Bill > HR4219

This bill, the Voluntary Certification Program Act of 2014, amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish a framework for recognizing and utilizing voluntary certification programs for certain energy-consuming products, specifically air conditioning, furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, and water heaters. The core provision allows government officials, like the Secretary and Administrator, to rely on these nationally recognized voluntary programs for verifying product performance ratings and compliance with energy conservation standards, including those for the Energy Star program. To qualify, these programs must meet stringent criteria, such as maintaining public lists of certified products, conducting regular testing of a percentage of products within a "basic model group" (a set of similar models representative of each other's performance), requiring corrections or removal of products that fail testing, and ensuring new participants are qualified. The programs must also be conducted by bodies accredited under international standards (ISO/IEC Standard 17065) and use independent, accredited laboratories (ISO/IEC Standard 17025) for verification testing. The bill clarifies that manufacturers are not required to participate in these programs, but it also mandates that manufacturers who *do not* participate must still conduct periodic testing and provide results to the government, aiming to reduce the overall burden on manufacturers while ensuring compliance with energy efficiency standards.