Energy Star Is Alive, but Its Future Remains Unclear
Saved from elimination by industry pushback, the certification program’s incentives will sunset this year
It has been a tumultuous year for the Energy Star program. Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the program was founded in 1992 to certify the energy efficiency of residential windows, doors, skylights and home appliances. Energy Star-rated products in the residential fenestration industries typically include high-performance technologies to influence energy consumption and occupant comfort, such as low-emissivity coatings and improved framing materials.
The Trump administration announced in May 2025 that it planned to dissolve the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection, effectively eliminating the Energy Star program as well.
Industry pushback leads to bipartisan renewal
Presenting at the Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Conference in March 2026, Tom Culp, NGA energy code contractor and owner of Birch Point Consulting, discussed the present and potential futures of the program. “Energy Star is still there, still alive,” Culp says, thanks largely to pushback by members of the building industry. He adds that industry members pushed for Congressional support, arguing that the program represented “a good example of government/industry interaction.” As a result, the federal budget does include full funding for the program, and even increased funding for this fiscal year, according to Culp. He says it would take a couple months for the program to build back, especially as almost all of the staff have been reassigned.
While the program is still alive, its future is less certain, especially since some of the incentives have been axed, Culp says. The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 removed the program’s 25C and 179D residential and commercial energy tax credits, which were based on Energy Star. Both credits will sunset by the end of the year.
Energy Star moves to the DOE
On March 3, the EPA signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, establishing the DOE as the lead federal agency for the program moving forward.
Ben Evans, federal legislative director for the U.S. Green Building Council, expressed support for the program after the decision. “USGBC strongly supports Energy Star, which is one of the most successful public-private partnerships in U.S. history and is delivering massive energy cost savings to Americans while sharply reducing energy demand on the grid. The EPA has been hugely successful in creating and managing Energy Star for more than three decades, saving businesses and organizations more than $40 billion in energy costs annually.”
Nevertheless, he expressed that the USGBC had concerns about transitioning the entire program to DOE after seeing bipartisan Congressional support for keeping the program under EPA and funding it through the FY2026 appropriations process. “Moving the program to DOE raises questions about how the program will be funded in the future and whether it will maintain its current scope of operations,” he says, warning that disruptions to the program could have “significant economic consequences.”
While the administration and future of Energy Star remain unclear, desire for energy-efficient products remains steady, according to data from Window + Door’s Top Manufacturers report. A significant majority of responding manufacturers said that energy efficiency remains among the top three product features requested by customers, and a majority of respondents say they plan to invest in energy-efficiency products this coming year. A plurality of manufacturers say they have implemented high-performing systems, including triple-pane insulating glass units, gas-fill IGUs, and fourth-surface low-e coatings, among others.
