Energy Star

Energy Star is a global standard for the energy proficient end user products. It was first created by the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 to promote energy proficient products in an attempt to minimize the energy usage and the greenhouse effect by industrial power plants. Over the years, this program has been adopted by several countries like Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand and the European Union.

The energy star program was developed by the US EPA’s John S. Hoffman and implemented by Brian Johnson and Cathy Zoi. Energy star help reduce the energy consumption of a product by either automatically switching the appliance into a dormant mode or/and limiting the power usage of a product in a standby mode. Initially energy star started with markers for various computer products. In 1995 the program was expanded to include residential cooling and heating systems and newly built homes. As of 2006, at least 40,000 energy star labeled products were available that comprised a wide range of items such as kitchen appliances, computer products, buildings, office equipment and more. Homes that have been qualified by energy star are at least 15 percent more energy proficient than the homes that were built in accordance with the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC). The energy star program has facilitated the use of fluorescent lighting, LED traffic lights, power management systems and low reserve energy use. In 2006 alone, the EPA has estimated to have saved about $14 billion in energy expenses.

The energy star program was the first step by the US government in order to increase the usage of energy efficient products and had produced overwhelming results in the saving of energy expenses.