What is Energy Star

What is Energy Star

Energy Star is an energy saving plan led by the US government and mainly aimed at consumer electronic products. The Energy Star Program was launched in 1992 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to reduce energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The plan was later adopted by Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and the European Union. The plan is voluntary, and Energy Star standards are usually 20-30% less energy efficient than US federal standards. The earliest products that cooperated with this plan were mainly information appliances such as computers, and then gradually extended to motors, office equipment, lighting, home appliances, etc. Later it also expanded to architecture.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has actively promoted the Energy Star Building Program since 1996. The EPA assists voluntary participants in assessing the energy usage of their buildings (including lighting, air conditioning, office equipment, etc.), and planning energy efficiency improvements for the building. Planning and follow-up work, so some homes or industrial and commercial buildings that introduce new environmental protection concepts can also find the Energy Star logo.

ENERGY STAR provides an online assessment tool that allows businesses and consumers to assess the efficiency of homes and industrial facilities. Energy Star ratings have become an important part of consumer and corporate purchasing decisions. More efficient buildings, applications and hardware mean greater savings in heating time or electricity costs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if every U.S. family and business replace their old computers with a new Energy Star qualification model, they can save more than $1.8 billion in energy costs in the next five years, and avoid more than 270 greenhouse gas emissions. The gas emitted by ten thousand cars. Similarly, to provide the same amount of light, a standard incandescent bulb consumes 75% more energy than an Energy Star certified fluorescent bulb.

Test content

Test content included in Energy Star: safety, EMI, surge, noise (non-energy star energy efficiency test items)

Light performance and energy efficiency test items:

1. Light effect and luminous flux
2. Color temperature, color deviation, color rendering index
3. Light intensity distribution and regional luminous flux distribution
4. Inhomogeneity of chromaticity space
5. Switching cycle
6. Luminous flux maintenance rate
7. Chroma maintenance rate
8. Size
9. Electrical parameters

Certified product range

As of November 2008, “Energy Star” has covered more than 50 categories of products, mainly focusing on:

Computers and office equipment: such as monitors, printers, fax machines, copiers, all-in-one machines, etc.,

Household appliances and similar household products: such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, televisions, video recorders, etc.,

Heating and cooling equipment: heat pumps, boilers, central air conditioners, etc.,

Large-scale commercial buildings and newly built houses, doors and windows, etc.,

Industrial and commercial products, such as transformers, power supplies, etc.,

Lighting: such as household lamps, etc.,

Commercial food equipment: such as commercial ice cream machines, commercial dishwashers, etc.,

Other commercial products: vending machines, channel signs, etc.

The products currently targeted include: fluorescent lamps, decorative light strings, LED lamps, power adapters, switching power supplies, ceiling fan lights, consumer audio-visual products, battery charging equipment, printers, household appliances and other various products.

Development status

A total of seven countries and regions around the world have participated in the Energy Star Program promoted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, namely the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union. Since 2001, the International Energy Star Program meeting has been held annually. There are now more than 30 types of products included in the scope of this certification, such as household appliances, heating/cooling equipment, electronic products, lighting products, etc. Currently, lighting products, including energy-saving lamps (CFL), are the most developed in the Chinese market. , Lamps (RLF), traffic lights and exit indicators.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) jointly announced on April 14, 2010 to adjust the certification process of “Energy Star” products to ensure that only products that meet the requirements can be approved for the “Energy Star” label. In this adjustment, the immediately effective clause is: if the manufacturer wants to obtain the “Energy Star” certification label, it must submit a complete test report and evaluation results, and be certified by the EPA, after the EPA review and approve the product as an “energy” Manufacturers will not be able to obtain the “Energy Star” certification mark before qualifying products. At the same time, in the process of reviewing the “Energy Star” qualification certification, EPA strengthened the approval system and no longer relied on automatic approval procedures, but checked and approved all new qualification applications.

EPA and DOE will further strengthen the “Energy Star” certification procedures before the end of 2010, stipulating that all manufacturers must submit test results issued by accredited and approved laboratories to ensure that products meet the “Energy Star” requirements. The products currently involved include windows, doors, skylights, fluorescent bulbs, etc. In the new inspection process, the product categories under the “Energy Star” plan will be expanded to more than 60, including freezers, refrigerated freezers , Washing machine, dishwasher, water heater and room air conditioner.

Energy Star Residential Project

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Housing Program is a nationwide voluntary program aimed at building a new type of housing with a 30% increase in energy efficiency. Qualified ENERGY STAR residences must be verified by a third party to confirm that the builder has appropriately adopted measures to improve energy efficiency. As long as the ENERGY STAR logo can be seen, home buyers who are not experts can make a purchase decision with confidence. Generally speaking, ENERGY STAR houses are 30% more energy-efficient than houses built in accordance with general energy codes, while protecting the environment and saving residents’ energy costs. The construction of Energy Star homes is not only beneficial to buyers, but also to builders, mortgage companies, and other organizations in the housing industry. Therefore, home builders across the United States support the Energy Star housing program.

Houses are usually newly built houses, because it is much easier to build a house that complies with energy-saving rules than to renovate an existing house. Although it is very expensive to upgrade and renovate a house to obtain the Energy Star logo, it can greatly reduce energy consumption costs. Therefore, it is still a good suggestion to carry out energy-saving renovation of existing houses. When replacing air-conditioning equipment, electrical equipment or lighting equipment, you should also consider purchasing those products with the Energy Star logo, which can further improve the energy-saving effect of the house Energy Star.

The Energy Star Residential Program uses the Residential Energy Evaluation System (HERS) to determine the energy efficiency score of a residence. Both new and existing residential buildings must meet the same energy-saving standards to obtain the Energy Star logo. In order to obtain the evaluation of HERS, or to find a way to obtain the Energy Star mark, it is also necessary to consult a local qualified residential energy evaluation agency to compare the model house (it has the same size and shape as the evaluated house and meets the minimum energy code Requirements), the HERS evaluation system conducts an objective and standard evaluation of the energy efficiency of residential buildings.

The HERS evaluation score ranges from 0 to 100. The point value of the model house is 80 points. Compared with model houses, every 5% reduction in energy consumption is equivalent to a point increase in HERS. The lowest HERS assessment value for Energy Star homes is 86. The evaluation of HERS includes on-site inspection of the residence. This test includes blower door test and pipe leak test. The results of these tests, along with other information about the house, are input into a simulated computer program to calculate the HERS score and estimate the annual energy bill.

Energy-saving window use

Energy Star residences are equipped with high-performance energy-saving windows to improve the energy efficiency of the residence. A quieter indoor environment-multi-layered glass and sealed window frames block external noise; prevent curtains, furniture and floors from fading-energy-saving windows are covered with a low-reflectivity coating, which can block 98% of ultraviolet rays; reduce usage costs- －Energy-saving windows make the house reduce heat loss in winter and prevent heat absorption in summer; improve quality-energy-saving windows are made of high-quality materials, easy to use, and provide users with additional protection. The window occupies about 10-25% of the external wall area of the house. According to the different climate conditions in different places, when the room is heated and cooled, it consumes 25-50% of the energy. Therefore, when building a new house, it is important to consider using energy-saving windows.

Heating and cooling equipment

Energy Star homes are equipped with appropriate power and efficient heating and cooling equipment. In the housing construction process, by paying due attention to the sealing condition of the air duct, the insulation performance of the residence and the installation of energy-saving windows, the power of the heating and cooling equipment in the ENERGY STAR house is usually less than that of the house built in accordance with general energy codes.

Reduce operating costs-heating and cooling equipment does not need to be overloaded;

Reduce maintenance problems-heating and cooling equipment always operate under optimal conditions;

A quieter home environment-there is no need to switch over-powered devices continuously and frequently.

The lack of tight air and ventilation pipes means that the heating and cooling equipment of ordinary houses need to increase their power to quickly meet their requirements for cold and heat. But this kind of high-power equipment has great disadvantages ①It can’t operate for a long time to reach its most efficient operation level; ②When the system can’t operate for a long time to remove the moisture in the air, it causes the problem of humidity in the house; ③High-power equipment will often be paralyzed quickly due to frequent startup. Tight air and ventilation ducts reduce the residential demand for air-conditioning gas heating and cooling, thereby avoiding the use of high-power equipment.

Improved thermal insulation

Compared with those built in accordance with general energy codes, the insulation performance of Energy Star homes has been greatly improved. The improvement of thermal insulation not only prevents excessive cold and heat from overflowing, but also maintains a constant temperature between rooms.

Improved comfort-maintain a constant temperature in the entire house and between rooms.

Reduce the cost of use-HAVC equipment compensates for the small amount of cold and heat exchange in the house in winter and summer.

In order to effectively maintain the temperature of the house, a continuous insulation layer inside and outside is necessary. The insulation layer must be laid without cracks, curls or compression. Energy Star residences must also pay attention to insulation measures around obstacles such as pipes, wires, and exits.

Sealed

Sealed ducts Compared with houses built in accordance with general energy codes, Energy Star houses have much higher requirements for duct sealing. Sealed ducts are essential for energy saving and maintaining the comfort of the house.

More continuous comfort-for every room

Significantly improve indoor air quality-reduce the room’s inhalation of dust and other pollutants from the outside.

Reduce the cost of use-reduce the room’s need for air conditioning gas. In a typical American house, the air leakage from the duct reaches 20-30%, which means that a lot of unnecessary money is spent to make the room warm or cool. The duct system should be kept sealed and tested locally to reduce air-conditioning gas leakage.

Energy Saving Retrofit

Owners of existing homes can use the “Energy Star Housing Benchmark”, an assessment tool based on the Internet, to compare the annual energy consumption of similar homes in their country. This tool helps owners of completed homes understand whether their homes meet energy-saving requirements and whether they should upgrade residential energy-saving measures to improve energy efficiency. On the ENERGY STAR website, this tool can also help owners of completed homes quickly decide which home renovation method to choose to improve energy efficiency.

The ENERGY STAR Residential Program also provides a “House Renovation Toolbox” to help existing houses carry out energy-saving renovations. The average household’s annual energy expenditure is over 1,400 with the help of the “House Renovation Toolbox”, which can reduce these expenditures by 30%, almost 400. When repairing, rebuilding or improving existing houses, the energy-saving measures in the “House Renovation Toolbox” It can help homeowners improve the energy efficiency, use value and comfort of their homes, and protect the ecological environment by reducing energy consumption. For homeowners, the “residential renovation toolbox” makes residential renovation and renovation projects easier.