What’s at stake if Energy Star gets the axe

The future of the 33-year-old Energy Star program remains in limbo. While the Trump administration has floated privatizing the program, it’s also considered eliminating it outright, which would likely create ripple effects across the HVAC industry. 

The big picture: For between $30 and $40 million in annual operating expenses, Energy Star saves U.S. households a collective $40 billion a year in energy costs — and is recognized by nearly 90 percent of Americans, according to its website. 

What’s happening: A slew of utilities, third parties, and state and local governments across the country leverage Energy Star in their incentive programs, setting the stage for potential confusion if the program gets cut. 

• Without Energy Star, “these programs would be required to utilize appliance specifications from alternative bodies to anchor their program’s minimum requirements,” Bradford White noted last week. 
• It’s unlikely that they would use the same “alternative body,” it added, “creating a patchwork of rebate requirements among municipalities, utilities, and other third-party incentive providers that may become very difficult for contractors and consumers alike to understand.”

Meanwhile, contractors who lean on Energy Star’s consumer trust could lose a key sales tool, “complicating the sales process,” as ACCA’s Sean Robertson told ACHR News. 

Zoom in: Without a nationally recognized efficiency label, HVAC manufacturers also stand to have fewer incentives to push the envelope on product development, education company Forward Pathway argues. 

• “Without this incentive, manufacturers might revert to simply meeting minimum government-mandated efficiency standards, which are typically set at a lower bar than Energy Star’s requirements,” the company writes. 
• “In a less standardized market, businesses might need to invest more heavily in their own marketing and consumer education efforts to highlight the energy efficiency of their products, adding to costs,” it adds. 

But, but, but: Manufacturers have long supported Energy Star, with several signing onto a March letter urging EPA administrator Lee Zeldin to preserve the program. 

• “[B]ecause the Energy Star brand is highly recognizable to consumers, it is likely that, should the program be eliminated, it will be supplanted by initiatives that drive results counter to the goals of this administration, such as decreased features, functionality, performance, or increased costs,” the letter stated. 

The flip side: As part of a May proposal to eliminate a separate but similar initiative — a low-income HVAC program — the Trump administration argued that the president’s energy policies, including increasing fossil fuel production, will bring down energy prices across the board, making the program redundant. 

What to watch: While reports about eliminating Energy Star first surfaced in May, with privatization floated as an alternative two weeks later, the Trump administration has yet to issue a formal statement. 

• “Energy Star is an excellent example of a non-regulatory partnership between the government and private sector,” over 30 trade groups, including AHRI, wrote in a June letter to lawmakers. 
• “[It]… has received overwhelmingly bipartisan support down the years… [and] reduces Americans’ energy bills, a clear priority across party lines,” they added. 

The EPA declined to comment.