EnergyGuide stickers inform consumers about the energy efficiency of climate control products and about the annual energy use and cost of many other appliances. Each label also contextualizes this information by indicating the highest and lowest energy-efficiency levels for similar products and demonstrating on a horizontal bar scale where a particular appliance falls within this range. EnergyGuide labels can be found on most of the energy-using products that are subject to current minimum energy efficiency standards set by the federal government. Among commercial products this includes general service fluorescent lamps, incandescent reflector lamps, showerheads, faucets, water closets and urinals. The residential appliances that bear EnergyGuide labels are refrigerator-freezers and freezers, room air conditioners, central air-conditioners and heat pumps, water heaters, furnaces and boilers, dishwashers, clothes washers, microwaves, pool heaters and fluorescent lamp ballasts. Although televisions, clothes-dryers, ranges and ovens, and space heaters are subject to federal minimum efficiency standards, they were exempted from the EnergyGuide program because its administrators believed that the energy use of these products does not presently differ substantially from one make to another.
The EnergyGuide labeling program is administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Although the data that appears on the label must be acquired using Department of Energy-approved testing procedures, the data is not necessarily verified by someone other than the manufacturer. Energy consumption information must merely be substantiated in some way by the manufacturer. Some manufacturers submit their own in-house testing results as substantiation of a product's energy use and performance. Still many manufacturers who belong to trade associations, for example ARI, satisfy the requirement by having trade association-certified data sent for use on the label. Others have data certified by third-party testing organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories. (See "Verification Labels and Options.")
Although in some cases the only proof of a product's actual energy use is the manufacturer's own test results, there is cause for some assurance about the accuracy of the EnergyGuide labels. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 created statutory, civil penalties for submitting false information for use on EnergyGuide stickers. The law stipulates that manufacturers pay maximum penalties of $100 for each misleading label.
For those government purchasing officials unwilling to go from retail store to retail store to compare the energy use of similar products, the EnergyGuide program is clearly less than ideal. As of yet, the Department of Energy has not been authorized to assemble a comprehensive directory of the energy-efficiency of all appliances on the market.
Canada's EnerGuide directory - which comprehensively lists a variety of energy-using products from most to least efficient (see "Doing Your Own Energy Comparisons") - is useful for comparison shopping. Because many products sold in Canada are also marketed in the United States, and because an equivalent guide is not available in the United States, the directory is a useful tool for U.S. government purchasing officials interested in verifying and comparing efficiencies. Requesting information on a product-by-product basis from the FTC is also an option.