The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is resuming the development of the ENERGY STAR specification for uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). The announcement of the program, the publication of an ENERGY STAR specification framework, and the kickoff meeting took place in the first quarter of 2010.

As noted in the announcement letter published on February 2, 2010, EPA conducted a scoping effort to evaluate UPS products for inclusion in the ENERGY STAR program and concluded that purchasers in all UPS markets would benefit from a means of differentiating products based on energy use and access to standardized UPS energy performance data made available through the ENERGY STAR program. EPA raised numerous questions regarding the structure of such a UPS ENERGY STAR program in the subsequent specification framework document.

EPA has given its full consideration to the feedback that was received and enclosed is a summary of the comments received and EPA responses. All comments are posted at www.energystar.gov/newspecs. EPA’s next step in the development of a program for UPSs is to identify or produce an appropriate energy use test method for UPSs. EPA looks forward to continuing to work with stakeholders on this key milestone.

While EPA had originally hoped to make significant progress on this specification revision in 2010, resources were realigned to support high-priority efforts related to third-party certification requirements for all ENERGY STAR products.