ENERGY STAR® and UL

The ENERGY STAR® program is a voluntary labeling program jointly administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE).  It was launched in 1992 to help consumers identify products which are more energy efficient. 

Effective January 1, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that all new product submissions from manufacturers participating in the ENERGY STAR® program be reviewed by an EPA-recognized Certification Body (CB), and that qualification testing be performed under specific criteria. Product qualification requires testing to be performed at EPA-recognized facilities. First-party (manufacturer) facilities are allowed under CB supervision, through a Data Acceptance Program, or by obtaining EPA recognition independently.  In addition, the program continues to make changes to requirements for existing product categories. View the full list here.

The ENERGY STAR® program will also be developing new specifications for additional product categories. View the full list here.

For more information, you can visit the Frequently Asked Questions or the ENERGY STAR site.

How can UL help?

UL is your full service ENERGY STAR® partner, as an EPA-recognized Certification Body and Laboratory.  We offer:

• Global EPA-recognized laboratory options for testing, with several labs around the world that can serve your needs. 
• The ability to test the widest variety of products.   UL has the most comprehensive scope for ENERGY STAR® with EPA-recognized Testing Laboratories around the world that can perform Qualification and Verification testing on 30 ENERGY STAR® product categories, and is an EPA-recognized CB for 35 products.
• Access to our approved Data Acceptance Program, which provides you the flexibility to conduct your own testing in-house
• Access to utilize UL's global accreditation footprint to satisfy requirements of all North American energy efficiency programs, including ENERGY STAR®, NRCan, the US DOE, the California Energy Commission and Mexico's National Commission for Efficient Energy
• The ability to streamline your energy efficiency certification processes across multiple programs by submitting data through our Certification Office
• In-depth knowledge of energy efficiency requirements and technical expertise

To get started, please contact us at EEC@us.ul.com and a representative will contact you.

EPA-Recognized Certification Body (CB) Status

UL was one of the first organizations to earn recognition by the EPA as an approved certification body. Recognized certification bodies are required to comply with ISO/IEC 17025 for testing, calibrations and sampling, as well as be accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 65 for bodies operating product certification systems.  To read the full announcement, click here.