EPA Seeks Data from Stakeholders As It Moves on Top-Tier ‘Super Star’ Program

The EPA signaled this week that it’s moving on a top-tier “Super Star” program that would recognize the top 5 percent of energy efficient products. As a first step, the agency wants to get “any existing data and information to best understand the marketplace and consumer preferences,” EPA said in a Monday letter to stakeholders.

The new program’s goal would be to “complement the offerings of the Energy Star program,” the agency said. “We will not do anything to detract from it as a trustworthy source for consumers.” CE makers and retailers like Best Buy have voiced misgivings about a top-tier program, but the proposal has drawn support from the Natural Resources Defense Council and other efficiency advocates.

The EPA wants to know from device makers and others how consumers make purchasing decisions, including whether they do extensive online research or rely on recommendations from friends or retailers. Also of interest to the agency is data on the “motivations and demographics of the subset of consumers that would be willing to pay more for greater energy efficiency,” it said. Device makers and others are to provide information to the EPA by May 10 at vargas.maria@epa.gov.

In initial comments, CEA and Best Buy expressed reservations about going ahead with a top-tier program without first studying its impact on Energy Star and its operation. “In general, CEA believes the agencies’ programmatic focus should be on improvement of the existing Energy Star brand, including potential expansion to new products and services,” the trade group said. Best Buy said it wants to ensure there’s no consumer confusion from multiple labels. As an alternative to the Super Star program, the retailer suggested that eligibility levels in the Energy Star program be reduced to “represent a smaller percentage of the market by category.” That would help products with higher efficiency be on the market without “unnecessary consumer confusion."

One shortfall of Energy Star is “the lack of an easy way for an interested consumer to distinguish between the better and the best,” said Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. In TV and other products categories there’s a “very big spread in energy use between similar models” that are Energy Star qualified, he said. Some Energy Star 42 inch TVs use 350 kilowatt hours a year, while other models of the same size use less than 175 kWh, he said. So if done right, the Super Star program, would “shine a light on those products that are truly the most efficient models that are available on the market,” Horowitz said. Because Energy Star and the proposed Super Star programs would address about 25 percent of the market, there’s need for a “energy hog” label to let consumers know that about the least efficient models, he said.