Department of Energy December 2, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In order to implement recent amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to amend its test procedures for residential dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and conventional cooking products (which include cooktops, ovens, and ranges) to provide for measurement of standby mode and off mode energy use by these products. The proposed amendments would incorporate into the DOE test procedures relevant provisions from the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) Standard 62301, ``Household electrical appliancesMeasurement of standby power,'' First Edition 2005-06 (IEC Standard 62301 (First Edition)). DOE also proposes to adopt definitions of various modes of operation based on the relevant provisions from the IEC Standard 62301 ``Household electrical appliancesMeasurement of standby power,'' Second Edition Final Draft International Standard (IEC Standard 62301 (FDIS)). In addition, DOE proposes to adopt language to clarify application of these test procedure provisions for measuring standby mode and off mode power consumption in dishwashers, dehumidifiers, and conventional cooking products. Furthermore, the proposed amendments would add new calculations to determine annual energy consumption associated with the standby mode and off mode measured power. Finally, the amendments would modify existing energy consumption equations to integrate standby mode and off mode energy consumption into the calculation of overall annual energy consumption and annual operating cost of those products which already have definitions for such measures (dishwashers and conventional cooking products). DOE is also announcing a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the issues presented in this notice.