Recent accomplishments of CLASP’s U.S. team include providing technical assistance to standards and labeling experts and working to improve test procedures with the end goal of improving efficiency for products undergoing policy revision in the U.S.
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In response to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rulemaking on an Energy Guide label for televisions, the U.S. team provided best practice technical assistance to U.S. standards and labeling experts who provided technical comments to the FTC in order to improve the labels consumer comprehension. CLASP leveraged its international network to provide the FTC with a letter from the Government of Australia encouraging the FTC not to adopt an electronic label based on lessons learned in Australia. Additionally, concerned that a “cling” label would damage the television screen, TV manufacturers advocated placing the label on the side of the television, which would have resulted in low label visibility for consumers. CLASP’s U.S. team provided analysis proving that the “cling” label is thermally stable and therefore poses no risk to the product. As a result, the FTC declined the electronic label option and approved the use of a “cling” label. These improvements to the label enable consumers to make better economic and energy-saving decisions when purchasing televisions and ultimately reduce CO2 emissions.
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CLASP’s U.S. team initiated a study to evaluate different techniques for measuring television lumen output during the test procedure process. The study aimed to improve the ability of the test procedure to more accurately measure television energy consumption. An improved test procedure can increase energy savings by allowing standards to capture a greater portion of television energy use. The results of the study are timely as both ENERGY STAR and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are engaged in test procedure development for televisions. Currently, ENERGY STAR is undergoing a revision to its version 6.0 test procedure while DOE is in the process of developing a new Federal test procedure for televisions.