The legislation requires the EPA to deliver a report within 180 days after the bill becomes law. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the study will cost less than US$500,000.

The Energy Star program is a voluntary labeling program developed in 1992 by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. It's widely used in a variety of consumer and building products. A check of vendor Web sites showed monitors, some PCs and other products as having Energy Star ratings. To qualify for the program, products must meet certain minimum energy efficiency federal standards that were part of the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act in 1987.