UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYWASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF
AIR AND RADIATION

October 1, 2012
Dear Large Network Equipment Manufacturers and Other Interested Parties:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching the development of an ENERGYSTAR® specification for large network equipment. This process will begin with work withstakeholders to determine scope for this potential ENERGY STAR product category and test
procedure development, which will be led by the U.S. Department of Energy. Once these steps
are completed, EPA will assemble energy performance data for large network equipment andpropose ENERGY STAR requirements.
ENERGY STAR is a voluntary partnership between government, businesses, and purchasers
designed to encourage the manufacture, purchase, and use of efficient products to help protect
the environment. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR prevent greenhouse gas emissions bymeeting strict energy efficiency guidelines. To date:More than 80% of Americans households recognize the ENERGY STAR label,Americans purchased more than 200 million products that earned the ENERGY STAR in2011 across more than 60 product categories for a cumulative total of more than 5 billion
products, andAmericans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2011 to avoid
greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 41 million cars -- while saving $23
billion on utility bills.

The energy saving opportunities in data centers have been well documented, but barriers toenergy efficiency still persist. Through ENERGY STAR, EPA is addressing these challenges byhelping purchasers more easily identify energy efficient IT equipment including computer
servers, uninterruptible power supplies, and data center storage.
EPA conducted a scoping effort to evaluate large network equipment for inclusion in theENERGY STAR program by reviewing available market research and facilitating discussions
with manufacturers, industry associations, and other interested parties. EPA concluded that IT
purchasers would benefit from access to standardized information about the energy
performance of large network equipment made available through the ENERGY STAR program.
Energy use associated with network equipment is significant and the savings potential
promising. One study estimates that network equipment in the USA used 18 TWh, or about 1%of building electricity, in 2008 and that consumption was expected to grow at roughly 6% peryear to 23 TWh in 2012.
Source: Data Network Equipment Energy Use and Savings Potential in Buildings
Steven Lanzisera & Bruce Nordman & Richard E. Brown, Accepted: 5 September 2011, Springer Science+BusinessMedia B.V. 2011

Further, the study shows that office building network switches and residential equipment are thetwo largest categories of energy use consuming 40% and 30% of the total respectively. Theseresearchers estimate that potential energy savings for different scenarios using forecasts ofequipment stock and energy use range from 20% to 50% based on full market penetration ofefficient technologies.1
To be added to the large network equipment e-mail distribution list, please send your full contact
information to largenetwork@energystar.gov.To stay informed about ENERGY STAR
specification development and other EPA data center initiatives please visit:www.energystar.gov/datacenters.
Stakeholder participation is critical to developing a meaningful specification and to the overall
success of ENERGY STAR. Please direct any specific questions to RJ Meyers, EPA, atMeyers.Robert@epa.gov, or 202-343-9923; or John Clinger, ICF International, atJohn.Clinger@icfi.com, or 202-572-9432. Please direct any specific test method questions toBryan Berringer, DOE, at Bryan.Berringer@ee.doe.gov, or 202-586-0371.
Thank you for your support of the ENERGY STAR program.
Sincerely,Robert Meyers
Product Manager, ENERGY STAR Data Center Products

Source: Data Network Equipment Energy Use and Savings Potential in Buildings
Steven Lanzisera & Bruce Nordman & Richard E. Brown, Accepted: 5 September 2011, Springer Science+BusinessMedia B.V. 2011