UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYWASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

OFFICE OF AIR
AND RADIATION

July 18, 2017
Dear ENERGY STAR® Televisions Partner or Other Interested Stakeholder:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to share with you the Final
Draft Version 8.0 ENERGY STAR TVs specification. The attached document outlines theeligibility criteria for TVs under ENERGY STAR Version 8.0. EPA would like to thank the many
stakeholders who have invested time and effort over the past few months to contribute feedback
that has informed this product specification process. The effective date of this ENERGY STAR TV
specification will be April 16, 2018.
EPA received multiple sets of comments on Draft 2, many generally supportive and others
requesting revision to specific elements of the proposal. EPA considered all comments carefully
and responds to each in the accompanying Comment-Response Document. Highlights areprovided below.
Software Updates
Multiple stakeholders raised concerns about software updates at initial set up that may impact aTV’s energy consumption, such that it would no longer meet the power consumption
requirements. In response, EPA has added language that makes explicit the expectation that TVs
meet requirements following these software updates.
Automatic Brightness Control (ABC)A number of comments on Draft 2 related to the implementation of ABC, which is optional for
product certification. Some stakeholders asked that EPA require that TVs choosing to certify with
ABC enabled maintain it in all picture settings. Another stakeholder asserted that manufacturers
would lose the ability to provide differentiation in picture settings if ABC were enabled in each.
EPA considered these competing comments and has retained the Draft 2 requirement that TVs
certifying with ABC enabled maintain it in all but one setting if they have up to four settings and inall but two settings if they have more than four settings. EPA notes that certification with ABC isoptional, and the Agency has not prescribed how to implement ABC in each setting, only that it bemaintained in the setting. Also related to ABC, numerous stakeholders supported EPA’s Draft 2
proposal that TVs meet 125 nit brightness at 3 lux. Others, however, asked that EPA reduce thisbrightness or prescribe a ratio based on the brightest selectable preset picture setting. EPA has
evaluated these comments and accompanying data and found that the data provided was notcomparable to the industry accepted Imaging Science Foundation field research reflecting
consumer preferences or to additional data sources consulted, and thus did not justify lowering
the screen brightness requirement.
Other Energy Saving Features
EPA received comments on the proposal to prohibit products from being certified with features
enabled unless they deliver energy savings comparable to those reflected during testing. EPA
understands that some manufacturers may have an interest in continuing to certify products withfeatures such as motion detection dimming. Since the release of Draft 2, EPA has some1indication that the implementation of motion detection dimming has improved in 2017 models.
EPA encourages manufacturers to share additional data to help improve understanding of suchenergy savings features across different content. As with ABC, where its energy savings potential
has been demonstrated and widely accepted by stakeholders, once energy savings of this feature
is well understood, EPA will be in a better position to encourage its use.
Any comments on the Final Draft specification should be submitted no later than August 2, 2017.
Please send comments via e-mail to televisions@energystar.gov. All comments received will be
posted to the ENERGY STAR Product Development website, unless the submitter specificallyrequests otherwise.
The exchange of ideas and information between EPA, industry, and other interested parties iscritical to the success of ENERGY STAR. To track EPA’s progress in revising the ENERGYSTAR TV products specification and to review comments, please visit the Product Development
Web site at www.energystar.gov/RevisedSpecs and click on “Version 7.0” under “In development”
under “Televisions.”
Thank you for taking the time to review these materials. Please contact me atRadulovic.Verena@epa.gov or (202) 343-9845 with any questions or concerns. For anyquestions related to the test method for ENERGY STAR products, please contact Jeremy
Dommu at Jeremy.Dommu@ee.doe.gov or (202) 586-9870.

Best Regards,

Verena Radulovic, Product Manager
ENERGY STAR for Consumer Electronics
Enclosures:
Final Draft Version 8.0 ENERGY STAR Televisions Products Specification
Draft 2 Version 8.0 Comment-Response Document2