s approach to the EPA, when the administration cut the agency’s budget by 21% and reduced staff by 26% between 1981 and 1983.45 The restructuring affects multiple departments, including the Office of the Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, and Office of Water.1 Most significantly, the agency plans to dissolve its stand-alone Office of Research and Development, redistributing scientific staff to program offices to “tackle statutory obligations and mission essential functions.”
Bipartisan Congressional Support
The Energy Star program has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress, with lawmakers from both parties recognizing its economic and environmental benefits. When the Trump administration first proposed eliminating the program in 2017, more than 1,000 companies and organizations signed a letter urging Congress to protect it12. This broad coalition of support helped preserve the program’s funding during Trump’s first term.
Current efforts to save Energy Star are similarly bipartisan. A recent Consumer Reports survey found that 81% of Americans support government incentives for home energy efficiency improvements, with backing across political lines3. Organizations like the Alliance to Save Energy and U.S. Green Building Council are again mobilizing businesses and stakeholders to demonstrate widespread support45. The program’s modest annual budget of approximately $50 million (less than 1% of EPA’s spending) delivers a remarkable return on investment, making it popular with fiscal conservatives and environmentalists alike5. As one state regulator noted, “Some of the most successful programs, mandatory and voluntary, like [the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act] and Energy Star, are slated for elimination notwithstanding their bipartisan and significant support among stakeholders