States are Turning the Voluntary Energy Star Program into a De Facto Standard
With Congress divided and unable to agree on many kinds of legislation, environmental groups have shifted their strategy to imposing new regulations and energy standards at the state level. In some cases, this is leading to a patchwork of stricter requirements that foodservice equipment and supplies dealers and manufacturers are forced to navigate.
The most recent regulatory trend in commercial products is aligning state energy and water consumption requirements with Energy Star standards. This effectively turns the voluntary Energy Star program, a symbol of government-verified energy efficiency, into a mandatory minimum standard for commercial foodservice equipment in many parts of the country. To date, 14 states and Washington D.C. have approved new standards that match various levels of Energy Star requirements. The latest state to do so is New York, which updated its new appliance standards as part of a revision to its building codes in 2022. The new law impacts what products can be legally sold, rented, leased and installed in the Empire State and the affected equipment includes commercial dishwashers, fryers, hot holding cabinets, ovens, and steam cookers.
Equipment manufactured after June 26, 2023, that does not meet Energy Star V2.0 standards (V2.2 for ovens and V1.2 for steam cookers) is now prohibited in the state. However, equipment produced before that date is still allowed, meaning that existing dealer inventory should not be impacted.
A spokesperson from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the agency enforcing the codes, said the decision to adopt Energy Star standards was made to keep New York current with similar moves in other states. “New York State standards align with other states that promulgated minimum efficiency standards for products and appliances not pre-empted by the federal government,” the spokesperson said.
The tendency for states to follow each other in adopting these kinds of regulations is no surprise to Charlie Souhrada, CFSP, vice president, regulatory and technical affairs, North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM). Souhrada has been following the effort to turn Energy Star into a de facto requirement at the state level for several years. In 2019, he was among the group of business advocates who argued before Colorado’s legislature against a bill that required commercial dishwashers, fryers and steam cookers to meet Energy Star requirements.
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