What Energy Star certification on a photocopier really tells you

Energy Star certification appears on the marketing material of most current office MFPs, with the blue and white logo signalling energy efficiency to buyers comparing devices. The certification carries specific technical meaning beyond the marketing impression: the device meets a defined set of energy consumption thresholds during operation, sleep, and standby modes. The thresholds change as the standard updates, with each new version raising the bar that manufacturers must clear. Knowing what the certification covers and what it does not lets office buyers use it as a meaningful procurement criterion rather than as a vague feel good label.

The specification structure

Energy Star for imaging equipment is administered by the EPA in the US and recognised through the EU Energy Star agreement in Europe. The specification covers printers, copiers, MFPs, fax machines, and similar imaging devices. The current version as of writing is Version 3.2, with periodic revisions that tighten the thresholds as manufacturers improve device efficiency.

The specification measures energy consumption using a standardised test that simulates typical office use: a defined mix of print jobs followed by idle and sleep periods. The total energy consumed across the test cycle, called the typical electricity consumption (TEC), must fall below a threshold that scales with device speed and feature set.

What the certification actually measures

The TEC thresholds for office MFPs

What the certification does not tell you

Energy Star addresses energy consumption only. The certification says nothing about other environmental factors: paper consumption, toner waste, manufacturing impact, end of life recycling, or the materials used in the device. A device with Energy Star certification can still produce significant environmental impact in other dimensions, particularly if used with paper waste or in scenarios that produce high consumable waste.

The certification also does not rank certified devices against each other. Two devices both certified at the same Energy Star version may differ significantly in actual energy consumption, with one device just meeting the threshold and another performing well below it. Energy Star is a yes or no threshold rather than a star rating, so buyers comparing certified devices need to look at the published TEC values to distinguish between them.

How to use Energy Star in procurement

Energy Star certification as a procurement requirement provides a basic baseline that most current office MFPs meet. Requiring Energy Star certified devices excludes the small number of older or budget devices that have not been certified, which is a useful exclusion but does not actively favour the most efficient devices.

For meaningful procurement comparison, look beyond the certification to the published TEC values for each candidate device. The TEC values are listed in the Energy Star qualified product database, available on the Energy Star website. Comparing TEC across candidates at similar speed and feature levels identifies the genuinely more efficient devices.

Calculating the energy cost of an office MFP

The TEC value in kilowatt hours per week converts to an annual energy cost using the office's electricity rate. A device with TEC of 1.5 kWh per week running 52 weeks per year consumes 78 kWh per year. At a typical commercial electricity rate of €0.18 per kWh in Spain, the annual energy cost works out to roughly €14 per device. Multiplied across an office fleet of 10 devices, the annual cost reaches €140.

The amounts are small relative to other office costs but accumulate across many years. A device operating for its full 7 year service life consumes around €100 to €200 in electricity depending on size and usage. Choosing a device with lower TEC saves a portion of this across the device's life, with the cumulative saving meaningful at fleet scale.

The Energy Star database as a research tool

The Energy Star qualified product database lets buyers search for certified devices by manufacturer, model, speed, and certification version. The database includes the TEC value, sleep watts, and standby watts for each device. Filtering for devices that match the office's speed requirement and sorting by TEC produces a shortlist of the most efficient devices in the category.

The database is free to use and covers all currently certified devices across all participating manufacturers. The information goes deeper than what individual manufacturer marketing typically discloses, since the database presents the comparable measurements that the certification produced rather than each manufacturer's selected highlights.