n Feb. 1st. UL Environment, Inc. (ULE) a wholly-owned subsidiary of UL (Underwriter's Laboratories) announced, "...it is launching the Energy Efficiency Certification (EEC) program for assuring compliance with energy efficiency standards and regulations. Consumers will be able to look for the EEC Mark for verification that the products have been tested and proven to meet government energy efficiency specifications. The Mark will appear on consumer products including appliances, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, high tech equipment, and lighting products."

At first glance it seems that this in "another money-making" scheme from a third party, the UL. When asked about this new ULE venture, initial reaction from many power supply companies was generally negative. A third party "intrusion", call it testing or labeling, that costs money and time is not popular with the manufacturers. UL is known for its safety regulations and getting on the energy efficiency bandwagon seems opportunistic. But the issue is whether or not UL is opportunistic, as most companies are, or can it provide a valuable service to an industry that is currently fraught with confusing set of regulations and uncertain compliance. Will the UL proposal for testing and labeling of efficiency standards/regulation provide consistency, uniformity and simplicity to the ever burgeoning energy efficiency landscape?

Many environmental standards such as the 80+ program and the ENERGY STAR® program have been developed by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The EPA has developed and specified various test procedure to assure compliance with these regulations and standards. The testing is performed by labs that are accredited by the EPA, which can be either manufacturers' own labs or third party testing. There are many third party labs that specialize in some specific products and cover specific tests. The EPA does a fair amount of policing of the products (and procedures) which claim these labels. UL will be just another third party laboratory. Or is it? 

UL's entry into the energy efficiency testing and labeling is an interesting inflection point. UL is a well known lab and a recognized brand, for safety regulation as most companies and people are familiar with its procedures and the logo. UL has an extensive network of labs around the country and have established relationships with other worldwide agencies that perform similar test and procedure.  UL's safety programs are highly homogenized and it believes that it can aid in creating consumer confidence in energy efficiency testing and labeling as well. Most important, UL can assemble and manage the equipment and personnel to perform ever increasing complex test procedures that are expected to emerge. With its significant resources, UL could become a one-stop shop for many regulatory testing and labeling in safety and energy efficiency area. UL's role in energy efficiency testing and labeling cannot be viewed as a negative development.  

However, in one aspect UL seems different than other labs, in that it plans to issue its own Energy Efficiency Certification. The ULE press release states "... The EEC Mark will appear on products and the packaging of products that are proven to meet energy efficiency requirements as outlined by standards and regulations such as ENERGY STAR®, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and California Energy Commission (CEC). The EEC mark incorporates UL Environment's leaf encapsulating the familiar "UL" initials and includes the words "Energy Verified" in black text..."

If the US EPA has already developed standards and guidelines to grant an ENERGY STAR® logo based on the efficiency performance of the product, why is there need for an additional certificate or logo from the UL Environment? Too many labels from different organizations will increase the cost of the products and confuse the buyer. A clearly defined single label is sufficient to convey the message of product's efficiency performance in saving energy and environment. ULE needs to focus its efforts and resources on energy efficiency test procedures as developed by the government agencies, instead of issuing its own certificates and logos. There is no need to re-invent the wheel.

The views expressed in this article are solely of Mohan Mankikar's alone. They do not represent view of PSMA. Mohan Mankikar has been a part of the power supply industry for over twenty years, has been an active member of PSMA since its founding, and has been on the Board of PSMA and currently acts as an advisor.

Provided by Mohan Mankikar, President, Micro-Tech Consultants

If you or anyone in your company is interested in getting on the distribution list for future issues of PSMA UPDATE, please send e-mail to: power@psma.com. Be sure to include your name and the name of your company.