The Department of Energy is moving forward with a comprehensive effort to update or establish new energy efficiency requirements, test procedures and associated requirements for a broad range of residential and commercial products. The DOE was quite active in January, issuing a total of seven notices or rules affecting ten different products: television sets, refrigerators, freezers, refrigerators-freezers, automatic commercial ice makers, residential central air conditioner split-system condensing units, residential heat pump split-system outdoor units, general service fluorescent lamps, general service incandescent lamps, and commercial heating, air-conditioning and water-heating equipment.
Perhaps the most relevant action is a proposal issued by the DOE on 19 January to establish a new minimum energy efficiency test procedure for TV sets. The DOE repealed the prior federal test procedure for these products on 20 October 2009 in light of the Federal Communications Commission’s transition from analogue to digital broadcast transmissions for TVs. The DOE is proposing a new test procedure for TVs that was developed from existing industry test procedures including those by the International Electrochemical Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Electronics Association. The proposal includes measuring screen luminance and testing energy consumption for active (on mode), standby and off modes. The luminance test is proposed to be performed by measuring the screen luminance while the TV is displaying the IEC Standard 62087-2011 three bar video signal in both the home and retail picture settings. The on mode will measure on mode energy consumption when the TV is displaying the IEC Standard 62087-2011 dynamic broadcast-content video signal. If the TV is shipped with an automatic brightness control sensor enabled by default, on mode will be tested at various room illuminance levels. If the TV does not have an ABC sensor or the sensor is disabled by default, the test would be performed while the TV is in the home picture setting. The DOE’s proposed standby test procedure incorporates both IEC Standard 62087–2011 and the CEA ‘‘Procedure for DAM Testing: For TVs’’. For its part, the DOE’s proposed off mode test procedure incorporates IEC Standard 62087–2011.
The DOE will accept comments, data and information on this proposal by 3 April. Comments may also be submitted on additional TV modes that the DOE is not currently considering, including on mode tests for TVs with internet connectivity; 3D mode; and standby-active, low mode (when the internet is enabled but the TV is in standby and the TV is not sending or receiving external data, for those TVs with internet access).
Another action of particular interest is a final rule that amends the test procedures for fridges, freezers and fridges-freezers issued by incorporating changes to the 16 December 2010 interim final rule that will apply to all measurements of energy consumption of newly manufactured products starting 15 September 2014. Specifically, these amendments modify the required test period for the second part of the test for products with cycling compressor systems and long-time automatic defrost or variable defrost control and adjust the default values of maximum and minimum compressor run time for products with variable defrost. The DOE indicates that these changes will ensure a more accurate measurement of the energy use of products with variable defrost control.
The DOE also has amended the energy test procedures for automatic commercial ice makers by updating the incorporation by reference of industry test procedures to the most current published versions, expanding coverage of the test procedure to all batch type and continuous type ice makers with capacities between 50 and 4,000 pounds of ice per 24 hours, standardising test results based on ice hardness for continuous type ice makers, clarifying the test methods and reporting requirements for automatic ice makers designed to be connected to a remote compressor rack, and discontinuing the use of a clarified energy use equation. These changes will enter into force on 7 January 2013. Representations either in writing or in any broadcast advertisement respecting energy consumption of automatic commercial ice makers must also be made using the revised DOE test procedure from 7 January 2013.
In a related action, the DOE will meet 16 February and will accept input by 9 March on the equipment classes the agency plans to analyse for establishing new energy conservation standards for automatic commercial ice makers; the analytical framework, models and tools that the agency is using to evaluate standards for this equipment; the results of preliminary analyses performed by the agency for this equipment; the potential energy conservation standard levels derived from these analyses that the agency could consider for this equipment; and any other issues relevant to the development of energy conservation standards for automatic commercial ice makers.
Another action of potential interest involves a proposed rulemaking to amend the energy conservation standards for several classes of commercial heating, air-conditioning and water-heating equipment. The DOE is proposing to adopt the amended standards in American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Standard 90.1 for small, large and very large water-cooled and evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners; variable refrigerant flow water-source heat pumps less than 17,000 Btu/h; variable refrigerant flow water-source heat pumps at or greater than 135,000 Btu/h; and computer room air conditioners. The DOE is also proposing updates to the current test procedures to incorporate by reference the most current versions of certain industry test procedures specified in ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The DOE will hold a public meeting 14 February on this proposed rulemaking and interested parties will have an opportunity to submit comments, data and information by 2 April.
The DOE has also issued a final rule revising the energy test procedures for general service fluorescent lamps and general service incandescent lamps. The DOE has updated several citations and references to the industry standards referenced in the current test procedures and established a lamp lifetime test procedure for general service incandescent lamps, effective for product testing starting 25 July. The DOE has not amended the existing test procedure for incandescent reflector lamps established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, however.
Lastly, the DOE is proposing to determine that residential central air conditioner split-system condensing units and residential heat pump split-system outdoor units qualify as covered products under Part A of Title III of the EPCA. If the DOE issues a final determination that these products are covered products, it will consider test procedures and energy efficiency standards for these products. Interested parties may submit comments on this proposed determination by 10 February.
