Energy Corrects Consumer Product/Industrial Equipment Rule on Certification, Etc.

Covers Lamps/Bulbs, Refrigerators, Ovens, Faucets, Vending Machines, Etc.

Numerous products are covered by the March 2011 final rule including general service fluorescent lamps, general service incandescent lamps, residential and commercial refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers and freezers, room air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, direct heating equipment, conventional cooking tops and ovens, microwave ovens, pool heaters, faucets, showerheads, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, battery chargers, commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment, traffic signal modules and pedestrian modules, refrigerated beverage vending machines, etc. (See March 2011 final rule for complete list.)

March Rule Requires Mnfr/Importer Certification Report, Changes Enforcement Testing, Etc.

DOE has explained that its March 2011 final rule was meant to allow it to more systematically enforce applicable energy and water conservation standards for covered products and equipment and to provide for more accurate, comprehensive information about the energy and water use characteristics of products sold in the U.S. through:

Annual mfr/importer certification report & statement. The rule requires each manufacturer (includes importer), before distributing in commerce any basic model of a covered product or covered equipment subject to an applicable energy conservation standard set forth in 10 CFR Parts 430 or 431, and annually thereafter to submit a certification report to DOE certifying that each basic model meets the applicable energy conservation standard(s). This report must include a compliance statement certifying that the model complies with applicable energy conservation standards, all required testing has been conducted in conformance with applicable test procedures, include the date and name of company official signing the statement, etc.

DOE sources confirm that this requirement affects importers and that each importer must certify compliance through a certification report and compliance statement. While an importer can have a third party submit that report on its behalf after completing a third-party authorization form, the importer remains responsible for ensuring that its products are certified and are compliant. The sources add that DOE will soon post new templates to its Compliance and Certification Management System (CCMS) webpage that will make this process easier for importers.

Improving DOE enforcement testing. The final rule also made the following three revisions to improve the effectiveness of its approach to enforcement testing: (i) removed a regulatory provision that required DOE to receive a written complaint alleging a violation of the standard before it could perform enforcement testing to determine a model’s compliance; (ii) allows DOE to select units for enforcement testing from retail, distribution, or manufacturer sources, depending on the circumstances; and (iii) adopts an alternative approach to enforcement testing for low-volume, custom built products where adequate lab facilities are unavailable.

Reorganizing regulations. The final rule moved all of the previous certification, compliance, and enforcement regulations scattered throughout 10 CFR Parts 430 and 431 into a new Part 429. It consolidated the general requirements into Subpart A of the new Part 429 and consolidated all certification requirements into Subpart B, with the creation of product-specific sections for sampling plans and certification requirements.

Effective dates. See the final rule for varying effective dates depending on the section of the regulatory text. The effective dates range from April 6, 2011, to July 5, 2011 to November 28, 2011.

Technical Corrections Needed, Text Added to Refrigerator Test Method

DOE has made several technical corrections to the March 2011 final rule. The most significant correction is the addition of several paragraphs to Appendix A1 to Subpart B of Part 430, which is on the uniform test method for measuring the energy consumption of electric refrigerators and electric refrigerator freezers. DOE states that it inadvertently deleted the test method language for these refrigerators from the March final rule.

In addition, DOE incorrectly referred to “Appendix D” instead of “Appendix A” when describing the terms in the sampling plan for numerous products. DOE is also correcting the paragraph on pg. 12453 of the March rule which describes the annual certification report that must be submitted in order to revise cites to incorrect paragraphs in the text.

(Note that in a January 2010 final rule, DOE subjected additional commercial and industrial equipment as well as certain consumer products to its certification, compliance and enforcement procedures including, dehumidifiers, medium base compact fluorescent lamps, torchieres, unit heaters, automatic commercial ice makers, commercial pre-rinse spray valves, traffic and pedestrian signal modules, distribution transformers, certain commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator freezers, etc.

The rule also adopted certain sampling requirements to address the number of units of each basic model a manufacturer must test as the basis for rating the model and determining whether it complies with the applicable energy conservation standard. It also included an amendment about information that manufacturers of these products must include in certification reports. January 2010 final rule is available here.)

March 2011 final rule (FR Pub 03/07/11) available here.

(FR Pub 05/02/11, D/N EERE--2010--BT--CE--0014)