[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 179 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57612-57613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22330]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EERE-2009-BT-TP-0003]
RIN 1904-AB92


Energy Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Test Procedures 
for Residential Refrigerators, Refrigerator-Freezers, and Freezers

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

ACTION: Interim final rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This document announces a limited reopening of the comment 
period for interested parties seeking to submit comments on the 
December 16, 2011 interim final rule to amend the test procedures for 
residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers that 
will apply to products that are manufactured starting in 2014. The 
comment period is extended until October 17, 2011.

DATES: Comments must be submitted no later than October 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted must identify the ``Interim Final 
Rule on Test Procedures for Residential Refrigerators, Refrigerator-
Freezers, and Freezers'' and provide the appropriate docket number 
EERE-2009-BT-TP-0003 and/or RIN number 1904-AB92. Comments may be 
submitted using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include docket 
number EERE-BT-TP-0003 and/or RIN number 1904-AB92 in the subject line 
of the message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mail-stop EE-2J, Interim Final Rule for 
Test Procedures for Refrigerators and Refrigerator-Freezers, docket 
number EERE-2009-BT-TP-0003 and/or RIN number 1904-AB92, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Please submit one 
signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., 
Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Please 
submit one signed paper original.
    The public may review copies of all materials related to this 
rulemaking at the U.S. Department of Energy, Resource Room of the 
Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 600, 
Washington, DC, (202) 586-2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. Brenda Edwards 
at the above telephone number for additional information regarding 
visiting the Resource Room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 287-1317. E-mail: 
[email protected].
    Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Telephone: (202) 586-8145. E-mail: [email protected].
    For information on how to submit or review public comments, contact 
Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE-2J, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: 
(202) 586-2945. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 16, 2010, the U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule that 
amended the test procedures for residential refrigerators, 
refrigerator-freezers, and freezers (collectively, ``refrigeration 
products''). 75 FR 78810. The amended test procedures for residential 
refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers are found in 10 CFR part 430, 
subpart B, appendix A1 and the test procedures for residential freezers 
are found in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix B1. These revised 
test procedures, which do not affect measured energy use, became 
effective on January 18, 2011. Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 6293(c)(2), 
however, manufacturers do not need to use these procedures for making 
representations regarding energy usage until June 14, 2011.
    Concurrently with this Final Rule, DOE published an Interim Final 
Rule establishing new amended test procedures for these products, 
Appendix A and Appendix B, that incorporate the same revisions made to 
Appendix A1 and Appendix B1. 75 FR 78810. The Interim Final Rule also 
included amendments to these procedures that will, once finalized, 
apply to refrigeration products starting in 2014. It also provided 
interested parties with an opportunity to submit comments on the 
Interim Final Rule by February 14, 2011--i.e., an extra 60 days within 
which to provide comment.
    On February 7, 2011, prior to the closing of that comment period, 
DOE received an emailed request from the Association of Home Appliance 
Manufacturers (AHAM) requesting that DOE extend the comment period 
deadline to ``30 days after the [refrigeration products] standards 
final rule is made available to the public.'' That email noted that 
AHAM had also consulted with the American Council for an Energy 
Efficient Economy regarding this request.
    The AHAM request explained that the group required additional time 
to provide comment to the agency. AHAM asserted that:

    The Department released the test procedure for refrigerator/
freezers as a final rule and interim final rule in order to allow 
stakeholders to comment on the necessary revisions to the energy 
conservation standards. DOE's strategy, as discussed with AHAM, 
assumed that the standards final rule would be released no later 
than the statutorily mandated deadline of December 31, 2010. But 
that final rule has not been released. Thus, stakeholders cannot 
provide substantive comments and data on whether the equations are 
accurate or require some revision. (Emphasis in original.)

    DOE notes that once it issues a final rule promulgating the energy 
conservation standards for a particular product type, the agency is 
prohibited by statute from altering those standards in any way that 
would permit either an increase in the maximum energy consumption of 
that product or a decrease in that product's minimum energy efficiency. 
See 42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(1). As a result, to the extent that interested 
parties seek a wholesale revision of the standards that DOE has set, 
barring the presence of calculation or typographical error, those 
standards cannot be altered in a manner that would result in 
refrigeration products that consume more energy--or that are less 
efficient.
    However, to ensure that the test procedure accurately captures as 
reasonably as possible the energy consumption of those products that 
are addressed in the Interim Final Rule, DOE is re-opening the comment 
period for that test procedure proceeding to enable interested parties 
to comment given that the energy conservation standards rule has been 
issued. The purpose of this limited re-opening is to

[[Page 57613]]

permit interested parties to comment on the interplay between the test 
procedure and the energy conservation standards in order to permit DOE 
to make any final changes that may be needed to the final test 
procedure for products that will be manufactured starting in 2014. 
Accordingly, consistent with AHAM's request, DOE is re-opening its 
comment period on the Interim Final Rule for refrigeration products for 
a period of 30 days.
    DOE notes that if it were to amend Appendix A or Appendix B to 
ensure that the procedure adequately measures the energy consumption of 
a given product and an accompanying adjustment were required to the 
energy conservation standard to ensure that the same level of 
efficiency or energy use would result, it is DOE's view that such a 
change would not constitute backsliding of the standard under 42 U.S.C. 
6295(o)(1). Accordingly, should any adjustments to Appendix A or 
Appendix B prove necessary, additional information from interested 
parties explaining the nature and impact of any suggested changes would 
be of substantial benefit in finalizing the test procedure.
    Although DOE seeks comment generally on the Interim Final Rule, it 
also notes that the Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) recently raised a 
specific issue on a related matter involving a test procedure waiver 
request from Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung). In that 
request, Samsung sought a waiver from the current test procedure in 
order to permit it to use the multiple defrost cycle test that DOE 
presented in its Interim Final Rule. See 76 FR 16760 (March 25, 2011). 
In response to that request, Whirlpool asked DOE, among other things, 
not to grant a ``permanent waiver'' to Samsung without first correcting 
certain calculation errors in the test procedure, which are described 
in detail below. See generally, Letter from J.B. Hoyt, Director, 
Government Relations, Whirlpool Corporation, to Henry Kelly, Acting 
Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 
(EERE), DOE (April 25, 2011).
    DOE notes that during the test procedure's comment period, 
Whirlpool stated that it agreed with DOE's proposed amendments to the 
equation that were ultimately adopted in the Interim Final Rule. See 
Whirlpool Comments on the Refrigeration Products Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (Docket Number EERE-2009-BT-TP-0003, No. 12.1, at p. 6). 
However, its comments regarding Samsung's waiver request test procedure 
suggested that revisions to the procedure manufacturers would need to 
follow under Appendix A for all products with long-time or variable 
defrost, might be necessary.
    In particular, Whirlpool pointed to possible issues involving the 
accuracy of the second part of the energy test for products with long-
time automatic defrost, which is described in section 4.2.1 of Appendix 
A. This portion of the procedure is intended to capture the energy 
consumed during all of the events occurring with the defrost control 
sequence that are outside of stable operation. According to Whirlpool, 
the test method prescribed in Appendix A, which is the same method 
Samsung requested to use in its waiver, may inadvertently provide an 
energy ``credit'' to some products by including in the measurement an 
excessive portion of time during which the compressor is not running. 
The size of this credit, if any, is determined mainly by the 
characteristics of a product's compressor cycles and may be exaggerated 
in products with especially long cycles.
    DOE observed this phenomenon during product testing conducted for 
the test procedure rulemaking and raised the issue for comment during 
the public meeting on the Refrigeration Products Test Procedures Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking held June 22, 2010 (Public Meeting Presentation, 
No. 9 at p. 53). At the meeting, DOE raised the possibility that 
accurate measurement of the energy consumption associated with the 
defrost cycle may require revision of the test period--specifically, 
the use of a different end time. Other than general statements of 
support for DOE's proposed approach, the agency received no substantive 
comments on this issue during the NOPR comment period.
    In order to address this issue, and to ensure that the procedure 
accounts for all energy use associated with defrost cycles, including 
any special cycles related to the defrost cycle such as a pre-cooling 
cycle before defrost or temperature recovery following defrost, DOE may 
consider the adoption of alternative approaches to the method currently 
laid out in Appendix A (and the corresponding portions of Appendix B). 
Specifically, DOE may consider modifying the test procedure for the 
second part of the test for products with long-time or variable defrost 
with cycling compressor systems (Appendix A, section 4.2.1.1) so that 
it ends at the termination of the first regular compressor cycle after 
the temperatures have fully recovered to their stable conditions rather 
than ending at the initiation of that cycle.
    DOE seeks comments on whether any revisions are required to the 
test period for the second part of the test for such products to 
properly account for the energy consumption associated with defrost 
cycles. Based upon the comments received in response to this notice, as 
well as additional analysis performed by DOE as a result of objections 
to the Samsung waiver request, DOE will consider whether to adopt one 
of the alternatives noted above or another appropriate alternative to 
the current version of the procedure in Appendix A and Appendix B.

Further Information on Submitting Comments

    Under 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that he or 
she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit two copies: one copy of the document including 
all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the 
document with the information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE 
will make its own determination about the confidential status of the 
information and treat it according to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include (1) A description of the 
items, (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry, (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources, (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality, (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure, (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time, and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2011.
Timothy Unruh,
Program Manager, Federal Energy Management Program, Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-22330 Filed 9-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P