EPA Issues Final Guidance on Reported Values for ENERGY STAR
The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized its guidance for certification bodies (CBs) on the reported values that qualify products for the ENERGY STAR program. This guidance also assists manufacturers report consistent information on product performance to CBs.
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Guidance Provides Allowances for Reported & Measured Values to Deviate
Reported values are those that will be displayed on the list of ENERGY STAR qualified products, while measured values are included in laboratory test reports.
In many cases, reported values will not differ from measured values. However, manufacturers may occasionally need to report values that differ from those obtained during testing, for example, to ensure that product literature is aligned with EPA lists of qualified products.
This guidance provides specific allowances for measured and reported values to deviate, while ensuring that ENERGY STAR qualified product lists provide consumers with an accurate indication of product performance.
Newly States Test Results to be Evaluated Against ENERGY STAR Requirements
The final guidance includes new explanatory text in the preamble which states that for purposes of subsequent retesting (e.g., verification testing, challenge testing), test results will be evaluated against the ENERGY STAR requirements, not against values measured or reported by the manufacturer for qualification.
If the CB subsequently modifies the reported value for a product in consultation with the manufacturer, it shall submit the revised product performance information to EPA.
Finalized Guidelines for the Certification of Reported Values
The following are the finalized guidelines for the certification of reported values, which are limited to the ENERGY STAR energy efficiency and energy consumption requirements:
- Measured values and reported values must both meet the applicable ENERGY STAR specification.
- For products not subject to Federal energy conservation standards, the reported value shall not be more efficient than the measured value. More conservative ratings are allowed. (Note that this differs from the draft version, which did not specify that this guideline pertained to products not subject to the Federal energy conservation standards. This guideline also no longer states that CBs may provide exceptions to this guide if the reported value is supported by additional testing data, or that the reported values may in no case differ from the measured value by more than 10% of the measured value.)
- For products subject to Federal energy conservation standards, the reported value should be the certified rating as determined under DOE’s regulations. (Note that this differs from the draft version, which stated that if a CB rerates a product, the revised product performance information must be submitted to EPA.)
EPA notes that these guidelines support manufacturers’ needs for reporting consistent product performance, but are not intended to supersede ENERGY STAR product specifications.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/13/11 news, 11051329, for BP summary of the draft guidance.)
Guidance document is available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com.