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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules higher than the certified RMC value of the basic model, DOE will perform two replications of the RMC measurement procedure, each pursuant to the provisions of section 3.8.5 of Appendix J2, for a total of three independent RMC
measurements of the tested unit; and that average of the three RMC
measurements will be calculated as currently specified at 10 CFR
429.134c1ii. Within this section, a new subsection 10 CFR 429.134
iiD1 would specify that if the average of the three RMC measurements is equal to or lower than the certified RMC value of the basic model, the average RMC value will be considered the tested units final RMC value. A new subsection 10 CFR 429.134 iiD2
would specify that if the average of the three RMC measurements is higher than the certified RMC value of the basic model, the average RMC value will be considered the tested units final RMC
value unless DOE used a different test cloth lot than was used by the manufacturer for testing and certifying the basic model; in which case, DOE
may apply a new proposed paragraph c1iiE of the same section if the difference between the average and certified RMC values would affect the units compliance with the applicable standards.
The proposed new subsection iiE
which would address differences in RMC values that may result from DOE
using a different test cloth lotspecifies two potential courses of action if DOE
uses a different test cloth lot than was used by the manufacturer for testing and certifying the basic model. New subsection 10 CFR 429.134 iiE1
would specify that if the difference between the tested units measured RMC value or average RMC value pursuant to the new proposed paragraph c1iiD of the same section and the certified RMC value of the basic model is less than or equal to three RMC
percentage points, then the certified RMC value of the basic model may be considered the tested units final RMC
value. New subsection 10 CFR 429.134
iiE2 would specify that if the tested units measured RMC value or average RMC value pursuant to paragraph c1iiD of the same section is more than three RMC percentage points higher than the certified RMC value of the basic model, then a value three RMC
percentage points less than the measured RMC value may be considered the tested units final RMC value.
For testing conducted according to the proposed new Appendix J, several modifications would be made to the procedures described for Appendix J2
due to the revised methodology for
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measuring RMC in the proposed new Appendix J, as described in section III.D.4 of this document specifically, that in the proposed new Appendix J, RMC would be measured for each individual test cycle as opposed to measured using a separate set of additional test cycles, as is required by Appendix J2. The provisions for the proposed new Appendix J would not include the specifications for 10 CFR
429.134 iiA or 10 CFR 429.134 iiD
as described previously.
DOE requests comment on its proposal to extend its product-specific enforcement provisions for clothes washers to accommodate up to a 3percentage point variation in the corrected RMC measurement based on the test cloth lot used for testing. DOE
also requests comment on alternate enforcement approaches that could be implemented.
K. Test Procedure Costs, Harmonization, and Other Topics 1. Test Procedure Costs and Impact EPCA requires that test procedures proposed by DOE not be unduly burdensome to conduct. 42 U.S.C.
6293b3 The following sections discuss DOEs evaluation of estimated costs and savings associated with the amendments proposed in this NOPR.
a. Appendix J2 and Appendix J3
Proposed Amendments In this NOPR, DOE proposes to amend the existing test procedures for clothes washers by:
1 Further specifying supply water temperature test conditions and water meter resolution requirements;
2 Adding specifications for measuring wash water temperature using submersible data loggers;
3 Expanding the load size table to accommodate clothes container capacities up to 8.0 ft3;
4 Defining user-adjustable automatic WFCS;
5 Specifying the applicability of the wash time setting for clothes washers with a range of wash time settings;
6 Specifying how the energy test cycle flow charts apply to clothes washers that internally generate hot water;
7 Specifying that the energy test cycle flow charts be evaluated using the Maximum load size;
8 Specifying that testing is to be conducted with any network settings disabled if instructions are available to the user to disable these functions;
9 Further specifying the conditions under which data from a test cycle would be discarded;

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10 Adding a product-specific enforcement provision to accommodate the potential for test cloth lot-to-lot variation in RMC;
11 Deleting obsolete definitions, metrics, and the clothes washer-specific waiver section;
12 Consolidating all test clothrelated specifications in Appendix J3;
13 Reorganizing sections of Appendix J3 for improved readability;
and 14 Codifying the test cloth material verification procedure as used by industry.
DOE has tentatively determined that these proposed amendments to Appendix J2 and Appendix J3 would not be unduly burdensome for manufacturers to conduct and would not result in the need for any re-testing.
The proposal to remove the target inlet water temperatures from the specified range of temperatures would allow test laboratories to select the optimal water temperature target for their water supply system within the prescribed range e.g., choosing the midpoint of the range as the target. This could reduce test burden by reducing the potential for invalid cycles to occur due to a deviation in water temperatures outside the specified range.
The proposal to require more precise hot water meters for clothes washers with hot water usage less than 0.1
gallons in any of the energy test cycles would require additional cost to upgrade existing water meters if a manufacturer or test laboratory expects to test such clothes washers but does not already have a water meter with the proposed more precise resolution. Based on a market survey of water meters, the cost of a water meter that provides the proposed resolution, including associated hardware, is around $600 for each device. DOE recognizes that laboratories may have multiple test stands, and that each test stand would likely be upgraded with the more precise hot water meter if such an upgrade is required. As an example, for a laboratory with 10 test stands, the material cost associated with installing a more precise hot water meter would total approximately $6,000. However, as discussed, at least one manufacturer already uses water meters with the proposed more precise resolution, and DOEs experience working with thirdparty laboratories indicates that most, if not all, third-party laboratories already use water meters with this resolution.
DOE has not included the potential costs associated with this proposal based on stakeholder comment and DOEs knowledge of third-party laboratory capabilities that suggest that
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