Among the most useful tools in the development of effective consumer electronics and home appliances efficiency programs and promoting consumer awareness of efficiency are data that allow for:

• Linking consumer retail information to efficiency parameters more effectively.
• Tracking efficiency trends over time (monitoring) and comparison of efficiency in different markets and jurisdictions (benchmarking).
• Tracking retail prices of appliances over time, and between countries.

Currently, broad access to consumer electronics and home appliances efficiency and price data and comparability between markets is imperfect. Product energy use labels, in countries that require them, are often not prominently displayed on sales websites; and in many cases it is difficult to access detailed product energy rating information. Policy makers must invest significant time and money in collecting data about the market status of the efficiency of available products when determining appropriate levels for energy efficiency policies. In addition, comparability of attributes across markets is often difficult, even for identical products, due to inconsistencies in model identifiers and efficiency metrics and protocols. A well-defined data standard for appliance attributes and efficiency characteristics could potentially solve this and many other product energy information access problems.

This paper outlines a proposed data standard for reporting energy performance and related product information that can be adopted internationally. Also, to inform the development of this standard, the paper explores the existing energy efficiency market data for the two example products of TVs and Room Air Conditioners. Lastly, the findings of this paper were presented at the 7th International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL 2013).