[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41262-41279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14982]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 429 and 430

[Docket No. EERE-2016-BT-TP-0023]
RIN 1904-AD70


Energy Efficiency Program: Test Procedure for Televisions; 
Request for Information

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

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating a rulemaking 
to consider whether revisions are needed to the test procedure for 
televisions. To inform interested parties and to facilitate this 
process, DOE has gathered data and identified several issues associated 
with the current DOE test procedure on which DOE is particularly 
interested in receiving comment. The issues outlined in this document 
mainly concern on-mode power measurement. DOE welcomes written comments 
from the public on any subject within the scope of the television test 
procedure (including topics not specifically raised in this request for 
information).

DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before July 
25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested 
persons may submit comments, identified by docket number EERE-2016-BT-
TP-0023, by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket 
number EERE-2016-BT-TP-0023 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-5B, EERE-2016-BT-TP-0023, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585- 0121. Phone: (202) 
586-2945. Please submit one signed paper original.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202) 586-2945. Please submit one 
signed paper original.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. No telefacsimilies (faxes) will 
be accepted.

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    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and 
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2016-BT-TP-0023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Dommu, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121. Telephone: 202-586-9870. Email: [email protected].
    Jennifer Tiedeman, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Telephone: 202-287-6111. Email: [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, 
Mailstop EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Discussion
    A. Evaluation of the IEC Test Clip
    B. On-Mode Power Behavior With Motion Detection Functionality
    1. Brand X #1
    2. Brand X #3
    3. Brand Y #4
    C. Default Luminance With Motion Detection Functionality
    D. Settings That Impact Motion Detection Functionality
    E. Forced Menu
III. Submission of Comments

I. Introduction

    On October 25, 2013, DOE published a final rule adopting the test 
procedure for televisions (``TV procedure final rule'') at appendix H 
to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. 78 FR 63823. This test procedure 
includes methods for measuring active mode (on-mode), standby mode, and 
off mode power draw; screen luminance; and the annual energy use of 
television sets. As part of the on-mode testing, DOE adopted the use of 
the ``International Electrotechnical Commission 62087 Edition 3: 
Methods of measurement for the power consumption of audio, video, and 
related equipment'' (IEC 62087). IEC 62087 includes a video test clip 
on a DVD and BluRay disc to be used when conducting on-mode testing 
(IEC test clip), as well as screen luminance measurements (3-bar 
image).
    The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6291, et 
seq.; ``EPCA'') provides DOE the authority to consider and prescribe 
new energy conservation test procedures for TVs. (All references to 
EPCA refer to the statute as amended through the Energy Efficiency 
Improvement Act of 2015 (EEIA 2015), Public Law 114-11 (April 30, 
2015)). Specifically, section 323 of EPCA sets forth generally 
applicable criteria and procedures for DOE's adoption and amendment of 
test procedures. EPCA provides that any test procedures prescribed or 
amended under this section must be reasonably designed to produce test 
results which measure energy efficiency, energy use, or estimated 
annual operating cost of a covered product during a representative 
average use cycle or period of use and shall not be unduly burdensome 
to conduct. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3))

II. Discussion

A. Evaluation of the IEC Test Clip

    DOE performed initial testing on three Brand X televisions (TVs), 
one Brand Y TV, and one Brand Z TV to determine how representative the 
current IEC test clip is in terms of measuring the energy use of TVs 
during a representative average use cycle or period of use. Table 1 has 
a description of each TV model DOE tested.

                                                     Table 1--TVs Included in DOE's Initial Testing
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                                                                                  Resolution (horizontal
                              ID #                                 Screen size      x vertical pixels)    Smart TV (Y/N)     Backlight      Model year
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Brand X #1.....................................................            48''      1920 x 1080 (1080p)               Y             LED            2015
Brand X #2.....................................................            48''        1280 x 720 (720p)               N             LED            2014
Brand X #3.....................................................            48''         3840 x 2160 (4k)               Y             LED            2015
Brand Y #4.....................................................            49''      1920 x 1080 (1080p)               Y             LED            2015
Brand Z #5.....................................................            48''      1920 x 1080 (1080p)               Y             LED            2015
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    DOE tested each TV using multiple video clips and compared the 
power measurements when using the IEC test clip compared to other video 
clips. All video clips were upconverted to the TV's native resolution. 
The following video clips were used for testing:
1. IEC Test Clip
    ``IEC 62087 Edition 3.0 Blu-Ray Disc dynamic broadcast-content 
video signal.'' This is the standard video clip used as per the DOE 
test procedure. The video is 620 seconds long, including 10 seconds 
each of introduction and conclusion. The main content consists of 
various moving scenes, each typically lasting a few seconds.
2. Recut IEC Test Clip
    To create the recut IEC video, DOE edited the video in the original 
IEC test clip. Specifically, DOE recut the original IEC video into 
twenty 30-second portions, plus the 10-second introduction and 
conclusion, and then shuffled the order of the clip.
3. Movie 1
    The Movie 1 video is a 620-second portion of the BluRay movie 
``Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.''
4. Movie 2
    The Movie 2 video is a 620-second portion of a live-action movie 
(``National Treasure'') recorded from an HD television broadcast. There 
are no commercials during this 620 second segment.
5. News
    The News video is a 620-second portion of live news programming 
recorded from an HD television broadcast. It contains approximately 260 
seconds of commercials, which occur in a single portion.
6. Sports 1
    The Sports 1 video is a 620-second portion of a football game 
recorded from an HD (1080i) television broadcast. It contains 
approximately 270 seconds of commercials, which occur in two separate 
portions.

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7. Sports 2
    The Sports 2 video is a 620-second portion of a soccer game 
recorded from an online HD (720p) source. It does not contain any 
commercials.
    DOE performed all this testing according to the DOE TV test 
procedure (except for the substituted video clip). For TVs with 
automatic brightness control enabled by default, DOE performed the 
comparisons only at 100 lux lighting because DOE expects the same 
behavior at all lux values. Table 2 shows the average on-mode power 
draw in watts (W) for the TVs tested using the various video clips 
described in this section.

                        Table 2--620-Second Average On Mode Power Draw for Each Tested TV
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           Video clip             Brand X #1 (W)  Brand X #2 (W)  Brand X #3 (W)  BRAND Y #4 (W)  Brand Z #5 (W)
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IEC.............................            52.7            29.7            91.1            42.6            69.4
Recut IEC.......................            52.4            29.7            93.6            41.4            69.1
Movie 1.........................            64.0            29.9           113.2            58.1            69.0
Movie 2.........................            54.8            29.6           103.7            48.3            69.8
News............................            55.1            29.9            89.7            58.7            70.6
Sports 1........................            51.7            29.7            95.2            52.8            69.7
Sports 2........................            52.4            29.7            87.3            58.5            70.6
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    While there was no significant difference in power draw for the 
Brand X #2 or Brand Z #5 across all tested clips, Brand Y #4, Brand X 
#1, and Brand X #3 exhibited differences in power draw between the IEC 
test clips and other video sources. This difference in power draw 
appears to be related to the amount of motion in the video clips, 
discussed in further detail in the following section.

B. On-Mode Power Draw With Motion Detection Functionality

    Brand X #1, Brand X #3 and Brand Y TVs have certain brightness 
features enabled by default settings that are sometimes referred by 
``Motion Lighting'' (ML) or ``Motion Eye Care'' (MEC). According to the 
description in user manuals, these features reduce the brightness of 
the TV when displaying high-motion content. The ML feature has two 
options: On and Off. The MEC feature has three options: High, Low, and 
Off. By default, the Brand X TVs were set to ``On'' and the Brand Y TV 
was set to ``High.'' DOE conducted its initial testing of these models 
using these default modes. DOE then disabled these features (i.e., DOE 
set the TVs to ``ML Off'' and ``MEC Off,'' respectively) and re-ran all 
of the test clips to evaluate how the features affect the TV power 
draw. Again, the test setup and power measurements were performed 
according to the DOE test procedure (except for the substituted video 
clips). The following sections describe the test results for each of 
the Brand X and Brand Y TVs.
1. Brand X #1
    Table 3 shows the results of the tests for Brand X #1.

                   Table 3--620-Second Average Power Draw for Brand X #1 With ML On and ML Off
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                                                                                  Brand X #1 (W)
                              Video                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                       ML On          ML Off        % Increase
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IEC.............................................................            52.7            70.5              34
Recut IEC.......................................................            52.4            70.4              34
Movie 1.........................................................              64            70.2              10
Movie 2.........................................................            54.8            70.3              28
News............................................................            55.1            70.4              28
Sports 1........................................................            51.7            69.6              35
Sports 2........................................................            52.4            70.4              34
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    For Brand X #1, the IEC clip showed a 34% increase in power draw 
when ML was off compared to ``ML On,'' which is the default setting. 
The same increase was found when the units were tested using the Sports 
1 and Sports 2 clips, but the increase was much smaller when the units 
were tested using Movie 1. The following power traces over the duration 
of each clip show in greater detail how ML affected the TV's on-mode 
power draw.
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    In summary, IEC, Sports 1, and Sports 2, ML On caused a sharp 
reduction in the power draw near the beginning of each clip, and the 
power draw remained lower for the duration of the clip. In the case of 
Movie 2, ML On did not cause a reduction in the power draw until much 
later in the clip. In the News clip, ML caused the TV to drop in power, 
except for one portion in the middle of the clip. And for Movie 1, ML 
had a much smaller impact and did not reduce Brand X 1's power draw 
significantly. Thus, ML appeared to detect motion and reduce power when 
a certain amount of motion was detected.
2. Brand X #3
    Table 4 shows the results of the tests for Brand X #3.

                   Table 4--620-Second Average Power Draw for Brand X #3 With ML On and ML Off
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                                                                                  Brand X #3 (W)
                              Video                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                       ML On          ML Off        % Increase
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IEC.............................................................            91.1           103.3              13
Recut IEC.......................................................            93.6           102.9              10
Movie 1.........................................................           113.2           104.2              -8
Movie 2.........................................................           103.7           103.3               0
News............................................................            89.7           104.2              16
Sports 1........................................................            95.2           103.1               8
Sports 2........................................................            87.3           104.6              20
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    Brand X #3 showed a slightly different behavior than Brand X #1. 
Although the average power draw by Brand X #3 while playing IEC with ML 
On was still very close to the lowest power draw across all of the 
video clips, the power draw by Brand X #3 while playing News and Sports 
2 content was even lower. For Movie 1 and Movie 2, the TV used even 
more power with ML On than ML Off. With ML Off, the power values were 
fairly consistent regardless of video clip. The following power traces 
over the duration of each clip show in greater detail how ML affected 
the TV's on-mode power draw.
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With ML Off, the power traces were all generally flat regardless of 
video clip. With ML On, the power measurement fluctuated significantly 
but, unlike Brand X #1, the measured power was greater for certain 
clips than with ML Off.
3. Brand Y #4
    Table 5 shows the results of the tests for Brand Y #4.

                 Table 5--620-Second Average Power Draw for Brand Y #4 With MEC High and MEC Off
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                                                                                  Brand Y #4 (W)
                              Video                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                     MEC High         MEC Off       % Increase
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IEC.............................................................            42.6            60.7              42
Recut IEC.......................................................            41.4            60.6              46
Movie 1.........................................................            58.1            60.5               4
Movie 2.........................................................            48.3            60.5              25
News............................................................            58.7            61.1               4
Sports 1........................................................            52.8            60.6              15
Sports 2........................................................            58.5            60.8               4
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    For Brand Y #4, the IEC test clip showed the lowest power draw 
associated with any of the video clips using MEC High (default). Movie 
1, News, and Sports 2 showed little difference between power draw using 
MEC High and MEC Off, whereas Movie 2 and Sports 1 showed a larger 
difference between the two modes. The largest difference in power 
between MEC High and MEC Off occurred when testing using the IEC clip 
and the recut IEC clip. The following power traces over the duration of 
each clip show in greater detail how MEC affected the TV's on-mode 
power draw.
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    For all video clips other than IEC and recut IEC, MEC seemed to 
have very little impact on the power draw of the TV. Although the MEC 
setting had some impact on power draw during the Movie 2 and Sports 1 
clips, the impact was much less significant than with respect to the 
IEC clip.
4. Observations
    Based on the results, it appears that ML and MEC have different 
impacts on power draw among different content and TV models. However, 
for all tested models, the IEC clip usually triggered the largest 
reduction in power when enabled, implying that the IEC clip and recut 
IEC clip contained the most motion among all of the tested video clips. 
This is consistent with DOE's observation of the IEC test clip, which 
is composed of short segments of high motion video stitched together, 
so that the video content has faster changing scenes compared to most 
content a user typically would watch. Thus, DOE is seeking feedback on 
the following questions:
     What is the utility to the user of the dimming of screen 
luminance based on high levels of motion found in television content? 
Does this feature adversely impact the typical consumer viewing 
experience?
     What alternative video content could DOE use in its test 
procedure to better capture TV performance during a representative 
average use cycle or period of use?

C. Default Luminance With Motion Detection Functionality

    DOE also evaluated how ML and MEC affected the default luminance in 
the three TV models discussed above, as measured by the DOE test 
procedure. Because luminance is measured with a static 3-bar image, DOE 
evaluated whether the ML or MEC feature would have any impact on the 
luminance of different parts of the screen. Table 6 results show that 
screen luminance, as measured by the DOE test procedure, is unchanged 
whether ML or MEC are enabled or disabled.

             Table 6--Measured Screen Luminance and Power for Brand X #1, Brand X #3, and Brand Y #4
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                      TV                             Brand X #1            Brand X #3            Brand Y #4
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                 ML/MEC State                       On        Off         On        Off         On        Off
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Bottom Luminance (cd/m\2\)....................        174        172        227        200        186        186
Center Luminance (cd/m\2\)....................        191        188        255        223        227        227
Top Luminance (cd/m\2\).......................        158        155        232        203        188        187
Power (W).....................................       63.1       67.5      108.9       99.4       60.4       60.4
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    ML and MEC affect the luminance during on-mode testing using a test 
clip, but this effect is not captured with the luminance test using the 
static 3-bar image specified in the DOE test procedure. Thus, the 
luminance test does not necessarily capture and therefore is not 
necessarily representative of normal use, depending on whether a TV is 
shipped with a higher or lower luminance setting. DOE is seeking 
information on the following questions:
     Does the current luminance test capture the impact of ML 
and/or MEC during a representative average use cycle or period of use?

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     What alternative luminance tests, if any, would provide 
useful information about how a TV performs during a representative 
average use cycle or period of use?

D. Settings That Impact Motion Detection Functionality

    Last, DOE evaluated the preset picture settings that enabled ML and 
MEC in the tested units. While ML and MEC were always enabled in the 
default picture setting of the tested units, none of the other preset 
picture settings had these features enabled. For Brand Y, there were 6 
preset picture settings other than the default setting (Vivid, 
Standard, Cinema, Sports, Game, and Expert), all of which disabled MEC. 
And in the case of Brand X's ML feature, only the default picture 
setting left ML enabled, and any change to the brightness or contrast 
of the TV automatically disabled ML. Based on these findings, DOE seeks 
feedback on the following questions:
     How does the manufacturer determine if a particular 
picture setting should have this motion detection feature enabled or 
disabled?
     How common is it for users to operate TVs in the default 
setting throughout the lifetime of the TV? Are there any data 
suggesting that users are encouraged to disable motion detection 
features or any other special function by the user manual or any other 
product information?
     DOE found that changes to a television's picture setting 
and/or adjustments to the brightness or contrast of a TV may 
automatically disable a special function, such as a motion detection 
feature, that is part of the default setting. Given this finding, does 
the television test procedure, which conducts the on-mode power test in 
the default setting, measure on-mode power in the television 
configuration that is representative of typical use?

E. Forced Menu

    DOE recognizes that picture settings, such as brightness and 
contrast, and configuration of special functions, such as quick start 
or energy efficiency modes, have a significant impact on the energy 
consumption of a TV. DOE received numerous comments and went through 
several revisions of its test procedure proposals \1\ in order to 
establish the current uniform test method for measuring the power 
consumption of television sets that provides manufacturers with clear 
instructions regarding how to configure the picture mode settings for 
testing the on-mode power draw of a television. As ultimately adopted, 
the DOE test procedure for televisions requires that on-mode power be 
measured using the default picture setting. This is the as-shipped 
preset picture setting that the television enters upon initial set-up. 
Recognizing that some TVs are designed to automatically display message 
prompts requiring the user to select configurable options (as opposed 
to the user proactively entering the settings menu to configure the 
television), DOE requires in these instances that the most power 
consumptive option be selected when testing the unit (see section 5.5 
of the DOE test procedure). Additionally, the test procedure requires 
that the home configuration be selected, if prompted, from a forced 
menu (as opposed to a retail configuration).
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    \1\ Television Test Procedure Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 77 
FR 2830 (January 19, 2012) and Television Test Procedure 
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 78 FR 15807 (March 12, 
2013).
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    Essentially, the selection of the home configuration is the only 
exception to the requirement that the tester must select the most 
energy consumptive option when setting up a television for the on-mode 
test. So, if given a choice between home or retail configurations, the 
tester should always select the home configuration even if the retail 
configuration is more consumptive. For any other prompt, whether it is 
from the initial setup menu or a separate message prompt that appears 
at another time during the on-mode operation of the TV, the tester must 
always select the most energy consumptive configuration. DOE's intent 
is to ensure that manufacturers include energy-saving features as part 
of the default picture setting (without automatically displaying a 
message prompt to configure the feature) if they wish for that feature 
to be enabled when measuring the on-mode power. While DOE is certainly 
not opposed to manufacturers providing options that make their 
televisions more efficient than the default settings, DOE intends for 
the test procedure to capture the power of a TV that is measured using 
the most commonly used picture setting--which DOE assumed to be the 
default setting. A TV is only tested with special functions that reduce 
energy consumption turned on if they are truly part of the most 
commonly used settings (currently presumed to be default), and there 
are no prompts that appear which provide users an option to disable 
them.
    In providing these specifications, DOE attempted to cover all 
television design scenarios to ensure that the TV was set up in this 
manner. However, one manufacturer has argued that the current language 
in the DOE test procedure allows users to select options other than the 
most consumptive configuration during initial television setup under 
certain forced menu designs. For example, in the preamble to the TV 
test procedure final rule, DOE assumed a forced menu would first 
request selecting either home or retail configuration, and then 
subsequent message prompts that appear after the initial selection of 
home or retail would request configuration of other special functions, 
such as enabling or disabling energy efficient modes. In discussing the 
configuration of special functions in the preamble to the TV test 
procedure final rule, DOE discussed the special function configuration 
criteria in section 5.5 of the DOE Test Procedure assuming that the 
message prompt requesting configuration of a special function came 
after the initial selection of the home configuration from a forced 
menu. While DOE assumed this message prompt would come after the 
initial selection of the home configuration from a forced menu, DOE's 
intention is that manufacturers would select the most energy 
consumptive option if prompted at any time, even if that question came 
on the initial forced menu before the initial selection of the home 
configuration. DOE clarified the television configuration requirements 
by issuing a final guidance document in April 2014 \2\ that clearly 
specified the most power consumptive configuration must be selected 
whenever a message prompt is displayed requesting configuration of a 
special function, including configurations selected from a forced menu. 
However, given the findings discussed in paragraph (d) of this RFI that 
energy saving features may automatically disable when changing preset 
picture settings or adjusting television brightness or contrast, DOE 
requests stakeholder comments on whether testing the television in its 
default configuration is appropriate.
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    \2\ See http://www1.eere.energy.gov/guidance/detail_search.aspx?IDQuestion=647&pid=2&spid=1.
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    Given the advancement in television design, the ability of 
manufacturers to customize the design of their forced menus, and the 
rationale behind testing televisions in the default configuration, DOE 
seeks to ensure that the forced menu, special function configurations, 
and any other requirements related to setting up the television for 
conducting the on-mode power measurement are clear and representative 
of an average use cycle.
    Hence, DOE is soliciting comment on the following questions:

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     Is the regulatory text clear on how to set-up a television 
for testing? Are there ways for definitions or requirements in the 
television test procedure regulatory text to be rewritten to ensure 
that all requirements related to setting up a television for testing 
are objective and would apply uniformly regardless of television 
design?
     Should DOE consider measuring on-mode power in picture 
settings other than the default picture setting? If so, what picture 
setting(s) should be tested, and how can DOE prescribe picture setting 
testing requirements that are representative of television settings 
during a representative average use cycle or period of use, as well as 
ensure that the requirements are repeatable and reproducible in a 
laboratory testing environment?

III. Submission of Comments

    DOE invites all interested parties to submit in writing by July 25, 
2016, comments and information on matters addressed in this RFI and on 
other matters relevant to the test procedure for televisions.
    After the close of the comment period, DOE will begin collecting 
data, conducting analyses, and reviewing public comments. These actions 
will be taken to aid in the revision of the test procedure NOPR for 
televisions, if DOE determines that revisions are necessary.
    DOE considers public participation to be a very important part of 
the process for developing test procedures. DOE actively encourages the 
participation and interaction of the public during the comment period. 
Interactions with and between members of the public provide a balanced 
discussion of the issues and assist DOE in the rulemaking process. 
Anyone who wishes to be added to the DOE mailing list to receive future 
notices and information about this rulemaking may do so at https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/34.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 16, 2016.
Kathleen Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2016-14982 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
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