[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11201-11204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6569]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Case No. CW-003]


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and 
Order Granting a Waiver From the Clothes Washer Test Procedure to Miele 
Appliance Inc.

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Decision and Order.

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Summary: Notice is given of the Decision and Order [Case No. CW-003] 
granting a Waiver to Miele Appliance Inc. (Miele) from the existing 
Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for clothes 
washers. The Department is granting Miele a Waiver from the 
Department's test procedures for the company's clothes washer models 
W1903, W1918, and W1930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

P. Marc LaFrance, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail Station EE-431, Forrestal 
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, 
(202) 586-8423.
Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, Mail Station GC-72, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(j), notice 
is hereby given of the issuance of the Decision and Order as set forth 
below. In the Decision and Order, Miele has been granted a Waiver for 
its clothes washer models W1903, W1918, and W1930, with the following 
design features that differ from those covered by the existing clothes 
washer test procedure: an internal electrical heater for heating wash 
water, a continuously variable wash water temperature control, 208/240 
volt electrical power supply, and machine-controlled water fill 
capability.

    Issued in Washington, DC, March 7, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Background

    The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products (other than 
automobiles) was established pursuant to the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act, as amended, 42 USC 6291 et seq., which requires DOE 
to prescribe standardized test procedures to measure the energy 
consumption of certain consumer products, including clothes washers. 
The intent of the test procedures is to provide a comparable measure of 
energy consumption that will assist consumers in making purchasing 
decisions. These test procedures appear at 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B.
    DOE amended the prescribed test procedures by adding 10 CFR 430.27 
on September 26, 1980, creating the waiver process. (45 FR 64108). The 
waiver process allows the Assistant Secretary to temporarily waive the 
test procedures for a particular basic model when a petitioner shows 
that the basic model contains one or more design characteristics which 
prevent testing according to the prescribed test procedures or when the 
prescribed test procedures may evaluate the basic model in a manner so 
unrepresentative of its true energy consumption as to provide 
materially inaccurate comparative data. Waivers generally remain in 
effect until final test procedure amendments become effective, 
resolving the problem that is the subject of the waiver.
    In accordance with Sec. 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430, Miele filed a 
Petition for Waiver and an Application for Interim Waiver on June 2, 
1995, regarding its clothes washer models W1903, W1918, and W1930, with 
the following design features that differ from those covered by the 
existing clothes washer test procedure: an internal electrical heater 
for heating wash water, a continuously variable wash water temperature 
control, a 208/240 volt electrical power supply, and a machine-
controlled water fill capability. On August 10, 1995, Miele was granted 
an Interim Waiver, and on August 16, 1995, Miele's Petition for Waiver 
was published in the Federal Register. (60 FR 42553).
    Comments were received from the Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool). 
The comments received were sent to Miele for its rebuttal. The 
Department consulted with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning 
the Miele petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance 
of a waiver to Miele.

Assertions and Determinations

Externally Heated Water

    Whirlpool commented that two of Miele's clothes washers have cold 
and hot water inlets and that these clothes washers should be tested 
with a hot water supply instead of just a cold water supply, as granted 
by the Interim Waiver, because consumer's will use external hot water 
as much as possible to minimize clothes washer operating time. Miele 
stated that it agreed with Whirlpool in principle, although there are 
no equations or usage factors currently available that can accommodate 
a machine that uses both externally heated water in tandem with 
internal heaters. Furthermore, Miele stated ``since the DOE cold water 
procedure is more stringent than that proposed by Whirlpool, the test 
procedure [as recommended] in the Petition for Waiver will not produce 
artificially low energy consumption values.'' (Miele, letter to DOE 
dated October 2, 1995).
    The Department agrees with Miele that testing a water-heating 
clothes washer with only a cold water supply will be a more rigorous 
test because in the current test procedure externally heated water 
assumes 100 percent efficiency for the water heater, whereas in 
practice no electric resistance heater is 100 percent efficient. In 
addition, while the clothes washer is receiving the externally heated 
water from the water heater, heat will be dissipated into the thermal 
mass of the clothes washer which then will require the internal heater 
to maintain the desired temperature.
    The current test procedure requires nonwater-heating clothes 
washers to use externally heated water whose energy consumption is 
calculated using a 90  deg.F temperature rise. The Interim Waiver 
granted to Miele uses cold water and measures energy consumption based 
on specified clothes washer water bath temperatures. When a hot wash is

[[Page 11202]]
tested, the temperature requirements result in a minimum temperature 
rise of 80  deg.F (140  deg.F minimum for hot wash minus 60  deg.F 
maximum for the cold supply water). Therefore, the Department cannot 
determine if either a ``cold water only test'' or an ``externally 
heated water and cold water test'' would result in the greatest amount 
of energy consumption. Miele does acknowledge that testing with 
``externally heated water and cold water'' would provide the most 
accurate results.
    Miele indicated that equations and usage factors for the use of 
externally heated water in water-heating clothes washers do not exist. 
The Department disagrees because the Association of Home Appliance 
Manufacturers (AHAM) proposed test procedure 1 has an equation for 
combining the energy for externally heated water with the measured 
electrical energy used for mechanical/electrical functions and internal 
water heating. In regards to usage factors, the AHAM proposed test 
procedure makes the presumption that consumers will use externally 
heated water 100 percent of the time. The Department believes this 
assumption is valid because the overwhelming majority of U.S. consumers 
have hot water supplies for their clothes washers. The Department does 
admit that consumers may choose to install only cold water supplies in 
new construction applications. However, for several reasons the 
Department believes that the installation of only cold water supplies 
will be few: (1) Consumers will want to maintain their home's resale 
value by providing hot water supplies for the potential of future non-
water heating clothes washers. (2) If gas or oil externally heated 
water is available, there may be a cost advantage to use externally 
heated water. (3) The use of externally heated water will reduce the 
clothes washer cycle time. Therefore, an appropriate test procedure to 
test externally heated water can be provided to Miele. Today's Waiver 
being granted to Miele requires testing using externally heated water 
rather than only cold water because it is expected that is how the 
Miele clothes washers with externally heated water capability will most 
likely be used by consumers in the U.S.

    \1\ AHAM proposed a future test procedure in response to a DOE 
proposed rule (60 FR 15330, March 25, 1995), comment 8 on Docket EE-
RM-94-230. AHAM provided a provision to test water-heating clothes 
washers using externally heated water, if the clothes washer is 
capable of using externally heated water.
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    To grant a Waiver to Miele for its externally heated water capable 
water-heating clothes washer models, the Department needs to determine 
the temperature rise, temperature and tolerance of externally supplied 
hot water. The Department believes that the current test procedure: 
Temperature rise (90  deg.F), temperature and tolerance (140  deg.F 
 5  deg.F (60  deg.C  2.8  deg.C)) for 
nonwater- heating clothes washers equipped with thermostatically 
controlled mixing valves should be used. The Department believes this 
because the overall energy consumption of a water-heating clothes 
washer will be affected by the temperature of the external water. This 
is analogous to nonwater- heating clothes washers equipped with 
thermostatically controlled mixing valves. Furthermore, externally 
heated water test requirements for water-heating and non-water heating 
clothes washers should consistently as possible be maintained as a 
uniform test procedure for comparison purposes.
    The Department realizes that the test criteria provided to Miele by 
this Decision and Order are different from that of Miele's competitors 
with respect to cold water supply, but will provide the least impact in 
the clothes washer community. For example, with the established test 
criteria, Miele will use the same cold water supply temperature 
(minimum of 55  deg.F (12.8  deg.C) and a maximum of 60  deg.F (15.6 
deg.C)) as water-heating clothes washer models and will use the same 
temperature rise for externally heated water as nonwater-heating 
clothes washer models.
    The Department acknowledges that nonwater-heating clothes washers 
equipped with thermostatically controlled mixing valves will have a 
slight advantage over Miele's clothes washers with externally heated 
water capability because the difference of the hottest cold water 
supply to the hottest hot water supply is 80  deg.F, whereas Miele's is 
85  deg.F. However, from previous discussions with the clothes washer 
industry, the Department believes that clothes washers equipped with 
thermostatically controlled mixing valves represent a minority of the 
clothes washer market. Today's Waiver granted to Miele maintains the 
cold water supply requirements of the Interim Waiver and has been 
revised to incorporate externally heated water as explained above.

Definitions

    Whirlpool commented that the definitions for ``Water-heating 
clothes washer'' and ``Nonwater-heating clothes washer'' should be as 
stated in the AHAM proposed test procedure.\1\ AHAM proposes that the 
definition for a water-heating clothes washer should state that ``some 
or all'' of the water for washing is heated by the internal heater. The 
Interim Waiver granted to Miele stated that ``all'' of the water for 
washing is heated by the internal heater. Miele's rebuttal regarding 
the definitions for ``Water-heating clothes washer'' and ``Nonwater-
heating clothes washer'' stated that AHAM's proposed language coincided 
with Miele's interpretation of the Interim Waiver because Miele's 
comment was under the assumption that its water-heating clothes washers 
would be tested with cold water supply only. DOE is adopting the 
Whirlpool recommendation to use the proposed AHAM definitions to be 
consistent with the determination above to test using externally heated 
water.

Heated Rinse

    Whirlpool stated that the Miele Petition for Waiver did not 
indicate that its machines had cold rinse only and that there was no 
means to test for a heated rinse. Miele provided rebuttal indicating 
that its machines have only cold rinses and that a provision to test a 
heated rinse is not needed. The Department agrees with Miele.

Test Load for Machined Controlled Water Fill Capability

    Whirlpool indicated that Miele should test its clothes washers per 
the test load table in the AHAM proposed test procedure. Miele 
indicated that it supports the AHAM proposed test procedure. However, 
until such time that companies are required to test with the AHAM test 
load table, Miele stated that it would be unfair to require it to test 
with the AHAM proposed test load table. The AHAM test load table more 
closely reflects actual consumer load size use by requiring a larger 
test load for maximum fill which results in an increase in energy 
consumption. Until the AHAM proposal is adopted, requiring Miele to 
test to a larger test load would put it at a competitive disadvantage. 
Presently, Asko Inc. is allowed to test its machine-controlled water 
fill capability clothes washer with three (minimum fill) and seven 
(maximum fill) pound test loads. Therefore, if Miele was required to 
test its clothes washers with a larger load, then its clothes washers 
would not be tested on the same basis as Asko. The Waiver granted to 
Miele maintains the same test load as the Interim Waiver.

Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered that:
    (1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Miele [Case No CW-003] is 
hereby granted as set forth in paragraph (2) below, subject to the 
provisions of paragraphs (3), (4) and (5).

[[Page 11203]]

    (2) Not withstanding any contrary provisions of section 430.23 or 
Appendix J of 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Miele shall be permitted to 
test its washing machines, models W1903, W1918, and W1930 with the 
modification set forth below:
    (I) Add new sections, 1.19 and 1.20 in Appendix J to read as 
follows:
    1.19  ``Water-heating clothes washer'' refers to a clothes washer 
where some or all of the hot water for clothes washing is generated by 
a water heating device internal to the clothes washer.
    1.20  ``Non-water-heating clothes washer'' refers to a clothes 
washer which does not have an internal hot water heating device to 
generate hot water.
    (ii) Sections 2.2 and 2.3 in Appendix J shall be deleted and 
replaced with the following:
    2.2  Electrical energy supply. Maintain the electrical supply to 
the clothes washer terminal block within 1.7 percent of 120, 120/208Y 
or 120/240 volts, as applicable to the particular terminal block wiring 
system as specified by the manufacturer. If the clothes washer has a 
dual voltage conversion capability, conduct the test at the highest 
voltage specified by the manufacturer.
    2.3  Water temperature.
    2.3.1  Water-heating clothes washers. The temperature of the cold 
water supply shall be maintained at a minimum of 55  deg.F (12.8 
deg.C) and a maximum of 60  deg.F (15.6  deg.C). If the clothes washer 
is equipped with a hot water inlet, the hot water supply shall be 
maintained at 140  deg.F  5  deg.F (60  deg.C  
2.8  deg.C).
    (iii) Sections 3.2.1 through 3.3.5 in Appendix J shall be deleted 
and replaced with the following:
    3.2.1  Per-cycle energy consumption at maximum fill. Set the water 
level selector to the maximum fill position, if manually controlled.
    3.2.1.1  Hottest wash at maximum fill. Activate the machine and 
insert the appropriate test load as specified in Section 2.8.2. Select 
the normal or its equivalent wash cycle. Where spin speed selection is 
available, set the control to its maximum setting. Set the water 
temperature selector to the hottest setting and activate the wash 
cycle. Measure and record the kilowatt-hours of electrical energy 
consumed for the complete cycle as Eht,max. Measure and record the 
total number of gallons of hot water consumed for the complete cycle as 
Vht,max. Ensure that the inlet water temperature is maintained per 
Section 2.3.1.
    3.2.1.2  Hot wash at maximum fill. Insert a water temperature 
sensing device inside the inner drum prior to testing. Activate the 
machine and insert the appropriate test load as specified in Section 
2.8.2. Select the normal or its equivalent wash cycle. Where spin speed 
selection is available, set the control to its maximum setting. Set the 
water temperature selector to the hot setting (a minimum of 140  deg.F 
(60  deg.C) and a maximum of 145  deg.F (62.8  deg.C)) and activate the 
wash cycle. Verify the wash water temperature, which must be at a 
minimum of 140  deg.F (60  deg.C) and a maximum of 145  deg.F (62.8 
deg.C). If the measured water temperature is not within the specified 
range, stop testing, adjust the temperature selector accordingly, and 
repeat the procedure. Otherwise, proceed and complete testing. Measure 
and record the kilowatt-hours of electrical energy consumed for the 
complete cycle as Eh,max. Measure and record the total number of 
gallons of hot water consumed for the complete cycle as Vh,max. 
Ensure that the inlet water temperature is maintained per Section 
2.3.1.
    3.2.1.3  Warm wash at maximum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.2 for a 
warm wash setting at a minimum of 100  deg.F (37.8  deg.C) and a 
maximum of 105  deg.F (40.6  deg.C). Measure and record the kilowatt-
hours of electrical energy consumed for the complete cycle as 
Ew,max. Measure and record the total number of gallons of hot 
water consumed for the complete cycle as Vw,max.
    3.2.1.4  Cold wash at maximum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.1 for the 
coldest water setting. Measure and record the kilowatt-hours of 
electrical energy consumed for the complete cycle as Ec,max. 
Measure and record the total number of gallons of hot water consumed 
for the complete cycle as Vc,max.
    3.2.2  Per-cycle energy consumption at minimum fill. Set the water 
level selector to the minimum fill position, if manually controlled.
    3.2.2.1  Hottest wash at minimum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.1 for a 
test load as specified in Section 2.8.2. Measure and record the 
kilowatt-hours of electrical energy consumed for the complete cycle as 
Eht,min. Measure and record the total number of gallons of hot 
water consumed for the complete cycle as Vht,min.
    3.2.2.2  Hot wash at minimum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.2 for a 
test load as specified in Section 2.8.2. The hot wash setting shall be 
at a minimum of 140  deg.F (60  deg.C) and a maximum of 145  deg.F 
(62.8  deg.C). Measure and record the kilowatt-hours of electrical 
energy consumed for the complete cycle as Eh,min. Measure and 
record the total number of gallons of hot water consumed for the 
complete cycle as Vh,min.
    3.2.2.3  Warm wash at minimum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.2 for warm 
wash setting at a minimum of 100  deg.F (37.8  deg.C) and a maximum of 
105  deg.F (40.6  deg.C). Measure and record the kilowatt-hours of 
electrical energy consumed for the complete cycle as Ew,min. 
Measure and record the total number of gallons of hot water consumed 
for the complete cycle as Vw,min.
    3.2.2.4  Cold wash at minimum fill. Repeat Section 3.2.1.1 for the 
coldest wash setting. Measure and record the kilowatt-hours of 
electrical energy consumed for the complete cycle as Ec,min. 
Measure and record the total number of gallons of hot water consumed 
for the complete cycle as Vc,min.
    (iv) Sections 4.1 through 4.4 in Appendix J shall be deleted and 
replaced with the following:
    4.1  Per-cycle temperature-weighted electrical energy consumption 
for maximum and minimum water fill levels. Calculate the per-cycle 
temperature-weighted electrical energy consumption for the maximum 
water fill level, EEL.max, and for the minimum water fill level, 
EEL.min, expressed in kilowatt-hours per cycle and defined as:

EEL.max=(0.05  x  Eht,max) + (0.25  x  Eh,max) + (0.55 
x  Ew,max) + (0.15  x  Ec,max)

EEL.min = (0.05  x  Eht,min) + (0.25  x  Eh,min) + (0.55 
 x  Ew,min) + (0.15  x  Ec,min)

where:

Eht,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.1
Eh,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.2
Ew,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.3
Ec,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.4
Eht,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.1
Eh,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.2
Ew,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.3
Ec,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.4

    4.2  Per-cycle temperature-weighted external hot water energy 
consumption for maximum and minimum water fill levels. Calculate the 
per-cycle temperature-weighted external hot water energy consumption 
for the maximum water fill level, EHW.max, and for the minimum 
water fill level, EHW.min, expressed in kilowatt-hours per cycle 
and defined as:

EHW.max= T  x  K x ((0.05  x  Vht,max) + (0.25  x  
Vh,max) + (0.55  x  Vw,max) + (0.15  x  Vc,max))

EHW.min= T  x  K  x  ((0.05  x  Vht,min) + (0.25  x  
Vh,min) + (0.55  x  Vw,min) + (0.15  x  Vc,min))

where:

Vht,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.1
Vh,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.2
Vw,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.3
Vc,max = as defined in Section 3.2.1.4

[[Page 11204]]

Vht,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.1
Vh,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.2
Vw,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.3
Vc,min = as defined in Section 3.2.2.4
T = temperature rise = 90  deg.F (50  deg.C).
K = water specific heat = 0.00240 kWh/ (gal   deg.F); (0.00114 
kWh/(l   deg.C))

    4.3  Total weighted per-cycle hot water energy consumption. 
Calculate the total weighted per-cycle hot water energy consumption, 
ET, expressed in kilowatt-hours per cycle and defined as:

ET = (0.72  x  EHW.max) + (0.28 x EHW.min)

where:

EHW.max, EHW.min = as defined in Section 4.2

    4.4  Total weighted per-cycle electrical energy consumption. 
Calculate the total weighted per cycle electrical energy consumption, 
ME, expressed in kilowatt-hours per cycle and defined as:

ME = (0.72 x EEL.max) + (0.28 x EEL.min)

where:

EEL.max, EEL.min = as defined in Section 4.1

    (3) The Waiver shall remain in effect from the date of issuance of 
this Order until DOE prescribes final test procedures appropriate to 
clothes washer models W1903, W1918, and W1930 manufactured by Miele.
    (4) This Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of statements, 
allegations, and documentary materials submitted by the petitioner. 
This Waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination 
that the factual basis underlying the Petition is incorrect.
    (5) This Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver granted to Miele on 
August 16, 1995. (60 FR 42553).

    Issued in Washington, DC, March 7, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-6569 Filed 3-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P