by Jbs041610b3 — April 19, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on April 14 jointly announced changes to the Energy Star product certification process to ensure that only products meeting the program requirements can receive an Energy Star label. These changes accelerate steps DOE and EPA have initiated over the past several months to bolster the verification, testing and enforcement aspects of the Energy Star program.
Effective immediately, manufacturers wishing to qualify their products as Energy Star must submit complete lab reports and results for review and approval by EPA prior to labeling. Following a thorough review, EPA has strengthened its approval systems and is no longer relying on an automated approval process. All new qualification applications will be reviewed and approved individually by EPA.
Additionally, companies applying to be program partners will not be able to access the Energy Star certification mark until EPA has approved a specific Energy Star-qualified product submitted by the company.
A further requirement effective at the end of the year is that all manufacturers must submit test results from an approved, accredited lab for any product seeking the Energy Star label. Testing in an accredited lab is currently required for certain product categories including windows, doors, skylights and compact fluorescent lighting. The new process will extend the requirement to each of the more than 60 eligible product categories.
