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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules to produce test results that measure energy efficiency, energy use, water use for certain products, or estimated annual operating cost of a covered product during a representative average use cycle or period of use, as determined by the Secretary, and shall not be unduly burdensome to conduct.
42 U.S.C. 6293b3 DOEs test procedure for dishwashers identifies the normal cycle as the cycle representative of consumer use, defines the term normal cycle, requires testing using the normal cycle, and compliance with the applicable standards is determined based on the measured energy and water use of the normal cycle. 10 CFR 430.23c and 10 CFR 430 subpart B appendix C1. The normal cycle is defined as the cycle type, including washing and drying temperature options, recommended in the manufacturers instructions for daily, regular, or typical use to completely wash a full load of normally soiled dishes including the power-dry feature. If no cycle or more than one cycle is recommended in the manufacturers instructions for daily, regular, or typical use to completely wash a full load of normally soiled dishes, the most energy-intensive of these cycles shall be considered the normal cycle. In the absence of a manufacturer recommendation on washing and drying temperature options, the highest energy consumption options must be selected.
Section 1.12 of appendix C1. As such, the existing test procedure does not define what constitutes completely washing a full load of normally soiled dishes i.e., the cleaning performance.
For dishwashers, the cleaning performance at the completion of a cycle influences how a consumer uses the product. If the cleanliness of the dishware after completion of a cleaning cycle does not meet consumer expectations, consumers may alter their use of the dishwasher. For example, consumers may alter the use of the product by selecting a cycle that consumes more energy and water to provide a higher level of cleaning, operating the selected cycle multiple times, or pre-washing the dishware before loading into the dishwasher to achieve an acceptable level of cleaning.
DOE received comment from Samsung expressing concern in response to the August 2019 RFI, in which Samsung stated that consumers unsatisfied with the cleaning performance of the normal cycle may opt to select a different mode that could result in increased energy consumption. Samsung, No. 9 at p. 3
Thus, it is possible that dishwashers
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exist on the market that are currently tested by manufacturers using a normal cycle that does not completely wash dishes.
In general, a consumer-acceptable level of cleaning performance i.e., a representative average use cycle can be easier to achieve through the use of higher amounts of energy and water use during the dishwasher cycle.24
Conversely, maintaining acceptable cleaning performance can be more difficult as energy and water levels are reduced.25 Improving one aspect of dishwasher performance, such as reducing energy and/or water use as a result of energy conservation standards, may require a trade-off with one or more other aspects of performance, such as cleaning performance. DOE expects, however, that consumers maintain the same expectations of cleaning performance regardless of the efficiency of the dishwasher. As the dishwasher market continuously evolves to higher levels of efficiencyeither as a result of mandatory minimum standards or in response to voluntary programs such as ENERGY STARit becomes increasingly more important that DOE
ensures that its test procedure continues to reflect representative use. As such, the normal cycle that is used to test the dishwasher for energy and water performance must be one that provides a consumer-acceptable level of cleaning performance, even as efficiency increases.
In order for DOEs test procedure to more accurately and fully test dishwashers during a representative average use cycle, DOE believes that amending the test procedure to define what constitutes completely washing a full load of normally soiled dishes i.e., the cleaning performance will better represent consumer use of the product.
As such, DOE proposes additional direction for selecting the appropriate test cycle, i.e., for determining whether the cycle can completely wash a full load of normally soiled dishes. DOE is proposing to include a cleaning index 24 Higher energy use may provide increased thermal and mechanical action for removing soils.
Similarly, higher water use may provide better rinsing performance by reducing the amount of soil re-deposition on the dishware.
25 In the December 2014 NOPR that proposed amended energy and water use standards for dishwashers, DOE noted that cleaning performance could be maintained up to Efficiency Level 3, which was defined as 234 kWh/yr and 3.1 gal/cycle.
79 FR 76141, 76165. In the December 2016 Final Determination, DOE additionally noted that manufacturers generally indicated that by using all available design options to improve efficiency, they would likely be able to maintain performance with a maximum energy consumption between 250 and 260 kWh/year and water consumption at 3.1 gal/
cycle. 81 FR 90072, 90082.

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methodology and minimum threshold to validate the selection of the test cycle in appendix C1 and the newly proposed appendix C2.26 This proposal is discussed in detail in the following sections.
This proposal is in line with comments DOE received in response to the August 2019 RFI regarding the adoption of cleaning performance into the test procedure. Samsung commented that the tested cycle i.e., the normal cycle should perform at or above a minimum level of acceptable functionality because some consumers may select test cycles other than the default mode that perform better without recognizing the resulting increase in the energy consumption of the dishwasher. Samsung, No. 9 at p. 3
The CAIOUs commented that, while the test procedure is representative of current energy and water consumption, they believe there is merit in investigating a dishwasher cleaning performance test method to ensure future consumer benefit. CAIOUs, No.
7 at p. 2
1. Cleaning Performance Test Method DOE is proposing to adopt a cleaning performance test method that will help determine if a dishwasher when tested according to the DOE test procedure completely washes a normally soiled load of dishes, according to the representative consumer use.
Specifically, DOE proposes to include the cleaning performance evaluation setup, procedures, and calculations that are specified in the ENERGY STAR
Cleaning Performance Test Method, which references ANSI/AHAM DW1
2010, in appendix C1 and newly proposed appendix C2.
In response to the August 2019 RFI, Samsung recommended that DOE
incorporate by reference the ENERGY
STAR Cleaning Performance Test Method in the dishwasher test procedure and adopt the minimum cleaning index, as established for the ENERGY STAR Most-Efficient Program.
Samsung, No. 9 at p. 3
The ENERGY STAR Cleaning Performance Test Method specifies a procedure to determine cleaning performance at the same test loads described in the DOE test method. For soil-sensing dishwashers, cleaning 26 This approach is analogous to the one used for clothes dryers, in which the DOE test procedure at appendix D2 defines a threshold dryness level for automatic cycle termination clothes dryers as a condition for the test cycle to be valid. Specifically, Section 3.3.2 of appendix D2 specifies that if the final moisture content after completion of the drying cycle is greater than 2 percent, the test shall be invalid and a new run shall be conducted using the highest dryness level setting.

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