NOTE: The federal government has imposed and updated appliance efficiency standards through several legislative acts,* and now has standards in place or under development for 30 classes of products. In general, states which had set standards prior to federal action may enforce their own standards until the federal standards take effect. States that had not set standards prior to federal action must use the federal standards. This summary addresses (1) state appliance standards that will be in place until the federal standards take effect and (2) products for which the federal government is not currently developing an efficiency standard. Much of the information in this summary comes from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). Visit the ASAP web site for comprehensive information about appliance standards.

New Jersey Energy Efficiency Product Standards, enacted in 2005, include minimum standards for eight products, which were preempted by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005. Future standards, if any, adopted by New Jersey will not apply to products manufactured in the State and sold outside the State, new products manufactured outside the State and sold at wholesale inside the State for final retail sale and installation outside the State, products installed in mobile manufactured homes at the time of construction, or products designed expressly for installation and use in recreational vehicles.

The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, must adopt testing procedures if procedures are not provided for in the standard building code of New Jersey. The board shall use United States Department of Energy approved test methods, or other appropriate nationally-recognized test methods. Manufacturers certify to the board that products are in compliance with the standards.


* These acts include the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.