Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products

The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles (42 U.S.C. §§ 6291–6309) is a regulatory program that enforces minimum energy conservation standards for appliances and equipment in the United States. The program was established under Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and gives the Department of Energy (DOE) the authority to develop and implement test procedures and minimum standards for more than 50 products covering residential, commercial and industrial, lighting, and plumbing applications. The Department of Energy is required to set standards that are "technologically feasible and economically justified."

The program was established by Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) and has been subsequently amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988, Energy Policy Act of 1992, Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. As established by NEPA, the program established "test procedures, labeling, and energy targets for consumer products." The National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 directed the DOE to set minimum efficiency levels for thirteen appliances. Subsequent amendments have expanded the number of appliances under regulatory control and directed DOE to maintain a schedule for review and update of testing procedures and minimum efficiency standards.

Since 1996, the Department of Energy has followed the Process rule for issuing new or revised efficiency standards or test procedures. Under the Process Rule, DOE solicits inputs from "manufacturers, energy-efficiency advocates, trade associations, state agencies, utilities, and other interested parties" through notices of advanced rulemaking. DOE also performs engineering analysis, life-cycle cost and payback period analysis, uncertainty and variability analyses, sub-population analysis, utility analysis, and environmental impact to establish the maximum standard that is technologically feasible and economically justified. Based on outside feedback and internal analyses, DOE sets the final efficiency rules of testing standards, which are published in the Federal Register.

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