EPA Wants to Know What Customers Think About WaterSense-Labeled Products
Update: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the comment period to July 24.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its decision via a Federal Register notice to maintain the current specifications for several WaterSense-labeled products. EPA reviewed the product performance criteria as required by America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018.
To earn a WaterSense label, products must:
- Be independently certified,
- Use at least 20% less water,
- Save energy, and
- Perform as well or better than standard models.
Tens of thousands of different product models have been certified to the standard.
WaterSense has helped Americans save a cumulative 3.4 trillion gallons of water, and more than $84.2 billion in water and energy bills through the end of 2018. Additionally, the use of WaterSense labeled products saved 462.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
In addition to announcing the completion of the product review, the notice also contained requests for input and information on:
- Data/surveys/studies to help assess consumer satisfaction with WaterSense-labeled products
- Whether EPA should include customer satisfaction criteria in the WaterSense program guidelines
Comments are being accepted until June 9 and are being posted as received; previously submitted comments can be viewed. All are encouraged to submit information regarding their use of WaterSense-labeled products in their projects, their and/or their customers. For more details about NAHB’s sustainable and green building initiatives, contact Sustainability and Green Building Program Manager Michelle Diller. To stay current on high-performance residential building, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team onTwitter.