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Energy Star Program Certifies 15 Out of 20 Bogus Products

Posted by timothy on from the so-have-no-fears-about-govt-insurance dept.

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."

40 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Like patents by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Interesting

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

    1. Re:Like patents by santax · · Score: 4, Funny

      Neh that's totally different. I'm pretty sure there are no bogus patents.

    2. Re:Like patents by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 3, Funny

      You'd think that they wouldn't default to giving away their (supposedly) valuable seal of approval, though. Most bureaucracies I've dealt with personally just ignored you if too many applications meant they would have to stay past 4pm.

      Anyway, way to go GAO. It sounds like somebody in there has a fun job-- "Johnson, I need you to create some idiotic-sounding products and set up fake companies to go with them."

      --
      [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
    3. Re:Like patents by petermgreen · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well the article claims that they just accept the manufacturers test data. It's fine for a certification agency to accept testing from trusted labs but they should still be both inspecting/testing those labs procedures AND verifying that results really come from the lab they claim to come from. If they don't it renders the agencies badges far less trustworthy.

      --
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    4. Re:Like patents by Runaway1956 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "You'd think that they wouldn't default to giving away their (supposedly) valuable seal of approval, though."

      Actually, I can't think of a single seal of approval, or certification, that means anything. The longer the "standard" has been around, the worse it is. It's all nonsense, IMHO. Reading reviews that real customers have written has proved more effective than looking for some certification which no one understands, and was likely paid for with cash money anyway.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    5. Re:Like patents by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I suspect one of three things(or conceivably some combination):

      Regulatory capture: Regulatory entities frequently(out of a mixture of lobbying and the human social processes that come with working together), frequently start to identify with the entities they regulate. It's like Stockholm Syndrome for bureaucracies. Either because you fear the lobbying clout of people upset with your decisions, or because you really don't want to be "not a team player", you start getting really softball regulation.

      Bad incentive structure: Defining good metrics for productivity is hard. Defining bad ones is easy. It would be totally believable that, either by design or in practice, the guy who approves 10 products in a day gets more brownie points than the guy who denies 10, or carefully researches 5.

      Intentional brokenness: A common(and quite sensible) defensive mechanism used by entities or industries that fear they will face conditions harmful to their interests(either regulation, consumer backlash, or both) is to pre-emptively "show their cooperation" by collaborating with their friends in legislature, or in "objective 3rd party" organizations produced for the purpose, to establish carefully broken softball standards that strongly resemble whatever reform they feared; but have little or none of the punch.

    6. Re:Like patents by dynamo52 · · Score: 4, Interesting

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

      No, the problem is that this was a program written by industry lobbyists. It is completely voluntary and the test results are self reported.

      From TFA:

      In the instance of a bogus dehumidifier granted certification (an appliance also billed as 20 percent more efficient than the category leader), the EPA did request an e-mail confirmation on the bogus test data. To get the Energy Star stamp, the GAO spies simply had to stick to the story.

      On the plus side though,this was discovered by the GAO making it an excellent example of what well reasoned regulation and oversight can accomplish. Now if we can get a few Republicans to vote for the new Consumer Protection Agency that Obama wants in the Financial Regulation Reform bill we would start to see more of these abuses brought to light.

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    7. Re:Like patents by thogard · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've been trying to figure out how they came up with the CFL saves 80% nonsense. The best bulb I've found was 64% when it was new and I have some that are past their useful life and are less efficient than incandescent bulbs. I'm not even sure how to measure the lumens from a non-point source like a spiral CFL in an accurate way. It appears that most of the bulbs that have useful ratings use the point that is the brightest and then use that light level to guess at the total lumens which will overstate the total light output. I've been thinking a better way to compare modern lights would be to look at a number more like EIRP used in radios.

    8. Re:Like patents by sumdumass · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, I can't think of a single seal of approval, or certification, that means anything.

      I'll expand your mind then. Try the UL and the NFPA seals and listings.

      Of course if something is not up to spec (lets say a manufacturer certified with one material and used another in production), then most people have a right to sue the manufacturers for not following the standards they were certified under as well as it being known that the problem wasn't the certification but the production afterward.

    9. Re:Like patents by Idarubicin · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, I can't think of a single seal of approval, or certification, that means anything.

      Underwriters Laboratories.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    10. Re:Like patents by digitalunity · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

      --
      You can't legislate goodness. Let each to his own destiny, by will of his freely made choices.
    11. Re:Like patents by slinches · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually, I can't think of a single seal of approval, or certification, that means anything.

      How about FAA certification? There's extensive testing and verification required for commercial aircraft to be in compliance with the FAA regulations

      --
      Knowledge Brings Fear
    12. Re:Like patents by michaelhood · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "You'd think that they wouldn't default to giving away their (supposedly) valuable seal of approval, though."

      Actually, I can't think of a single seal of approval, or certification, that means anything. The longer the "standard" has been around, the worse it is. It's all nonsense, IMHO. Reading reviews that real customers have written has proved more effective than looking for some certification which no one understands, and was likely paid for with cash money anyway.

      Except that there is a difference between private certifications and Energy Star because our tax dollars subsidize the purchases of Energy Star qualified products.

  2. So, its a marketing label only by bfmorgan · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have long thought that some of the devices with the energy star label were not that energy saving. Now I know.

    --
    I hope this caused some synapses to fire.
    1. Re:So, its a marketing label only by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Pretty much. I for one cannot wait to see what they do with Carbon caps and labels for that one...

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    2. Re:So, its a marketing label only by mysidia · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ah, but they are energy efficient.............. compared to a short circuit, or a 100 ohm resistor in parallel with the device.

    3. Re:So, its a marketing label only by Black+Gold+Alchemist · · Score: 3, Funny

      Especially because it amounts to turning down the radio in a hummer to save gas.

      --
      Responsibility is an addiction
      Virtue is a temptation
      Community is a cartel
    4. Re:So, its a marketing label only by bunratty · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's why many people are calling for a simple carbon tax. We already tax gasoline. Just also tax coal and natural gas to encourage efficient use of fossil fuels or use of non-fossil fuels. Of course, we should also tax goods from countries based on the carbon intensity of their industry so we don't simply shift fossil fuel use to other countries.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    5. Re:So, its a marketing label only by petermgreen · · Score: 3, Informative

      That one was more a methodology issue than a fraud issue. Energy star only set standards for when the TV was in regular standby and when it was running, not for when it was "in standby but trying to update the EPG and so the tuner is on". Furthermore it turned out that some TVs could spend a LOT of time in this state.

      --
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    6. Re:So, its a marketing label only by Un+pobre+guey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That is a political non-starter. Cap and trade will come because it creates a vast new speculative market. Look forward to iterative securitization, credit default swaps and other wacky derivatives, market cornering, toxic assets, etc. etc. etc.

      The people who will make the money in that market will be both the driving force and the authors of the legislation.

    7. Re:So, its a marketing label only by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 4, Funny

      They should tax having sex. After all, babies are made of carbon.

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
  3. Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Lost+Found · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bernie Madoff stole 50 billion dollars right under the SEC and FINRA's noses. Unlike private agencies like the UL that face the threat of extinction if they ruin their brand, government agencies routinely screw up, screw the people they're supposed to protect and get more money for their failures.

    1. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by PineGreen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This kind of comments make me want to return to Europe. I've been living in US for a couple of years now, I have a 6 figure salary and you know what: I hate paying so little in taxes. Because you get what you pay for. In USA you have small government, no taxes and hence everyone gets routinely screwed up by private sector: I have never paid so much in telecommunications, so much in healthcare costs for the shittiest service ever and I just punctured tire on my audi last week because of a massive pothole on a *freeway*. But as long as you get screwed by private sector everyone is happy. And then because one gov service is bad, everybody starts screaming big government is the root of all evil. For fuck sake, have you people ever tried trains in germany or healthcare in UK? USA could have been such a good country, food can be so amazing in NY and multiculturalism beats everybody else, but if people were just a little bit more sensible brained....

    2. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by moosesocks · · Score: 5, Informative

      As somebody who works for the government, I take your comment as a personal insult.

      If anything, the efficiency of the government is greater than private industry, thanks to the intense level of scrutiny we're put through. (If anything, the extensive accountability measures that we have to undergo are the one thing that hinders our efficiency)

      --
      -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
    3. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by superdave80 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't think it is necessarily a question of HOW MUCH in taxes, but what it is spent on. Why do we even have a government agency to put a damn energy star sticker on the side of an appliance? Simply make all manufacturers print the power draw of their item on the side of the package. Done. Anyone who gives two craps about how much power something uses can look on the package. Anyone who doesn't bother to probably wouldn't care about the whole energy star thing anyways.

      That money wasted on the 'energy star' bureaucracy could have been used to fill the pothole that you hit.

    4. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bernie Madoff stole 50 billion dollars right under the SEC and FINRA's noses. Unlike private agencies like the UL that face the threat of extinction if they ruin their brand, government agencies routinely screw up, screw the people they're supposed to protect and get more money for their failures.

      That's because the free market Republicans and Libertarians want to make sure the government can't do anything; because the market is self regulating.

      When the head of the SEC doesn't believe in regulation, you can be certain that very little will be regulated.

      --
      If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
    5. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Idiomatick · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "a secret evaluation conducted by the Government Accountability Office."

      From that I take it that you just closed your eyes and fled from this story? Government busting government doing bad things. BTW, there was nothing stopping a private company from trying this, but government did it. I guess it isn't all bad? They are improving or does that anger you? I don't know these days with anti-government types.

    6. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's too bad you haven't enjoyed our semi-socialized healthcare system, where half the costs have been fronted by the government, and the other half obscured from the real purchasers by government intervention (limiting what states insurers can compete in and promoting employer-purchases insurance in lieu of insuree purchased insurance). Unfortunately, however much it may suck in your personal experience, it's not a good example for you to cite of American capitalism failing. Fyi, freeways are paid for entirely by the government, although if you are complaining simply about too little money being spent, you should be aware that more money (at least as I've heard it reported) is spent on American healthcare.

      I have to wonder what your beef is with the telecoms--do you have a landline? Deregulation of the cellphone market is a rather famous example of where deregulation worked really well--it's an awful lot cheaper now than it used to be.

      I would like to point out that a single pothole does not a bad road make. There are going to be anomalous potholes in the highway whether in America or Europe simply because they layout so much road (America has the largest highway system in the world, which is also the largest public works project in history). In addition there may simply be a bad region (did you drive on every highway in Europe before making your comparison?) and certain areas are much more vulnerable to the formation of potholes due to local climate/terrain. America is much less densely populated than Europe, which means we have to layout a lot more road per citizen, and so we may well be making greater expenditures with inferior results.

      The point being that you take a tremendously complex multitude of factors and simplify them all into an entirely unrepresentative anecdote. Fyi my own experience with roads, healthcare, and phone bills has all been generally positive.

      P.S. IANAL, but if you really "hate paying so little in taxes," I am inclined to think that the IRS would not have a problem with you writing them a bigger check.

    7. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by tompaulco · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well, we could start in on Dun and Bradstreet, who used to be a reasonably reputable organization, but now they have resorted to the same kind of "important message" scams to get you to sign up as Classmates.com. I needed to get a Duns number from them for my business in order to secure a contract with a customer. I called up to get my free number, and I was unable to get one. The agent tried to sell me something I didn't want, but which i couldn't come up with an acceptable (to him) answer as to why I didn't want the service. He said he would give me a free duns number as soon as I could give him an acceptable reason why I wouldn't purchase their service that I didn't want. I got increasingly firm, and finally belligerent, but he was not to be swayed. Finally after 5 minutes, I hung up in frustration. I did not get the contract with the customer, and now I avoid doing business with any customer that is so far behind the times that they think a DBS number is something worthwhile to have.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    8. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by 517714 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Let's tally this up - Six figure salary, Drives an Audi, Lives in NYC. Yeah we are all very impressed - were you wearing an Armani suit at the time? The reason your telecommunications cost so much? You live in NYC. The reason for the shittiest service ever? You Live in NYC! The reason you got a flat? You LIVE in NYC! Do you see a pattern emerging yet? NYC is not a microcosm of the US - it is an aberration.

      --
      The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
    9. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by dynamo52 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Regulation and oversight is a tradition weakness of government anywhere. Sure, this can have beneficial results, but only if it is done.

      Exactly my point. Instead of continuing down the path of smaller and more ineffective government that has put us in this position, it is time to start rebuilding the regulatory structures that the corporate right has methodically dismantled over the last thirty years with the incessant mantra of deregulation. A well reasoned regulatory structure operating as an independent agency as Obama is proposing could expose hundreds of these types of abuses. Why do you think the Republicans are opposing it so strongly? If their contributors had to actually earn their money their fundraisers might not go so well.

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    10. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Wow as a Canadian please let me politely state - taxes on income do not support only health care. Oh and yes I'm in one of the higher paying tax brackets.

      Just in case you missed the the point. Your argument as it refers to the Canadian tax system and it's support rate for health care is a feces loaded sandwich that your are willingly chomping down on without much research or independent thought.

    11. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html

      Highest tax rate in Canada according to this is 29% (on income over 127K canadian). Highest provincial tax rate quoted there was 17.5% on income over 62k. That makes 46.6% (presuming both are taken on the gross wages). The lowest rates are roughly 15% federal, 5% provincial giving 20% on the gross.

      Where exactly do you get 40-60 percent from? I also doubt the 'word of your friend living in the UK' - I lived there for years and had the fastest service I've ever seen, never a question of whether I needed anything. From surgery to consultation was scheduled in short order and delivered on time. Moving to the US healthcare has been a nightmare, having to fight the provider for every test, procedure etc that my doctor tells me I should have.

      So, basically, you're full of shit.

    12. Re:Never, ever, ever, ever trust the government by nacturation · · Score: 3, Informative

      Canadians are taxed on their income for healthcare at a tune of anywhere from 40% to 60%, yet they still have waiting lists - even for necessary surgery.

      Yes, some Canadians might pay between 40% and 60% of their income as taxes. However, unless you think that 100% of all tax revenue funds healthcare, your numbers are completely out to lunch. Either I've been trolled, or you need to learn a few more things.

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  4. Lawl. by cosm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is a sad state of affairs that our government has to set up a separate agency to analyze the (in)efficiency of a government organization that is setup to analyze the (in)efficiencys of other organizations. The U.S government is becoming a conglomerate of Department of Redundancy Departments, whose productivity is measured in how much money is thrown down the chasm. Glad to see my tax dollars at work.

    --
    'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    1. Re:Lawl. by moosesocks · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Pretty much every company bigger than 10-20 employees has some sort of auditing system in place. Auditing is a good practice, and catches things such as this -- the only difference with the government is that audits are made public.

      --
      -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  5. Stop flying off the deep end. by jbn-o · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Of course the GAO is a government office, so if I'm not supposed to trust the government...

    I'd rather not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I can think of plenty of places where the government is trustworthy: I trust them to bend over for corporate power in a heartbeat. Corporations no doubt benefit from a sham stamp of approval like "Energy Star" to help sell products. Private organizations do plenty of harm (Dow Chemical and Bhopal, war profiteering, financing campaigns that weaken consumer protections, the movie "The Corporation" is filled with more examples) and that harm is (by design) beyond any democratic relief or judicial oversight; we don't need more of that. On issues of life and death, war and peace, it's clear that the US government is plenty willing to keep wars, banks, and now HMOs financed with taxpayer dollars while its citizens suffer; plenty of examples of government-corporate working against the people. People need to fix this not think government is something to throw away. The power of government can be turned to benefit its people.

    --
    Digital Citizen
  6. The question is, by mobby_6kl · · Score: 4, Funny

    Where the hell can I buy the gasoline powered alarm clock? That's an awesome idea and I don't care how many energy stars it gets, I just want it right now.

  7. gasoline alarm clock by gomatt · · Score: 5, Funny

    i had a friend with a gasoline powered alarm clock. he started it up when we went to sleep. guess its no good, because no matter how loud it was, he never woke up.

  8. wow! Nicely done! by CFD339 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm a firefighter and I've seen these guys work. They sent someone out to test our 75 foot ladder -- and the guy spent two days with magnets, iron dust, and a damn magnifying glass going over every single inch of the metal -- he found half a dozen micro stress cracks, marked them, and we were able to have them welded and re-checked.

    --
    The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln