for Energy Star . . . as an air purifier.
Even before the release of the Government Accountability Office report that skewered the Energy Star program for faults in its certification process, the program’s administrators had begun damage control. Officials at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which jointly run Energy Star, earlier this month announced steps they were taking to improve the voluntary program and touted recent enforcement actions. (Watch this ABC News video on the GAO audit.)
Both agencies have stepped up their enforcement efforts. For instance, additional testing by the Energy Department found that the Energy Star-qualified Samsung RF26VAB refrigerator consumed 7 to 11.4 percent more energy than allowed by Energy Star. And 21 LG and LG-made refrigerators lost their Energy Star in January because they used more energy than indicated by the manufacturer.
• A “room air cleaner” that was actually a space heater with a feather duster and fly strips attached (shown). The application for the appliance was submitted without the required Underwriters Laboratories safety-standard file number, Energy Star, which could have seen a photo of the humorous-looking product on the Web site of dummy manufacturer Tropical Thunder Appliances, approved the product within 11 days and granted it Energy Star qualification.
• The gas-powered alarm clock mentioned in our initial report received Energy Star qualification without questions. The bogus clock was described in the application as being "the size of a small generator” and “powered by gasoline."
• A boiler, washer, computer monitor, dishwasher, and refrigerator received Energy Star qualification within one business day and were listed on the Energy Star Web site. Some of these products would have been eligible for federal tax credits and state rebates.
Part of the problem with Energy Star, the GAO notes, was the unlimited access an Energy Star manufacturing partner gets to promotional resources, including digital Energy Star logos. The four bogus companies achieved this partnership access even before receiving qualification for any of the bogus products and could enter the secure area of the Energy Star site. Moreover, some information about three of the faux appliances that is typically restricted was available on the publicly accessible part of the site.
The GAO report says the Energy Department and the EPA acknowledged that Energy Star currently “relies on self-policing, manufacturer integrity, and after-market testing” for some high-volume products. Consumer Reports’ own testing has revealed what we consider loopholes in program requirements or the underlying federal standards, which have let manufacturers circumvent the program’s requirements.
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports and the Home & Garden blog, recognizes that the Energy Star program is a good one in concept and can be of help to consumers. The organization has advocated for updated energy-use testing and better oversight of Energy Star to prevent the types of issues found by the GAO. (See our October 2008 investigative report, “Energy Star Has Lost Some Luster.”) CU will continue to advise the Energy Department about appropriate revisions to its energy-use test procedures.
The hill reports that the EPA and DOE have made some changes to their labeling process for Energy Star in response to GAO's critisms.
Great post, I often feel like many of the tasks
I do online are like grunt work, and like you I agree
it was not the way I wanted to run an online business,
I wanted everything more easy and automated.
The 2 out 3 rule sounds good to me, I will be implementing that now,
I was never sure what ratio to use for mailings.
I have tried, failed and gave up, but now I am back to try again,
with a new passion so hopefully I can find the way that works for me this time,
thanks for this post, it really helped me
What about the Dyson Air Multiplier (http://www.dyson.com)
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