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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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TABLE II.1SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN PROPOSED TEST PROCEDURES RELATIVE TO CURRENT TEST PROCEDURES
Continued Current DOE test procedure
Proposed test procedure
Attribution
Estimates the number of hours spent in low-power mode as 8,465, based on 295 cycles per year and an assumed 1-hour cycle time.

Calculates the number of hours spent in low-power mode for each clothes washer based on 234 cycles per year and measured cycle time, in Appendix J.
Specifies using a water inlet hose length of no more than 72 inches, in Appendix J.
Provides a definition for user-adjustable automatic water fill controls, in Appendix J and for wash time, in Appendices J and J2.
Changes the wording to specify selecting the setting based on the most, or least, amount of water used, in Appendices J and J2.

Improve representativeness of test results.

Specifies evaluating the flow charts using the maximum load size for Appendix J2 and the large load size for Appendix J.
Explicitly addresses clothes washers that internally generate hot water, in Appendices J and J2.

Response to test laboratory question, improve reproducibility of test results.
Response to test laboratory question.

Clarifies how to test cycles with a range of wash time settings, in Appendices J and J2.

Improve readability.

Moves all test cloth related provisions to Appendix J3.
Codifies additional test cloth verification procedures performed by industry, in Appendix J3.
Updates or deletes obsolete provisions, including Appendix J1 in its entirety.

Improve readability.

Does not specify how to test a clothes washer that does not provide water inlet hoses.
Does not provide an explicit definition for user-adjustable automatic water fill controls or wash time.
Specifies that user-adjustable automatic clothes washers must be tested with the water fill setting in the most or least energy-intensive setting without defining energy-intensive.
Does not specify on which load size to evaluate the energy test cycle flow charts.
Does not explicitly address how to evaluate the Cold/
Cold energy test cycle flow chart for clothes washers that internally generate hot water.
Does not provide direction for all control panel styles on clothes washers that offer a range of wash time settings.
Includes test cloth verification specifications in Appendix J2.
Does not include all aspects of test cloth verification procedures performed by industry.
Contains obsolete provisions

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DOE has tentatively determined that the proposed amendments to Appendix J2 and Appendix J3 described in section III of this document would not alter the measured efficiency of clothes washers, and that the proposed test procedures would not be unduly burdensome to conduct.
DOE has tentatively determined that the proposed amendments in the new Appendix J would alter the measured efficiency of clothes washers, in part because the amended test procedures would adopt a different energy efficiency metric and water efficiency metric than in the current test procedure. Because the proposed new Appendix J would be used for the evaluation and issuance of updated efficiency standards, DOE is proposing that use of new Appendix J, if finalized, would not be required until the compliance date of any updated standards. Discussion of DOEs proposed actions are addressed in detail in section III of this document.
III. Discussion In the following sections, DOE
describes the proposed amendments to the test procedures for residential and commercial clothes washers. This NOPR
includes issues identified in previous rulemakings and discusses additional issues that DOE has become aware of since the completion of the August 2015

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Final Rule. DOE seeks input from the public to assist with its consideration of the proposed amendments presented in this document. In addition, DOE
welcomes comments on other relevant issues that may not specifically be identified in this document.
A. General Comments DOE received a number of general comments from stakeholders, as summarized below.
AHAM commented generally that no test can be considered reasonably designed under EPCA if the test is not accurate, repeatable, and reproducible.
AHAM stated that test procedures with significant variation do not allow consumers to make informed purchase decisions based on energy use/
efficiency and do not adequately serve the purpose of demonstrating compliance with energy conservation standards. AHAM, No. 5 at p. 2 AHAM
also claimed that as energy conservation standards become more stringent, minimizing variation in test procedure results becomes more important because of the need for manufacturers to conservatively rate their products.
AHAM asserted that lack of uniform test results requires manufacturers to rate more conservatively, which effectively makes the standard more stringent in practice. Id.

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Response to test laboratory question.
Improve readability.
Response to test laboratory question.

Codify industry practice.
Improve readability.

AHAM commented that the clothes washer test procedure is one of the most burdensome DOE test procedures for consumer appliances. AHAM provided an example that a full-featured clothes washer one that includes manual and user-adjustable automatic water fill control systems WFCS, a heater, four warm wash temperatures, warm rinse, and selectable spin speeds could require more than 70 test cycles per unit under Appendix J2. AHAM, No. 5 at pp. 45 GEA similarly commented that DOE should work to reduce test burden for full-featured clothes washers, stating that requiring 70 individual cycles for a single test of certain clothes washers demonstrates that the clothes washer test procedure has become overly complicated and fails to fulfill the representativeness requirement under the EPCA. GEA, No. 13 at p. 2
AHAM requested that if DOE
implements any changes that will significantly impact measured energy, DOE should require compliance with the revised test procedure on the same date as the next amended energy conservation standards for clothes washers. AHAM, No. 5 at p. 16
Electrolux, GEA, and Whirlpool support AHAMs comments to the RFI.
Electrolux, No. 11 at p. 1; GEA, No. 13
at p. 1; Whirlpool, No. 7 at p. 1 GEA
incorporates them into its own comments by reference. GEA, No. 13 at
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