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Appliance and Equipment Standards
Energy efficiency standards and labels for appliances, equipment, and lighting products are a very cost-effective and powerful policy for conserving energy. By forcing a shift to more efficient technology, standards "raise the floor" for efficient use of energy.

For information on selecting energy efficient products, the Alliance strongly suggests the EnergyStar website. EnergyStar is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that endorses energy-efficient products.

The Alliance to Save Energy is working to improve appliance standards and labeling through research and advocacy. We support the following projects dedicated to standards development in the United States and internationally.

The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) is dedicated to increasing awareness of and support for appliance and equipment efficiency standards in the United States. Founded in 1999 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Alliance to Save Energy, ASAP is led by a steering committee that includes representatives from the environmental community, consumer groups, utilities and state government. ASAP provides advice and technical support to parties interested in advancing state standards.

The Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) facilitates the design, implementation, and enforcement of energy efficiency standards and labels for appliances, equipment, and lighting products in developing and transitional countries throughout the world. CLASP was formed in in 1999 by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), and the Alliance to Save Energy.

Other resources include:

Agence de I'Environnement et de la Maitrise de I'Energie (ADEME), a public body which is industrial and commercial in nature, overseen by the French ministries of the Environnement, Industry and Research. NOTE: This web site is written in French.

Energy Efficient Strategies (EES) provides policy development, technical and economic support for the development and implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private, nonprofit organization (501(c)3), administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) advocates voluntary technical standards which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement.

International Energy Agency (IEA), based in Paris, is an autonomous agency linked with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). IEA Member governments are committed to taking joint measures to meet oil supply emergencies. They have also agreed to share energy information, to co-ordinate their energy policies and to co-operate in the development of rational energy programmes