Appliance and equipment standards are saving consumers and businesses billions of dollars. Image: energy.gov

Effective date of this rule is October 19, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a Final Rule amending its decision-making process for selecting energy-conservation standards by specifying that it will conduct a comparative analysis of the relative benefits and burdens of potential energy-conservation standard levels in determining whether a specific energy- conservation standard level is economically justified.

Appliance and Equipment Standards Program

The Building Technologies Office (BTO) implements minimum energy conservation standards for more than 60 categories of appliances and equipment. As a result of these standards, American consumers saved $63 billion on their utility bills in 2015 alone. By 2030, cumulative operating cost savings from all standards in effect since 1987 will reach nearly $2 trillion. Products covered by standards represent about 90% of home energy use, 60% of commercial building use, and 30% of industrial energy use.

The Appliance and Equipment Standards Program Provides a resource to help consumers make informed decisions when selecting products in order to save energy and money. eeCompass has easy-to-use tools that allow consumers to research, evaluate and compare covered products by brand and model, along with a number of other performance attributes.

• Issues regulations for appliance and equipment standards and test procedures, and for implementation, certification, and enforcement.
• Issues waivers for appliance and equipment test procedures.
• Provides further guidance to aid in the implementation of certain regulations.
• Announces all public meetings and comment deadlines, provides information on how to participate, and explains how to access rulemaking dockets and documents.
• Supports the voluntary ENERGY STAR® program by working with the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure products that display the label meet Energy Star specifications.
• Collaborates with Natural Resources of Canada through the Regulatory Cooperation Council. 
• Provides information on its history and impacts, statutory authorities, regulatory processes, plans and schedules, and program reports and publications.

For more information related to Appliance and Equipment Standards Program, please email ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov.