Policy into practice: the SEAD global efficiency medal

Panel: 6. Appliances, product policy and ICT

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Kavita Ravi, US Department of Energy, USA
Peter Bennich, Swedish Energy Agency, Sweden
Mike Walker, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
Anna Lising, CLASP, USA
Stephen Pantano, CLASP, USA
John Cockbrun, Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada, Canada
Naoko Doi, Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Sandeep Garg, United Nations Development Program, India
S.P. Garnaik, ICF International India, India
Shane Holt, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Australia
Mike Walker, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
Elizabeth Westbrook-Trenholm, Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada, Canada
Amit Khare, Collaborative Labeling and Appliance
Standards Program (CLASP), India
Wong Young Park, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

Abstract

The SEAD Global Efficiency Medal competition is a global award program that encourages the production and sale of super-efficient products; a cornerstone activity of the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative. This winner-takes-all competition spurs efficiency innovation among manufacturers and guides early adopter consumers towards the most efficient products. The first round of this competition awards the most energy-efficient flat panel televisions. By recognizing both commercially available and emerging technologies, the competition aims to accelerate efficiency gains in existing technologies and promote the introduction of new technologies to the market. An important side-benefit of international collaboration on this program is the advancement of comparable and transparent international test procedures that also benefits MEPS efforts. SEAD invited interested manufacturers to nominate products and entrants provided samples of each nominated product. Test laboratories around the world prepared to perform verification testing through an unprecedented international round robin/inter-laboratory testing scheme, which ensured that test results could be effectively compared across test labs. Sponsor governments validated the energy efficiency claims for each product based on verification test results. Winners for the Europe Region were announced on 31 August 2012. These award-winning TVs use 33-44% less energy than comparable LED-backlit LCD TVs, 50-60% less energy than CCFL-backlit LCD TVs, and qualify for the A++ category. This paper focuses on the development and implementation of the European Regional TV awards with key lessons learned for policymakers who wish to promote highly-efficient products through award programs or other voluntary schemes. The paper also demonstrates how the SEAD awards informed national and international policy decisions, including ongoing revisions of the TV EcoDesign label and IEC 62087 test method.