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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules
The ENERGY STAR program provides qualification criteria for room air cleaners also referred to as air purifiers.6 On its web page, ENERGY
STAR describes room air cleaners as portable, electric appliances that remove fine particles, such as dust and pollen, from indoor air. The current ENERGY
STAR Product Specification 7 defines room air cleaner as an electric appliance with the function of removing particulate matter from the air and which can be moved from room to room, consistent with ANSI/AHAM
AC12020.
The definitions in both ANSI/AHAM
AC12020 and the ENERGY STAR
Product Specification include specific air cleaning and air purifying designs and technologies, but state that they cover only portable air cleaners that can be moved from room to room.
DOE notes that while ANSI/AHAM AC
12020 specifies coverage of portable air cleaners, it includes air cleaners that include appropriate wall mounting brackets or specifically designated instructions to mount the air cleaner integrally to the wall. In order to cover a more comprehensive range of the consumer market for air cleaning and purification, an expanded definition of a consumer air cleaner may be appropriate. DOE has therefore considered a modified definition that would include non-portable air cleaners, such as those that are mounted on walls and ceilings, or that provide whole-home air cleaning in conjunction with central heating or air conditioning systems. The proposed definition also includes technologies that clean the air by destroying or deactivating contaminants, including microbes as well as particulates, from the air instead of only removing them.
DOE is also proposing to exclude from coverage those consumer products which purify air solely by means of ultraviolet UV light without circulating air through the product by means of a fan. The energy-consuming component of such products would be a fluorescent lamp or light-emitting diode that emits light in the UV portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Accordingly, DOE would classify these products as a type of lamp under EPCA
See the definition of lamps primarily designed to produce radiation in the 6 See ENERGY STAR website for air purifiers cleaners at www.energystar.gov/products/air_
purifiers_cleaners.
7 See Eligibility Criteria Version 2.0, Rev. April 2021, available at www.energystar.gov/sites/default/
files/ENERGY%20STAR%20Version%202.0
%20Room%20Air%20Cleaners%20Specification_
Rev%20April%202021_with%20Partner %20Commitments.pdf.

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ultraviolet region of the spectrum and light-emitting diode or LED in 10 CFR
430.2, and therefore, is not considering coverage for these products as a consumer air cleaner.
DOE additionally proposes to make clear that a product that meets the definition of a central air conditioners, room air conditioners, portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and furnaces as defined in 10 CFR 430.2 is not included in the proposed definition of air cleaner. Although these products may eliminate certain particulates from the air by means of filters or through collection and removal of condensate containing the particulates, DOE is proposing to exclude them. See the definitions for central air conditioner, room air conditioner, portable air conditioner, dehumidifier, and furnace in 10 CFR 430.2.
For the purpose of this analysis, DOE
evaluated air cleaners, which DOE
defined as a consumer product that:
1 Is a self-contained, mechanically encased assembly;
2 Is powered by single-phase electric current;
3 Removes, destroys, or deactivates particulates and microorganisms from the air;
4 Excludes products that destroy or deactivate particulates and microorganisms solely by means of ultraviolet light without a fan for air circulation; and 5 Excludes central air conditioners, room air conditioners, portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and furnaces as defined in 10 CFR 430.2.
DOE proposes to adopt this definition to inform stakeholders while DOE
continues its analysis. The proposed definition considers the air cleaning and air purification function of the product that is described in ANSI/AHAM AC1
2020, the current ENERGY STAR
Version 2.0 Product Specification for consumer room air cleaners, and the wide variety of air cleaning and air purifying consumer products currently on the market.
As stated, EPCA authorizes DOE to classify a type of consumer product as a covered product upon making certain determinations. EPCA defines a consumer product as any article other than an automobile of a type A which in operation consumes, or is designed to consume energy; and B
which, to any significant extent, is distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by individuals;
without regard to whether such article of such type is in fact distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by an individual. 42
U.S.C. 6291a1 As such, in
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considering the potential scope of coverage, DOE does not consider whether an individual product is distributed in commerce for residential or commercial use, but whether it is of a type of product distributed in commerce for residential use.
DOE seeks feedback from interested parties on its proposed definition and scope of coverage of air cleaners.
IV. Evaluation of Air Cleaners as a Covered Product Subject to Energy Conservation Standards The following sections describe DOEs preliminary evaluation of whether air cleaners fulfill the criteria for being added as a covered product pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6292b1. As stated previously, DOE may classify a consumer product as a covered product if:
1 Classifying products of such type as covered products is necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of EPCA; and 2 The average annual per-household energy use by products of such type is likely to exceed 100 kWh or its Btu equivalent per year.
A. Coverage Necessary or Appropriate To Carry Out Purposes of EPCA
DOE has preliminarily determined that coverage of air cleaners is necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of EPCA, which include:
1 To conserve energy supplies through energy conservation programs, and, where necessary, the regulation of certain energy uses; and 2 To provide for improved energy efficiency of motor vehicles, major appliances, and certain other consumer products. 42 U.S.C. 629145
Although air cleaners are not currently subject to energy conservation standards under EPCA, as discussed, the ENERGY STAR program has developed qualifying specifications for room air cleaners, starting with the Version 1.0
specification that became effective July 1, 2004. The current specification, Version 2.0 Rev. April 2021, became effective October 17, 2020. During the process of developing the Version 1.0
specification, EPA cited shipments data from AHAM showing 1.65 million units shipped in 2000, and estimated that shipments would grow to 2.02 million units in 2010 with an installed base of 15 million units.8 EPA reported that shipments of ENERGY STAR-qualified room air cleaners in 2019 were 2.224
million units, with an estimated market 8 ENERGY STAR & Air Cleaners. January 14, 2003. Andrew Fanara, EPA. Available online at:
www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/specs//
private/AirCleanersatIHS-Presentation-Final.ppt.

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