ENERGY STAR certification is the voluntary energy-efficiency program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the Department of Energy, since 1992. For HVAC it identifies central air conditioners and heat pumps that perform above the federal minimum efficiency standards. Unlike the DOE's SEER2 floors, which are mandatory, ENERGY STAR is a label a manufacturer earns voluntarily by certifying that a model meets EPA-set specifications, verified through EPA-recognized third-party laboratories rather than self-declared. The program publishes specifications by equipment type and revises them over time; the current air-source heat-pump specification is Version 6.2, finalized December 4, 2024.
To carry the ENERGY STAR label, a split-system air-source heat pump must meet at least 15.2 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2 under Version 6.2, comfortably above the 14.3 SEER2 federal heat-pump minimum. The program also maintains higher designations — ENERGY STAR Most Efficient and a cold-climate heat-pump tier — for equipment that clears tougher thresholds. Certification is performed by an EPA-recognized certification body using accredited lab data, and labeled models are listed in a public product database that utilities and contractors check. The label is free to the buyer; the cost sits with the manufacturer's certification. For a homeowner, the label is shorthand for verified above-code performance, which is why rebate programs and, until recently, federal tax credits used it as an eligibility gate.
The program is active, but its HVAC footprint shifted in early 2026. On February 2, 2026 the EPA sunset the central air-conditioner portion of the specification, retiring the standalone ENERGY STAR central-AC label while keeping the air-source heat-pump specification in force. The practical reason is that federal minimums and market efficiency have risen to where a separate central-AC tier added little differentiation, whereas heat pumps still span a wide efficiency range worth labeling. The heat-pump specification, the Most Efficient list, and the cold-climate designation continue. The larger 2026 context is that the Section 25C and Section 25D federal tax credits — which required ENERGY STAR or higher CEE tiers — expired on December 31, 2025, so the label no longer unlocks a federal credit, though many utility rebates still require it.
For a 2026 buyer, an ENERGY STAR heat pump is a reliable signal that a unit beats the federal floor, and it remains a common requirement for utility rebates such as Austin Energy's Power Saver program. With the federal tax credits gone, the label's dollar value now flows mainly through those state and utility programs rather than the IRS. Because the central-AC label was retired in February 2026, a shopper comparing air conditioners should look at the SEER2 rating on the AHRI certificate and the specific rebate's efficiency requirement rather than expecting an ENERGY STAR AC badge. For heat pumps, confirm the model appears in the current ENERGY STAR product list if a rebate requires it.