ENERGY STAR Impacts

Environmental Impacts

• Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped prevent 4 billion metric tons of emissions from entering our atmosphere.^1,2
  • In 2020 alone, the program’s emissions reductions were equivalent to more than five percent of U.S. total emissions.^1,2
• ENERGY STAR’s 2020 energy savings also led to reductions of 210,000 short tons of sulfur dioxide, 210,000 short tons of nitrogen oxides, and 20,000 short tons of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
  • This avoided air pollution was responsible for an estimated $7 - 17 billion in public health benefits.²

Economic Impacts

• The estimated annual market value of ENERGY STAR product sales is more than $100 billion.
• Over 790,000 Americans are employed in manufacturing or installing ENERGY STAR certified products -- roughly 35% of U.S. energy efficiency jobs.³
• Over the life of the program, every dollar EPA has spent on ENERGY STAR resulted in $230 invested by American businesses and households in energy efficient infrastructure and services.¹
• Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses save more than $500 billion in energy costs.
• By choosing ENERGY STAR, a typical household can save about $450 on their energy bills each year and still enjoy the quality and performance they expect.⁴
• Over the lifetime of the program, every dollar EPA has spent on ENERGY STAR resulted in nearly $350 in energy cost savings for American business and households.¹

Scope and Influence

• Nearly 90% of American households recognize the ENERGY STAR.⁵
• Americans purchased more than 300 million ENERGY STAR certified products and more than 500 million ENERGY STAR certified light bulbs in 2021.
  • 45% of American households surveyed knowingly purchasing an ENERGY STAR certified product in the last year.⁵
• Over 840 utilities, plus state/local governments and nonprofits leverage ENERGY STAR in their efficiency programs, reaching roughly 95% of households in all 50 states.
• Approximately 1,800 manufacturers and 1,200 retailers partner with ENERGY STAR to make and sell millions of ENERGY STAR certified products.
• ENERGY STAR certification is available in more than 75 residential and commercial product categories.
  • Currently, more than 80,000 product models have earned the ENERGY STAR based on these rigorous criteria.
• Nearly 2.7 million ENERGY STAR certified single-family, multifamily, and manufactured new homes and apartments have been built to date, including more than 190,000 in 2023, representing more than 12% of all U.S. homes built.
  • More than 2,400 builders, developers, and manufactured housing plants are active in the ENERGY STAR program, including over 90 percent of the nation’s 25 largest home builders.
• As part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Section 45L Tax Credit for Energy Efficient Homes now requires certification to an eligible version of the ENERGY STAR program requirements, with the available credit ranging from $500-$2,500.
• More than 330,000 commercial properties use EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® tool to measure and track their energy use, water use, and/or waste and materials.
  • These buildings comprise more than 30 billion square feet of floorspace—more than a quarter of all the commercial floorspace in the nation.
• 48 local governments, seven states, two Canadian provinces, and three Canadian cities rely on EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as the foundation for their energy benchmarking and transparency policies.
• 35 diverse industrial sectors work with ENERGY STAR to strategically manage their energy use, from cookie and cracker bakeries and pharmaceutical plants to integrated steel mills and petroleum refineries.

References

The majority of data cited is from 2023. In cases where 2023 data is not yet available, prior year data is used. All instances are noted as such.

1. Estimated energy cost savings represent the present value of net energy cost savings, calculated by taking the difference between total energy bill savings and the incremental additional investment in energy-efficient technologies and services.
2. Estimates of contributions to emissions reductions do not account for overlapping impacts of regulatory programs and may be affected by other dynamics on the electrical grid.
3. U.S. Department of Energy. (2024). U.S. Energy and Employment Report. The survey does not account for retail employment.
4. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (2020). Typical House Estimates. Prepared for EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Climate Protection Partnerships Division.
5. EPA Office of Air and Radiation, Climate Protection Partnerships Division. (2023). National Awareness of ENERGY STAR® for 2022: Analysis of 2022 CEE Household Survey.

For more information on our calculation methods, see the Technical Notes (PDF, 228 KB).