ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for
Room Air Conditioners
Partner Commitments
Commitment
The following are the terms of the ENERGY STAR Partnership Agreement as it pertains to the
manufacturing of ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners. The ENERGY STAR PARTNER must adhere to
the following program requirements:
•	Comply with current ENERGY STAR Eligibility Criteria, defining the performance criteria that must be met
for use of the ENERGY STAR certification mark on room air conditioners and specifying the testing criteria
for room air conditioners. At its discretion, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) may conduct tests on
products that are referred to as ENERGY STAR qualified. These products may be obtained on the open
market, or voluntarily supplied by PARTNER at DOE's request;
•	Comply with current ENERGY STAR Identity Guidelines, describing how the ENERGY STAR marks and
name must be used. PARTNER is responsible for adhering to these guidelines and for ensuring that its
authorized representatives, such as advertising agencies, dealers, and distributors, are also in
compliance;
•	Qualify at least one ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioner model within one year of activating the
room air conditioners portion of the agreement. When PARTNER qualifies the product, it must meet the
current criteria in effect at that time;
•	Provide clear and consistent labeling of ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners. The ENERGY
STAR certification mark must be clearly displayed on the top/front of the product (by placement of the
ENERGY STAR mark on the FTC's EnergyGuide label, on product labels, and/or as a permanent mark),
on the manufacturer's Internet site where information about ENERGY STAR qualified models is displayed,
and in product literature (i.e., user manuals, spec sheets, etc.). It is also recommended that the ENERGY
STAR certification mark appear on product packaging;
•	Provide to DOE, on an annual basis, an updated list of ENERGY STAR qualifying room air conditioner
models. Once the PARTNER submits its first list of ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioner models,
the PARTNER'S company name will be listed as an ENERGY STAR PARTNER. PARTNER must provide
annual updates in order to remain on the list of participating product manufacturers;
•	Notify DOE of a change in the designated responsible party or contacts for room air conditioners within
thirty days.
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Performance for Special Distinction
To receive additional recognition and/or support from DOE for its efforts within the Partnership, the
ENERGY STAR PARTNER may consider the following voluntary measures and should keep DOE informed on the
progress of these efforts:
•	Consider energy efficiency improvements in company facilities and pursue to benchmark their buildings
through the ENERGY STAR Buildings program;
•	Purchase ENERGY STAR qualified products. Revise the company purchasing or procurement criteria to
include ENERGY STAR. Provide procurement officials' contact information to DOE for periodic updates
and coordination. Circulate general ENERGY STAR qualified product information to employees for use
when purchasing products for their homes;
•	Ensure the power management feature is enabled on all ENERGY STAR qualified monitors in use in
company facilities, particularly upon installation and after service is performed;
•	Provide general information about the ENERGY STAR program to employees whose jobs are relevant to
the development, marketing, sales, and service of current ENERGY STAR qualified product models;
•	Feature the ENERGY STAR mark(s) on PARTNER web site and in other promotional materials. If
information concerning ENERGY STAR is provided on the PARTNER web site, DOE may provide links
where appropriate to the PARTNER web site;
•	Provide a simple plan to DOE outlining specific measures PARTNER plans to undertake beyond the
program requirements listed above. By doing so, DOE may be able to coordinate, communicate, and/or
promote PARTNER'S activities, provide a DOE representative, or include news about the event in the
ENERGY STAR newsletter, on the ENERGY STAR web pages, etc. The plan may be as simple as
providing a list of planned activities or planned milestones for which the PARTNER would like DOE to be
aware. For example, activities may include:
(1)	Increase the availability of ENERGY STAR qualified products by converting the entire product line
within two years to meet ENERGY STAR guidelines;
(2)	Demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency through special in-store
displays twice a year;
(3)	Provide information to users (via the web site and user's manual) about energy-saving features and
operating characteristics of ENERGY STAR qualified products, and
(4)	Build awareness of the ENERGY STAR Partnership and brand identity by collaborating with DOE on
one print advertorial and one live press event;
•	Provide quarterly, written updates to DOE as to the efforts undertaken by PARTNER to increase
availability of ENERGY STAR qualified products, and to promote awareness of ENERGY STAR and its
message.
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ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® Criteria for Room Air Conditioners
as of November 16, 2005
Below are the product criteria for ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners. A product must meet all of the
identified criteria to be identified as ENERGY STAR qualified by its manufacturer.
1)	DEFINITIONS:
a)	Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER): This is the ratio of the cooling effect measured in BTU per hour divided
by the electrical energy input in measured Watts.
b)	RAC: The acronym for room air conditioner.
c)	TTW: Room air conditioner units without louvered sides are also referred to as "through the wall" units.
TTWis the acronym of this term. These units may also be referred to as "built-in" units.
d)	Casement-only: Refers to a RAC designed for mounting in a casement window with an encased
assembly with a width of 14.8 inches or less and a height of 11.2 inches or less.
e)	Casement-slider: Refers to a RAC with an encased assembly designed for mounting in a sliding or
casement window with a width of 15.5 inches or less.
f)	Reverse Cycle: Refers to the heating function found in certain room air conditioner models.
g)	PTAC: The acronym for packaged terminal air conditioner. PTACs include self-contained air conditioning
units and may connect to an external heating system or may include electrical resistance heating. PTACs
are not covered under NAECA's RAC product classes. EPACT mandates that ASHRAE Standard 90.1-
2001 govern PTAC energy performance.
2)	QUALIFYING PRODUCTS: Under the previous ENERGY STAR criteria, the existing eligible products were
cooling-only RACs without reverse cycle, which consist of window RACs, through-the-wall RACs, and the
casement and slider-casement RAC products. On October 1, 2005, the ENERGY STAR room air conditioner
criterion expanded to include louvered and non-louvered reverse-cycle RACs (or heat pump RACs). Also,
PTACs are not currently eligible for participation under this criterion.
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3) ENERGY STAR Criteria: The EER must exceed the corresponding 2000 NAECA standard by 10%. Only
those products listed in Section 2 that meet the criteria below may qualify as ENERGY STAR.
Capacity
(BTU/hour)
Federal Standard
EER (with
louvered sides)
ENERGY STAR
EER (with louvered
sides)
Federal Standard
EER (without
louvered sides)
ENERGY STAR
EER (without
louvered sides)
< 6,000
6,000 to 7,999
>9.7
>10.7
>9.0
>9.9
8,000 to 13,999
> 9.8
> 10.8
>8.5
>9.4
14,000 to 19,999
> 9.7
> 10.7
> 20,000
> 8.5
> 9.4
Casement
Federal Standard EER
ENERGY STAR EER
Casement-Only
>8.7
>9.6
Casement-Slider
>9.5
>10.5

mmssmmm
ENERGY STAR
1

¦¦¦¦¦¦
ENERGY STAR
¦Slfl 		 IlSSiMilll




(BTU hour) EER (with
louvered sides)
EER (with
louvered sides)
EER (without
louvered sides)
EER (without
louvered sides)
< 14,000

> 8.5
> 9.4
>14,000
> 8.0
> 8.8
<20,000
> 9.0
>9.9

>20,000
> 8.5
>9.4
4)	Test Criteria: Room air conditioner manufacturers must self-test their equipment according to DOE's test
procedure defined in 10 CFR 430, Subpart B, Appendix F.
5)	Effective Date: The effective date of this criterion is November 16, 2005.
6)	Future Criteria Revisions: DOE reserves the right to change the criteria should technological and/or market
changes affect its usefulness to consumers, industry, or the environment. Keeping with current policy,
industry/stakeholder discussions determine revisions to the criteria.
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