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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules DOE tentatively concludes that this proposal would reduce overall test burden. The proposal would require weighing the cloth before and after each test cycle, but would avoid the need to perform extra cycles for capturing both the maximum and minimum spin settings available on the clothes washer if such spin settings are not activated by default as part of the energy test cycle.
In DOEs experience, a majority of clothes washers offer multiple spin settings, thus requiring between one and eight RMC cycles, depending on the specific options available on the clothes washer. Appendix J2 currently requires measuring the test load weight before each cycle in order to verify that the load is bone-dry.44 To DOEs knowledge, many laboratories already measure and record the test load weight after each test cycle as a means for identifying potential cycle anomalies or to provide additional data that can be used to verify quality control retrospectively. In cases where a laboratory currently does not measure the weight after completion of the cycle, DOEs proposal would incur a de minimis amount of additional time to weigh the load after the cycle, which can be performed using the same scale used to weigh the load at the beginning of the cycle. For these reasons DOE does not expect the additional collection of data to result in additional test burden.
This proposal would likely impact the measured RMC value and thus would impact a clothes washers IMEF value.
Therefore, in this NOPR, DOE is proposing the revised RMC procedure only in the proposed new Appendix J
and not in existing Appendix J2. The ongoing RCW and CCW energy conservation standards rulemakings would consider the impact of any modifications to the RMC calculation on measured efficiency.
DOE requests comment on its proposal to revise the RMC procedure so that RMC would be measured at the default spin setting for each temperature selection and load size, and the individual RMC values would be averaged using TUFs and LUFs to calculate the final RMC. DOE seeks data and information regarding how this change to the RMC calculation would impact testing costs and manufacturer test burden.
DOE further requests comment on whether DOE should implement any changes to the RMC calculation in Appendix J2 to address clothes washers with spin settings that are available only on certain temperature selections.
44 See section III.D.4.b of this document for the definition of the term bone-dry.

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b. Definition of Bone-Dry In section 1.6 of Appendix J2, the term bone-dry is defined as a condition of a load of test cloth that has been dried in a dryer at maximum temperature for a minimum of 10
minutes, removed and weighed before cool down, and then dried again for 10minute periods until the final weight change of the load is 1 percent or less.
The bone-dry definition was first established in the September 1977 Final Rule. 42 FR 49801, 4980749808. In the March 2012 Final Rule, DOE added a specification to section 2.6 of Appendix J2 requiring that the dryer used for drying the cloth to bone-dry must heat the test cloth and stuffer cloths above 210 F 99 C. 77 FR 13888, 13924.
In response to the May 2020 RFI, NEEA recommended that DOE update its procedure for achieving bone-dry test cloth to harmonize with Annex G of IEC
Standard 60456, Clothes washing machines for household useMethods for measuring the performance Edition 5.0 IEC 60456. NEEA, No. 12 at p.
26 In particular, NEEA recommended that DOE consider the tumble dryer specifications in Section G.2 of IEC
60456, the dryer inlet temperature measurement method, and the requirement that the weight of the bonedry load change be no more than 1
percent or 0.044 lb whichever is smaller between 10-minute drying periods Section G.3 of IEC 60456. Id.
DOE is not aware of any problems with the current bone-dry definition that would justify changing the bonedry definition as NEEA has suggested.
DOE has tentatively concluded that specifying a weight change of no more than 1 percent or 0.044 lb whichever is smaller would increase the test burden because for a majority of tested loads, the 0.044 lb requirement would apply, which would be more stringent than the existing 1 percent requirement. DOE has not identified, and commenters have not suggested, any problems with the current approach. In the absence of data indicating any problems with the current procedure, DOE is not proposing any changes to the bone-dry definition or associated dryer temperature measurement method in this NOPR.
DOE requests comment on its tentative conclusion not to propose changes to the bone-dry definition and associated dryer temperature measurement method.
c. Starting Moisture Content Section 2.9.1 of Appendix J2 requires the test load for energy and water consumption measurements to be bonedry prior to the first cycle of the test,
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and allows the test load to be dried to a maximum of 104 percent of the bonedry weight for subsequent testing. This allowance effectively allows for an increase to the starting moisture content of the load from 1 percent moisture as implied in the definition of bone-dry in section 1 of Appendix J2 to 4 percent moisture, which creates two concerns.
First, for the largest clothes washers on the market, which use the largest test load sizes, a 4 percent tolerance can represent up to 1 lb of additional water weight in a starting test load. DOE is concerned that the range of starting water weights that this provision allows could reduce the repeatability and reproducibility of test results, particularly for larger clothes washers.
Second, as described in section III.D.4.a of this document, DOE is proposing to require the measurement of RMC for all tested cycles in the proposed new Appendix J. The RMC of each tested cycle would be calculated based on the bone-dry weight at the start of the cycle. Allowing the bone-dry weight to vary within a range of 1
percent to 4 percent moisture at the beginning of each tested cycle would introduce variability into the RMC
calculation.
Therefore, to improve repeatability and reproducibility of test results, DOE
is proposing in new Appendix J to remove the provision that allows for a starting test load weight of 104 percent of the bone-dry weight, and instead require that each test cycle use a bonedry test load. DOE is not proposing to make any changes to section 2.9.1 of Appendix J2, recognizing that such a change could impact measured energy efficiency.
In DOEs experience, most test laboratories use the bone-dry weight as the starting weight of each test load rather than a starting weight up to 104
percent of bone-dry, as allowed by section 2.9.1 of Appendix J2. If a test laboratory does make use of this provision in section 2.9.1 of Appendix J2, the requirement to use the bone-dry weight would add no more than 10
minutes of drying time per cycle to ensure that the test load has reached the bone-dry requirement. In DOEs experience, most test laboratories dry the load from the previous test cycle while the next cycle is being tested on the clothes washer, such that a minor increase in drying time would not affect the overall time required to conduct the test procedure.
DOE requests comment on its proposal to require that each test cycle use a bone-dry test load in the proposed new Appendix J. DOE requests comment on whether test laboratories
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