Energy Star, a popular program that highlights energy efficiency appliances from ovens to dishwasher, is found in the cutting block in the United States
And other divisions that supervise climate change and energy efficiency would be eliminated as part of the reorganization of the Trump administration of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported earlier this month.
That could affect the labels in which Canadians trust to know which products will help them save in energy invoices, they say observers such as Sarah Riddell, associated with the investigation of policies with the non -profit efficiency of Canada.
“You can see … only with that symbol that it will be one of the best results in terms of energy efficiency,” he said.
But will that symbol still exist after the American program is gone?
Although Energy Star Canada is administered by the Canadian government, it is based on the standards, certification and tests of the USA. For many products, and it is not clear how it will work without the US program.
What is Energy Star?
Energy Star is a symbol and a label that highlights energy efficiency under a program administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1992. Its objective was for IDentify and promote energy efficiency products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The label applies to:
- Products such as appliances, windows and doors.
- Buildings, including houses, offices and industrial plants.
To qualify, the products must be tested by certified third -party laboratories and are to meet a certain energy efficiency standard. Some also audit and try again regularly.
For buildings, a free online tool called Energy Star Portfolio Manager helps to measure and track energy performance in commercial buildings, and certifies those that work among the first 25 percent of similar buildings in certified households of the US. UU. They must be at least 10 percent more efficient than those created to encode.
According to the program website, Energy Star has so far saved approximately 5 billion KWH of electricity, $ 500 billion in energy costs and 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
How Energy Star Canada works
Energy Star Canada, introduced in 2001, is technically administered by Natural Resources Canada. But it is a collaboration with the US EPA.
To obtain an Energy Star Canada certification, the products are registered in the US agency and are tested in the EPA laboratories to see if they meet the energy standards, says Natural Recurged Canada: in other words, it is usually identical to the Energy Star certification, and the Canadian certification is automatic for products certified by the United States.
Riddell’s work is to see how Canada’s standards for appliances and equipment are compared to international reference points and press by higher standards in Canada.
She said that there are two areas where the Canada program is independent of the American program and establishes its own standards:
- Some product categories, such as heat and energy recovery fans (which bring fresh air to an energy efficiency building without losing heat in the process), which the United States does not certify.
- Energy Star certification for new houses.
The province reduced its energy efficiency regulations to build new homes earlier this year. A report from the Saskatoon City Council says that higher standards must be met.
Why does it matter
TO 2022 Ipsos survey commissioned by the federal government He found that 86 percent of Canadian respondents knew about Energy Star and 75 percent think that Energy Star–Certified houses offer a better value than unbelievable houses.
According to him Most recent Energy Star report in CanadaIn 2022, more than 3,500 new houses in Canada obtained the Energy Star certification, and those houses were, on average, 20 percent more efficient than other new houses, saving their residents up to $ 300 a year in public services costs.
Riddell said the program is simple and essential to understand the efficiency of different products.
While some products also have to comply with the minimum standards of energy efficiency, not everyone does. And while other energy efficiency labels, such as Energyguide, exist for some products, Riddell said they tend to be more complicated.
Meanwhile, for some types of products, such as doors, windows, swimming pool pumps and EV loaders that are not covered by the encence, Riddell said: “Energy Star labeling is really the only way to know in the store that the product you are buying is efficient in energy.”
The buildings are the The third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada By economic sector, after oil, gas and transport. And buildings are almost completely space heating, water heating and other appliances In that order.
In addition to helping consumers choose houses and products that save money, green reimbursement programs use certification throughout Canada to determine which products are efficient enough to be eligible.
While the federal subsidy of more ecological housing is over, Riddell said that there are still 64 different reimbursement and incentives programs throughout the country (for example, on provincial public governments and services) that depend on Energy Star.
“Energy efficiency is really essential since we electrify Canada towards zero net,” he said, adding that he can reduce the public services of Canadians and reduce the need to build more expensive electricity.
If the United States cancels the energy star, how will Canadians be affected?
When asked about this, Canada’s natural resources responded by email: “We are evaluating the potential impacts on operations in Canada.”
Riddell said that in the short term, there is the possibility that the department continues to execute the program in Canada without the EPA, if the EPA allows you to use the name and symbol of the energy star, that the EPA registered brand.
“At longest,” he added, “there is a question of whether Canada’s natural resources would regularly update the efficiency specifications of the energy star for the more than 80 different types of products that are eligible for Energy Star in Canada.”
He added that only nine of the energy efficiency test laboratories are in Canada, while 60 are in the US.
Manitoba efficiency, the Crown Corporation that began operating in 2020, is about to receive a new mandate from the provincial government that will expand its reach beyond reducing energy consumption to also focus on demand.
That said, Canada has managed to execute the program independently for some complete categories of products, such as energy and heat recovery fans. “Therefore, it is very promising, showing what Canada can do with Energy Star even without the United States,” said Riddell.
If Canada cannot keep the program high, you think it could make it difficult for green reimbursement programs to determine which products are eligible.
The loss of the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool to evaluate the energy efficiency of commercial buildings, even for ecological buildings certification programs, such as Print and Boma betterIt could also be a problem, said Riddell.
“That is widely used throughout Canada to monitor, qualify and optimize more than 40,000 commercial and industrial buildings for energy use, and has been doing so during the last 12 years.”
