National Awareness of ENERGY STAR

CEE surveys households annually to track the value accruing to the ENERGY STAR^® label and demonstrate the success of local promotion of the ENERGY STAR brand. Resulting insight and trendlines are critical to maintaining federal government and state regulatory support for the label, and in turn continuing to make the label available as a tool benefiting efficiency programs. Fielded to the top 57 Nielsen Designated Market areas, the survey collects data on label recognition, understanding of the label's meaning, emotional connection, purchasing influence, product satisfaction, and loyalty.

• 91 percent of US households report recognizing the ENERGY STAR label. This represents the highest level of recognition observed in the 17 years this survey has been administered, and an increase of 48 percent since CEE first conducted the survey in 2000.
• In areas where local programs promoted ENERGY STAR, 55 percent of households somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement “All other things equal, I would buy a product because it is designated as ENERGY STAR Most Efficient,” versus 46 percent of households elsewhere.
• 85 percent of households that recognized the label and purchased an ENERGY STAR product in the last 12 months were likely to recommend ENERGY STAR-labeled products to a friend, indicative of strong brand loyalty and emotional connection among those customers that leverage the label.
• Four percent of households have heard the term connected in relation to ENERGY STAR, a growing category for both the brand and consumer markets.
• Households that had seen or heard of Most Efficient were aware that it is a subset of ENERGY STAR.

The data are analyzed by ENERGY STAR, and results from the National Awareness of ENERGY STAR^® for 2016 are now available. Over time, consistent adherence to the brand tenets by EPA and DOE, along with long-term brand promotion by CEE members and trade allies, has paid off.

More households in 2016, 85 percent compared with 83 percent in 2015, have seen or heard of the ENERGY STAR label without visual aid. This awareness has risen steadily over the years, and a level of recognition this high makes ENERGY STAR one of the valuable brands in US markets.

RECOGNIZED ENERGY STAR WHEN SHOWN THE LABEL

For the first time, over 90 percent of consumers recognized the ENERGY STAR label in 2016, a testament to the brand value.

KNOWINGLY PURCHASED AN ENERGY STAR PRODUCT IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS

Consumers continue to purchase ENERGY STAR products.

Program administrators are important stakeholders in ENERGY STAR because they promote efficiency in almost all ENERGY STAR product categories to help achieve reductions in energy use and greenhouse gases at the local level. Likewise, through local promotion of the brand, efficiency programs have helped the brand equity of ENERGY STAR grow.