Energy Star Program Certifies 15 Out of 20 Bogus Products

longacre writes "A Gasoline-Powered Alarm Clock was among 15 bogus products granted the coveted Energy Star seal of approval by the US Environmental Protection Agency during a secret evaluation conducted by the Government Accountability Office. In addition, four fictional manufacturers run by fake people and marketed with crummy websites — Cool Rapport (HVAC equipment), Futurizon Solar Innovations (lighting), Spartan Digital Electronics, and Tropical Thunder Appliances — were granted Energy Star partnerships. The root of the problem: Manufacturers need only submit photos and not actual examples of their products, and they submit their own efficiency ratings, which are not independently verified by the EPA."

Comments

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[BadAnalogyGuy]

The sheer volume of applicants makes it infeasible for a single bureaucracy to effectively test physical hardware.

Re:Like patents

[digitalunity]

Not sure, but sumdumass is entirely correct.

OSHA runs the rigidly enforced Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory program for product safety certification program, including companies such as UL, ETL and CSA who routinely test products for compliance with UL, CSA, NFPA and FCC testing. For an additional fee, I'm sure these companies would be happy to provide energy efficiency ratings as well.

As a part of the certification program for most companies, manufacturers receive regular inspections to continue using the UL, ETL and CSA certification marks to verify that the products that they make continue to comply with the requirements originally used to establish conformity to nationally recognized product safety standards.

Once a certification is established, manufacturers cannot modify their product designs in ways that affect the safety of the product without a recertification review.