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> Canada, Japan and Switzerland still join the US's EnergyStar program. I can't speak for Europe, but I know Japan well. It may have "joined", but there is lit
by timr 1y ago
> Canada, Japan and Switzerland still join the US's EnergyStar program.
I can't speak for Europe, but I know Japan well. It may have "joined", but there is literally no awareness of the program. You don't see the symbol on appliances here, and I'm not sure anyone would know what it is, if it appeared. They simply don't need such a program to have efficient appliances.
One thing the government does do is offer rebates for people upgrading old appliances. One might ask whether the money spent on EnergyStar would be better put to use on these kinds of direct incentives.
https://www.energystar.go.jp/ https://www.energystar.go.jp/
- Symbiote 1y agoI've only seen "EnergyStar" in Europe on the BIOS screen of older computers. I knew it was American, but until this HN post I thought it only applied to computers. The EU's energy labelling scheme grades appliances on a scale, and gives the estimated annual electricity usage. I'm sure it's effective, as it makes clear why the cheapest appliance might not be a good purchase. https://energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu/ecodesign-and-energy-label/understanding-energy-label_en https://energy-efficient-products.ec.europa.eu/ecodesign-and... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_energy_label https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_energy_label I'm not certain, but I think the rating would be either performed or certified by an independent laboratory, i.e. a private business, so the government bureaucracy is limited to defining the specification/tests. (And incidentally, my dishwasher defaults to the "Eco" programme, which takes 3½ hours. I don't care as I almost always run it overnight, and it's one button press to choose a faster programme.)