Energy Star Version 7.0 for TVs to Take Effect Oct. 30, EPA Says, Releasing Completed Spec

In delaying the effective date by a month, EPA threw somewhat of a bone to CEA, Panasonic and Sharp, all of which in mid-December had used their comments on Version 7.0's final draft to press their arguments that a Sept. 30 effective date was unrealistic for TV makers (see 1412210001). CEA and Sharp wanted the effective date moved to next Dec. 31, Panasonic, to Feb. 29, 2016. Absent any delay from Sept. 30, the CE makers argued, it would be extremely difficult for most TVs manufactured for sale throughout 2015 to qualify for Version 7.0 without expensive mid-year recertifications and running line changes to existing products. They said they also feared the Sept. 30 effective date would cause many Version 6.1-qualified products to be delisted mid-year.

CEA in its final-draft comments went the extra step of arguing that the introduction of new TVs to the commercial market “naturally occurs between the Super Bowl in February and the end of September,” when retail space for the holiday selling season “is negotiated and finalized.” Since the Sept. 30 effective date falls within that “cycle,” its “anticipated timing” couldn’t come “at a more inopportune time for manufacturers,” CEA said.

Judging from EPA’s comments in the cover memo accompanying Tuesday's release of the final spec, it was this CEA argument that seemed to hold most sway at EPA in pushing the effective date back by a month. “EPA has shifted the effective date into October in light of the holiday and early January drivers for TV partners,” the agency said. “However, due to the already high market share of products that currently meet Version 6.1, EPA has not shifted to the requested dates in December 2015 or early 2016, as doing so would compromise the impact of the specification on the 2015 model year. Manufacturers will be able to continue to certify TVs to Version 6.1 until June 2015 and can market those units as ENERGY STAR through October 2015.” Effective immediately, the agency said, TV makers are free to have their EPA-recognized certification body certify their eligible products to the Version 7.0 requirements.

Version 7.0 is the first Energy Star spec to provide for the power consumption of Ultra HD sets. Just under 13 months in the making, “the new criteria represent a good selection of models from a variety of manufacturers across a variety of screen sizes -- including larger screen sizes that continue to grow in popularity -- all of which offer superior efficiency,” EPA said. If all TVs sold in the U.S. were Energy Star-certified, the cost savings, in terms of energy efficiency, “would grow to more than $800 million each year and more than 11 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions from over 1.1 million vehicles,” the agency said.

Before the release of the final spec, the Natural Resources Defense Council had opposed CE makers’ attempts to delay Version 7.0's effective date past Sept. 30. The current TV spec, Version 6.1, “has served its purpose and is in need of a timely refresh as more than 75 percent of the models on the market today already meet these levels,” NRDC Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz told us by email. “In order to maintain ENERGY STAR’s effectiveness and integrity as a leadership mark, EPA needs to finalize Version 7.0 and have it go into effect as soon as possible.”

At NRDC, “we fail to see a good reason for EPA to delay any further its planned rollout of ENERGY STAR Version 7.0,” Horowitz told us. “It’s puzzling to understand why a company like Panasonic would want to see the specification effective date delayed till February 2016. This would mean having a woefully outdated specification not only for the all-important 2015 holiday season, but also for the launch of all the following model year’s new TVs introduced in January 2016 during the Consumer Electronics Show.” Panasonic’s proposed effective date “essentially deprives the market of a critical tool to drive efficiency improvements for one and possibly two more design cycles,” Horowitz said. Panasonic, through spokesman Jim Reilly, declined to comment.

NRDC's overall take on Energy Star's potential impact seemed to match that of EPA. According to Horowitz, NRDC thinks EPA in Version 7.0 "has developed a solid update" for its Energy Star TV spec. NRDC expects Version 7.0 "to create millions of dollars in energy savings for consumers beginning in 2015," Horowitz said.