Energy consumption during use phase is an important aspect of computers’ and monitors’ overall environmental performance. For this reason, the IEEE 1680 Standard, which forms the basis of EPEAT, requires that every EPEAT registered product meet the current version of the applicable ENERGY STAR standard.

ENERGY STAR Grace Period

Stakeholders in the original EPEAT standards development process were concerned that the supply of EPEAT registered products might drop precipitously upon adoption of ENERGY STAR 4.0. As a safeguard, they established a 6-month grace period following adoption of a new ENERGY STAR standard during which products qualified to the previous standard could remain on the EPEAT registry.

Revisions to the 1680 standard adopted in December 2009 eliminated this ENERGY STAR grace period to bring EPEAT and ENERGY STAR effective dates into alignment. From January 2010, all EPEAT registered products  must meet the most recent applicable ENERGY STAR standard as of its effective date. On that effective date, manufacturers must archive all products that do not comply with the new specification.

ENERGY STAR and configurations

Computer manufacturers may build many configurations of a given product model, some of which meet ENERGY STAR requirements while others do not. EPEAT requires manufacturers to report specific configurations of registered products that do not meet IEEE 1680 requirements in an “exceptions” field. Because computer products are so highly configurable, and configuration can have a significant impact on energy use, many ENERGY STAR qualified computers on the EPEAT registry have a declared exception related to ENERGY STAR.

We encourage purchasers to carefully review the declared exceptions for products, to ensure that their desired configuration meets the applicable ENERGY STAR specifications. Where individual users have the ability to order products under an overall contract agreement, organizations should train individuals to request ENERGY STAR qualified products when they order, even where the overall contract already specifies EPEAT (and/or ENERGY STAR).

Additional resources:

ENERGY STAR 5.0 Information