[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 218 (Friday, November 8, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57794-57797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28746]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EE-RM-94-230A]


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedure 
for Clothes Washers and Reporting Requirements for Clothes Washers, 
Clothes Dryers, and Dishwashers

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; limited reopening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: Appendix J to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 sets forth the test 
procedures required for testing whether clothes washers comply with the 
existing energy conservation standards. The Department of Energy (DOE 
or Department) has proposed to amend these test procedures. The purpose 
of this notice is to solicit comments on possible additional amendments 
which would require certain specific procedures for testing clothes 
washers with adaptive (machine controlled) water fill control 
capability, and clothes washers with non-traditional temperature 
selections.

DATES: Written comments in response to this notice must be received by 
November 25, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, 10 copies, are to be submitted to: U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
EE-43, Room 1J-018, ``Test Procedure for Clothes Washers and Reporting 
Requirements for Clothes Washers, Clothes Dryers, and Dishwashers,'' 
Docket No. EE-RM-94-230A, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202)-586-7574.
    Copies of the transcript of the public hearing and the public 
comments received on the proposed rule, may be read or photocopied at 
the Department of Energy Freedom of Information Reading Room, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-6020 between 
the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

P. Marc LaFrance, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy, Mail Station EE-43, Forrestal Building, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-8423
Edward Levy, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General 
Counsel, Mail Station GC-72, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction
II. Discussion
A. Adaptive Water Fill Control
    Manual and Adaptive Water Fill Control
    Multiple Adaptive Water Fill Control Settings
B. Temperature Selections
    Multiple Warm Wash Temperature Combination Selections
    Multiple Temperature Settings within a Temperature Combination 
Selection

[[Page 57795]]

    One and Two Temperature Combination Selections

I. Introduction

    On March 23, 1995, the Department published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking to make several amendments to the clothes washer test 
procedure. 60 FR 15330 (hereafter referred to as the Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking or NOPR). On July 12, 1995, a hearing on the proposed rule 
was held in Washington, DC.
    The proposed amendments to the test procedure were based on the 
same factual foundation as the existing test procedure and energy 
conservation standards for clothes washers, so that the existing energy 
conservation standard would not have to be adjusted. The Department 
believes, however, that the existing test procedure currently 
overstates the average annual energy consumption for clothes washers 
because of changes in consumer habits since the current test procedure 
was adopted.1 The Department had planned on initiating an 
additional clothes washer test procedure rulemaking, at a later date, 
which would take into account current consumer habits, and would be 
used as the basis for considering revision of the clothes washer energy 
conservation standards.2
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    \1\ Proctor & Gamble data indicates a decrease in the use of hot 
water and the number of cycles per year over time.
    \2\ The second round of clothes washer standards rulemaking was 
initiated by the publication of an Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (ANOPR). (59 FR 56423, November 14, 1994.)
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    In response to the NOPR, the Association of Home Appliance 
Manufacturers (AHAM) submitted comments asking DOE to adopt an 
additional new test procedure, based on current consumer habits, which 
would be used in considering revision of the clothes washer energy 
conservation standards, and would take effect when new standards take 
effect. On April 22, 1996, the Department proposed such a new clothes 
washer test procedure, Appendix J1, as well as certain additional 
revisions to the currently applicable test procedure in Appendix J to 
Subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. 61 FR 17589 (hereafter referred to as the 
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or Supplemental NOPR). The 
Department proposed to issue a final rule with two test procedures, to 
be codified in Appendices ``J'' and ``J1'' to subpart B of 10 CFR part 
430. Appendix ``J'' would be a revision of the current test procedure, 
would be consistent with the existing standards, and would become 
effective 30 days after issuance of the final rule. Appendix ``J1'', 
generally based on AHAM's suggested test procedures, would be used in 
the analysis and review of possible revised efficiency standards, and 
would apply to any revised standards. Upon adoption of any revised 
standards, the Department would amend its regulations to replace 
Appendix ``J'' with Appendix ``J1.''

    However, since the publication of the NOPR and the Supplemental 
NOPR, additional issues have arisen regarding the Appendix J test 
procedure. The purpose of today's notice is to obtain public comment on 
options the Department is considering for resolving these issues. These 
issues arose in the context of interim waivers from the DOE clothes 
washer test procedure granted by DOE with respect to clothes washer 
features that are not covered by the current test procedure. On April 
6, 1996, the Department granted General Electric Appliances (GEA) an 
Interim Waiver (CW-004) for its 3 clothes washer that has multiple 
warm wash temperature selections, various temperature settings within 
each temperature selection, multiple adaptive water fill control 
settings, and a manual water fill control option. 61 FR 18129. On 
September 6, 1996, the Department granted GEA an Interim Waiver (CW-
005) for its clothes washer that has only two wash/rinse temperature 
selections. 61 FR 47115. The Department is considering inclusion in the 
Appendix J test procedure of test provisions that address these 
features, and solicits comments only on the issues of whether and how 
such features should be addressed in Appendix J.

    \3\ GEA's clothes washer is actually manufactured by Fisher & 
Paykel Limited from New Zealand.
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II. Discussion

A. Adaptive Water Fill Control

    The amount of energy that a clothes washer consumes is almost 
entirely a function of whether it uses heated or unheated water, and of 
the temperature and amount of any heated water it uses. Adaptive water 
fill control in a clothes washer is a control scheme which 
automatically determines, without operator intervention, the amount of 
water used to wash a particular load of clothing, based on the size of 
that clothing load. In the NOPR, the Department proposed to amend 
Appendix J to include test provisions for adaptive water fill control 
4 schemes, but proposed no alteration of the existing test 
procedures for manual water fill control.5
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    \4\ In the NOPR, the terminology used was ``machine-controlled 
water fill,'' although the Department plans to adopt language used 
in the Supplemental NOPR ``adaptive water fill control.''
    \5\ In Appendix J, two types of manual fill control are defined, 
``sensor filled'' and ``timed filled.''
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Manual and Adaptive Water Fill Control
    The GEA clothes washer that is the subject of Interim Waiver CW-
004, cited above, has both manual and adaptive water fill control 
capability. However, neither the current Appendix J test procedure, nor 
the proposed amendments to Appendix J, sets forth a procedure that 
applies to a clothes washer that has both of these features. In the 
Supplemental NOPR, the Department proposed that Appendix J1 provide 
that such machines be tested in both the manual and adaptive water fill 
modes, and that test results be prorated based on the assumption that 
each mode is used 50 percent of the time. This methodology is used in 
Interim Waiver CW-004 granted to GEA. The Department has not received 
any negative comment regarding this methodology, and is considering 
adoption of this approach for the Appendix J test procedure. The 
Department welcomes comments on this issue.
Multiple Adaptive Water Fill Control Settings
    The GEA clothes washer covered by Interim Waiver CW-004, also 
permits adjustment of the ``sensitivity,'' or relative water fill 
amounts, for the adaptive water fill control feature. This feature 
allows a consumer to fine tune the adaptive water fill control system, 
and permits use of different amounts of water for a given amount of 
clothing being washed. The test method provided to GEA in Interim 
Waiver CW-004, requires the two extreme ``sensitivities,'' which 
provide the most and least energy intensive results, to be tested. Then 
these two results, or associated energy consumption values, are 
averaged to determine the adaptive water fill control energy 
consumption value. As mentioned above, the adaptive water fill control 
result is then prorated with the manual water fill control result. The 
Department has not received any negative comment regarding this 
methodology and is considering adoption of this approach for the 
Appendix J test procedure. The Department welcomes comments on this 
issue.

B. Temperature Selections

    Currently, and as proposed, Appendix J allows for the testing of 
three basic wash temperatures, cold, warm, and hot, in several 
combinations with two

[[Page 57796]]

rinse temperatures, cold and warm. The test procedures set forth 
percentages, called temperature use factors (TUFs), that represent the 
proportion of the time that each combination of wash and rinse 
temperatures is used. The test procedures have a set of TUFs that 
applies to each clothes washer that is equipped with either three, 
four, five or six discrete temperature combination selections (TCSs) 
(wash/rinse offering to a consumer). Clothes washers with these TCSs 
represent the majority of the market. However, new clothes washers, 
such as the GEA clothes washers, have new temperature combinations 
which are not explicitly covered by the Appendix J test procedure.
Multiple Warm Wash Temperature Combination Selections
    The GEA clothes washer covered by Interim Waiver CW-004 has three 
different warm wash selections, each of which has a cold rinse. The 
warm wash temperatures of these three TCSs are equally spaced by 
temperature, so that the temperature of the median warm wash is at the 
mid-point between the temperatures of the warmest warm wash and the 
coolest warm wash. The test methodology provided to GEA in the Interim 
Waiver required that only the median warm wash TCS be tested. The above 
and below median warm wash TCSs were not to be tested. The Department 
did not receive any negative comment regarding this methodology.
    The Department is considering adoption of a similar approach in 
Appendix J. In addition, the Department is also considering adoption of 
additional provisions to address two other situations where clothes 
washers have multiple warm wash TCSs. First, similar to the clothes 
washer covered by Interim Waiver CW-004, a clothes washer could have a 
median warm wash selection and two or more pairs (one selection above 
and the other below the median) of additional warm selections, with the 
two selections in each pair being an equal distance (by temperature) 
from the median. The Department contemplates that in such a situation, 
as under Interim Waiver CW-004, a manufacturer should have to test only 
the median warm wash TCS. Second, unlike the clothes washer covered by 
Interim Waiver CW-004, a clothes washer could have multiple warm wash 
TCSs that are not equidistant from a median warm wash TCS. The 
Department is considering incorporation into Appendix J of a 
requirement that, in such a situation, a manufacturer would test the 
TCS with the warm wash temperature that is the next higher selection 
above the actual mean selection, or above a theoretical mean warm wash 
TCS if an actual mean selection does not exist. The Department seeks 
comments regarding these issues.
Multiple Temperature Settings Within a Temperature Combination 
Selection
    The GEA clothes washer covered by Interim Waiver CW-004 also has 
multiple temperature settings, i.e., a range of temperatures from which 
a consumer can make a setting within a specific TCS. Section 3.2.2.2 of 
the current test procedure requires that the ``hottest setting 
available'' be used for testing the hot wash TCS. In Interim Waiver CW-
004, the Department provided a test methodology to GEA for its clothes 
washer which requires that the hottest temperature setting within a 
hot, warm or cold TCS be tested.
    This approach is similar to the Department's proposal in the NOPR 
for addressing similar TCSs that are labeled so as to appear to the 
consumer to be virtually identical. In essence, the similarly labeled 
TCSs are two temperature settings for one basic TCS. For example on a 
single clothes washer, one cold wash/cold rinse TCS may be labeled 
``cold/cold,'' with a wash temperature that is never heated, and 
another can be labeled ``auto cold/cold'' with a wash temperature that 
uses some hot water. The Department's NOPR proposes that the hottest of 
these two selections be used for test results. The Department believes 
this proposal is consistent with the industry's basic interpretation of 
the test procedure. The Department believes this issue is essentially 
the same as the multiple temperature setting issue regarding the GEA 
clothes washer. The Department did not receive any negative comment 
regarding the NOPR's provision for similarly labeled TCSs.
    However, the Department did receive negative comment from Fisher & 
Paykel Limited (Fisher and Paykel) 6 in response to the Interim 
Waiver CW-004 granted to GEA. Fisher & Paykel is concerned that the 
test methodology that requires testing at the hottest temperature 
setting available within a TCS is inconsistent with the test 
methodology regarding multiple warm wash TCSs, discussed above. The two 
approaches may appear to be inconsistent, but the Department believes 
they would establish the best solution given the treatment of multiple 
warm TCSs in Interim Waiver CW-004 and the proposal in the NOPR for 
similarly labeled TCSs. One of the Department's goals in proposing to 
amend the Appendix J test procedure is to see that the test procedure 
does not affect the energy rating of any model that must meet the 
current minimum efficiency standard. In addition, to the extent 
possible, the Department wants to ensure that all models are tested and 
rated on a comparable basis. Therefore, the Department is considering 
adoption of provisions for Appendix J that would require, for each TCS 
tested, that the test be conducted at the hottest setting available for 
that TCS. The Department welcomes comments on this issue.
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    \6\ Fisher & Paykel Limited is the manufacturer of the clothes 
washer that GEA is petitioning for a waiver.
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One and Two Temperature Combination Selections
    The GEA clothes washers that are the subject of Interim Waiver CW-
005, cited above, have only two wash/rinse TCSs. One selection has a 
cold wash and a cold rinse, while the other has a heated wash and a 
cold rinse. In the Interim Waiver granted to GEA, the Department 
provided a TUF of 15 percent for the cold/cold selection in these 
clothes washers, which is the same TUF value as is contained in the 
current test procedure for the cold/cold selection for three, four, 
five, and six TCS clothes washers. The heated TCS addressed in Interim 
Waiver CW-005 had the remaining percentage, or a TUF of 85 percent. The 
Department did not receive any negative comments regarding these 
proration factors. The Department is considering adoption of the same 
TUF values for Appendix J.
    In addition, the Department proposes to specify that a clothes 
washer with only one TCS would be tested at that TCS 100 percent of the 
time. The Department plans to adopt the following tables for Appendix 
J:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Temperature
               Wash/rinse temperature setting                 use factor
                                                                (TUF)   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    One Temperature Selection (n=1)                     
                                                                        
Any........................................................        1.0  
                                                                        
                     Two Temperature Selection (n=2)                    
                                                                        
Heated/cold................................................       0.85  
Cold/cold..................................................       0.15  
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    The Department welcomes comments regarding these issues.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430

    Administrative practice and procedure, Energy conservation, 
Household appliances.


[[Page 57797]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, November 4, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-28746 Filed 11-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P