If you’ve shopped for appliances in the last two decades, you’ve probably seen the yellow Energy Star product stickers showing your estimated electrical costs for using it. Maybe they helped you select one clothes washer over the other or narrowed your selection to three refrigerators from six. Other products that use gas or electricity, like water heaters and light fixtures, or that impact a home’s energy efficiency, like windows and insulation, can also be Energy Star certified. This voluntary public-private partnership may be eliminated in a federal restructuring, and feelings among industry professionals about that are mixed.
Program Recognition
“Energy Star is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in America,” announced the program on its website, touting close to 90% awareness. According to its 2023 Annual Overview Report, (the last I was able to find), approximately 1800 manufacturers participate in the program, with more than 80,000 product models in more than 75 categories.
The report also notes that “48 local governments, seven states, two Canadian provinces, and three Canadian cities rely on the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool as the foundation for their energy benchmarking and transparency policies.” The U.S. Green Building Council also uses Energy Star ratings for its Leadership in Energy Design (LEED) rating system.
Mixed Industry Reactions
Ben Stapleton, the US Green Building Council California’s executive director, points to the program’s widespread benefits: “Energy Star provides a trusted and critical resource for homeowners to assess all kinds of appliances for their energy use. The value of having a trusted third party for this cannot be understated.”
He notes that there are other energy efficiency standards available, but many are more technically oriented and hard for consumers to understand. “Energy Star has been one of the most effective programs ever put forth in this space, pushing the envelope for reducing energy use not just here in the US, but globally, this will create a vacuum that will be difficult to fill.”
The Real Estate Roundtable, USGBC and the National Association of Home Builders have all co-signed a letter advocating for the program’s continuation, shares Bill Darcy, CEO of the National Kitchen & Bath Association.* According to NKBA’s sustainability study, he comments, 51% of homeowners consider energy efficiency as the most important factor when selecting eco-friendly products.
NAHB published this statement on the program, attributed to its chairman, Buddy Hughes: “Energy Star saves consumers and businesses $40 billion annually in energy costs while maximizing cost-effective energy efficiency improvements for homes and buildings. We hope the administration will reassess its decision to end Energy Star.”
“This change may require designers and contractors to spend more time on conducting detailed product research to recommend the most energy-efficient solutions and appliance offerings to their clients,” Darcy predicts. “Our data suggests that consumers remain acutely interested in the cost savings that come with sustainable appliance options for their homes,” he adds. (I can see the extra time required to research the latest in energy efficiency ratings – rather than quickly consulting a searchable database – being passed along to some clients in higher hourly billings.)
Washington, D.C.-based designer Rachel Cobbs recognizes the value of the program, she says, though it’s not a major factor in her work. “For homeowners navigating decisions without a designer, Energy Star has offered a rare, dependable point of reference. In my practice, performance, longevity, and visual harmony often outweigh certifications. But I understand the consequence of losing a tool that quietly encouraged better decisions across the market.” She primarily works on older and historic homes with unique specification challenges distinct from energy efficiency, she notes.
“Brands spent many millions ensuring that their products met the standards, and homeowners continue to benefit from the savings an Energy Star-rated product produces,” comments Jocelyn Hutt, a Boston-based home improvement products industry marketing consultant. “Many major brands have written to the administration asking them not to roll this back,” she added. These include, she says, the Chamber of Commerce, Bosch, Carrier and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) urging EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin not to end Energy Star because it was a good “non-regulatory” collaboration between the private sector and federal government.
Tampa-based multi-location appliance chain Famous Tate marketing director Jason Horst sees some upsides to the program ending. “Today’s appliances are all very energy efficient, but the continued requirements to use less water and less electricity were causing performance issues in cleaning products and likely increased costs as well. Providing this relief to manufacturers will allow them to focus on product performance while still costing far less to operate than appliances from 30 to 40 years ago,” he predicts.
Horst cites heat pump technology in dryers and water heaters as an example. “For a long time, dryers that used heat pump technology still didn’t provide the drying performance customers expected, but the new models today definitely do. All customers have wanted is a washer that uses enough water to truly soak their clothes, so this change does help manufacturers provide more of the deep fill wash options that customers are asking for.” He anticipates this saving consumers in the long run and increasing their satisfaction.
Stuart Stone, chief commercial officer of New York area Royal Green appliance chain, agrees. “One of the biggest complaints we get as a retailer is ‘my dishwasher doesn’t dry’ or ‘my dryer used to be faster.’” Air conditioners might also cool faster without the program’s standards, he theorizes, without necessarily losing much in the way of efficiency. “If you look at the actual annual cost rates between Energy Star and non-Energy Star in today’s world, they are not much different,” he observes. “I know this is a bit contrarian, but I think people will be happier with dishwashers and dryers again when the energy restrictions are lifted.”
Last Words
“While the absence of the program’s cost savings is expected to be felt by U.S. consumers and businesses, it could also open the door for new industry-led certification systems that better reflect this performance-driven product market,” Darcy suggests. “The path toward a more sustainable future in home design has never been solely dependent on any single program, but rather on our collective commitment to responsible innovation.”
For the benefit of homeowners who’d rather see their hard-earned dollars going into comfort, fitness, leisure, travel, family needs or just about anything other than their electric bills, the value of a program like Energy Star – if not that program itself – is considerable. Being open to innovation is ideal, of course, as long as the prioritization of energy efficiency doesn’t get lost in the process and the new alternatives are user-friendly for consumers and industry professionals.
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Author’s Notes: All interviews were conducted by email, except Cobb who commented in a professional Facebook group, the week ending May 11, 2025. *I’ve been a member of the National Kitchen & Bath Association since 2004.
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