Consumer Reports Finds Energy Star Program Standards Lax and Tests Out-Of-Date

October issue reports that an increasing number of products qualify for
program;Some products energy consumption claims not met in Consumer Reports'
lab tests

YONKERS, N.Y., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Reports' recent
investigation into the Energy Star program reveals that lax standards and
out-of-date test protocols plague the federal program. The report, featured
in the magazine's October issue, notes that the percent of products that
qualify for Energy Star is increasing because standards are too easy to reach
and federal test procedures haven't kept pace with new technology. In
addition, Consumer Reports' tests found the energy consumption claims reported
on some products' EnergyGuide label to understate significantly what consumers
are likely to experience.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 25 percent of
products in a category should qualify for Energy Star. But until recently,
for example, 92 percent of all dishwashers qualified. Under a tighter
standard, it's now about 50 percent. A high number of residential-use
oil-fired boilers (67 percent) and dehumidifiers (60 percent) also qualify for
the program.

What's more, it usually takes the Department of Energy (DOE) three years to
publish new rules - a period that includes comments from manufacturers,
organizations such as Consumers Union, and others - and another three years
for the updated standards to take effect. Input into the rule-making process
by those who have a vested interest in easy-to-meet standards, such as
manufacturers, can also dilute those standards.

Energy Star is a 16-year-old federal voluntary program administered by the DOE
and EPA that covers more than 50 product categories. The program grew out of
efforts by the federal government to forge a set of nationwide guidelines and
create a logo that clearly indicates energy-efficient products. Qualifying
Energy Star appliances and consumer electronics should use less energy - about
10 to 25 percent less than the DOE's maximum allowed amount for that category.

Energy Claims Not Met In Consumer Reports' Tests

New, sharp-looking appliances may be tempting to consumers, but their
energy-consumption claims may not reflect real-life use. Consumer Reports'
comparative energy tests of refrigerators, which are tougher than the DOE's
and better resemble how consumers use refrigerators, found five Energy Star
models - three from LG and two from Samsung - whose annual energy consumption
would likely be far greater than that claimed on their EnergyGuide labels.

For example, Consumer Reports found that the Samsung RF267ABRS, a refrigerator
equipped with French doors and through-the-door ice and water dispensers, used
890-kilowatt-hours per year - a number higher than the 540 kWh annual
consumption claimed under the less rigorous Energy Star Program. There was an
even larger difference between company claims and Consumer Reports'
more-demanding test measurements for the LG LMX25981ST French-door fridge. LG
claims it uses 547 kWh per year, but Consumer Reports' tests found that
real-life energy use would be more than double. In the case of the LG models,
the Energy Star protocol allows for the ice maker to be turned off during
testing, resulting in the ice melting. Consumer Reports believes that
consumers would not turn off the icemaker, and that appears to be a primary
reason for the discrepancy between the Energy Star and Consumer Reports' test
results.

No Independent Verification

Consumer Reports notes another flaw with the Energy Star program. To qualify,
many companies must self-certify that their products comply with the
standards. The DOE does not test products for compliance with Energy Star
standards. There's often no independent verification of what manufacturers
report. Instead, the government relies mostly on manufacturers to test their
competitors' appliances to the same standards and report back on results of
suspicious energy-use.

Consumers Union has made some recommendations that can help fine-tune the
Energy Star program, including:

-- Testing procedures should be brought in line with the technology available
in consumer products. The DOE and EPA should more frequently review
procedures and standards as new technology and products hit the market.
-- The DOE should require some independent verification of test results.
-- The program should consider a graded qualifying system that uses letters.
-- Federal officials need to better police companies and enforce standards,
including increasing spot checks of Energy Star-qualified products.

The full report on the Energy Star program is featured in the October issue of
Consumer Reports. The report also contains a guide to help consumers interpret
the EnergyGuide label, a comparison of energy consumption over the decades by
televisions, nine myths about compact fluorescent light bulbs and Consumer
Reports' first ever ratings of tankless water heaters. For more information on
the how to save energy and money, check out the October issue of Consumer
Reports on newsstands September 2, 2008 or visit www.ConsumerReports.org.

OCTOBER 2008
(C) Consumers Union 2008. The material above is intended for legitimate news
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Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent
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To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our
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SOURCE Consumer Reports

Melissa M. Valentino, +1-914-378-2432, mvalentino@consumer.org or Lauren
Hackett +1-914-378-2561,lhackett@consumer.org, both of Consumer Reports