FTC Requires EnergyGuide Labels for TVs Made After May 2011

TVs made after May 10, 2011, must display EnergyGuide labels that give consumers information about their energy use, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday. Such labels, which are required on appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators, will provide TVs’ estimated yearly energy costs and “cost range” compared with similar models, the commission said in a final rule on energy use labeling for electronics. It was adopted 5-0.

The TV labels should be visible from the front of the TVs, the commission said. Manufacturers can use either a triangular or a rectangular label. Online sellers of TVs will be required to display an image of the full EnergyGuide label, the FTC said. Paper catalogs also should carry the energy use information, it said. Manufacturers should use the Energy Star test procedure to measure energy use of TVs, the commission said. Using that test procedure would “provide uniformity” across federal programs and let TV makers use a single test for Energy Star and EnergyGuide labels, the FTC said.

Manufacturers should use 11 cents per kilowatt hour to calculate annual estimated energy cost, the FTC said. The annual energy estimates don’t have to include the energy used by “integrated functions, nor do they require a disclosure that the integrated functions’ energy use is not included,” it said. The commission believed that additional disclosure about the exclusion of integrated functions’ energy use would crowd the label, it said. But if “evidence indicates that integrated functions, especially Internet connectivity, implicate significant new energy use,” the FTC will consider revisiting the issue.

The final rule doesn’t specify when manufacturers must retest their models to determine whether the energy information on the label remains accurate. “Manufacturers are in the best position to determine when a design change could alter energy consumption, and therefore, when retesting is needed,” the commission said. Manufacturers whose labels do not contain accurate energy information because of design changes will be in violation of the rule, it said. In response to manufacturer concerns about screen damage, the commission said it’s letting TV makers affix the label “anywhere on the television, as long as the label itself is visible to someone viewing the front of the television.” The FTC said the rule doesn’t allow electronic labels to satisfy its requirements and doesn’t apply to battery-powered TVs.

The FTC’s EnergyGuide labeling rule is “an exciting and important development for consumers that will provide helpful energy use information for TVs,” said Douglas Johnson, CEA’s vice president of technology policy. CEA has long supported efforts to provide consumers with more information about the energy use of the electronics they purchase, and “we look forward to working with the FTC as it considers similar measures for other product categories,” he said.