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Schedule Setting for the Appliance Standards Rulemaking Process



Appliance Standards Schedule

On January 31, 2006, the Department of Energy released a schedule for setting new appliance efficiency standards that will save American consumers billions of dollars in energy costs. The five-year plan outlines how DOE will address the appliance standards rulemaking backlog and meet all of the statutory requirements established in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005).

Statutes require DOE to set appliance efficiency standards at levels that achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that is technologically feasible and economically justified. Standards already in place for residential products are expected to save consumers nearly $93 billion, by 2020, and to save enough energy to operate all U.S. homes for approximately two years.

The five-year plan, which was developed considering the recent public comments received on appliance rulemaking, provides for the issuance of one rulemaking for each of the 18 products in the backlog. The plan also provides for setting appliance standards for products required under EPACT 2005. The Department is aggressively implementing process improvements to speed up the development and issuing of appliance standards rulemakings.

The schedule also provides for issuance of a number of on-going test procedures and new test procedures required by EPACT 2005.

Five-Year Schedule for Issuance of Appliance Rulemakings
Rule Type: Test Procedure (TP); Determination Analysis (DA); Standards (S)
Product Category Rule Type Product(s) EPACT 2005, Backlog, Other Final Action Date
Heating S
  • Furnaces and Boilers (Residential) including Mobile Home and Small Furnaces
Backlog 9/2007
  • Water Heaters (Residential)
  • Direct Heating Equipment
  • Pool Heaters
Backlog
Backlog
Backlog
3/2010
Transformers and Motors DA
  • Small Electric Motors
Backlog 6/2006
S
  • Distribution Transformers, MV Dry-Type and Liquid-Immersed
Backlog 9/2007
  • Electric Motors, 1-200 HP
Backlog 6/2011
TP
  • Distribution Transformers
Backlog 4/2006
Lighting DA
  • High-Intensity Discharge Lamps
Backlog 6/2010
S
  • Ceiling Fan Light Kits (other than those with prescribed standards)
EPACT 2005 1/2007
  • Incandescent Reflector Lamps
  • Fluorescent Lamps
  • Incandescent General Service Lamps
Backlog
Backlog
Backlog
6/2009
  • Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts
Backlog 6/2011
Home Appliances S
  • Dishwashers (Residential)
  • Ranges and Ovens (Electric and Gas) and Microwave Ovens
  • Dehumidifiers (Residential)
  • Clothes Washers (Commercial)
Backlog
Backlog

EPACT 2005
EPACT 2005
3/2009
  • Clothes Dryers (Residential)
  • Room Air Conditioners
Backlog
Backlog
6/2011
Space Cooling S
  • Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps
Backlog 9/2008
  • Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps (Residential)
Backlog 6/2011
TP
  • Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps (Residential)
Other 9/2007
Commercial Refrigeration S
  • Refrigerated Bottle or Canned Beverage Vending Machines
EPACT 2005 8/2009
  • Ice-Cream Freezers, Self-Contained Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers without Doors, and Remote-Condensing Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers and Refrigerator-Freezers (initial)
EPACT 2005 1/2009
TP
  • Ice-Cream Freezers, Self-Contained Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers without Doors, and Remote-Condensing Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers and Refrigerator-Freezers
EPACT 2005 1/2008
Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies DA
  • Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies
EPACT 2005 8/2008
S
  • Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies (Contingent on Determination)
EPACT 2005 8/2011
TP
  • Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies
EPACT 2005 2/2007
Other EPACT 2005 TP
  • 11 Test Procedures Prescribed by EPACT 2005
EPACT 2005 11/2006

The overall plan for implementing the schedule is contained in the Report to Congress, which was released January 31, 2006. The report is posted below as a PDF file. Section 141 of EPACT pertains to the Department's failure to meet deadlines for new or amended energy conservation standards. The report identifies all products for which DOE has missed the deadlines established in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) (42 U.S.C. § 6291. et seq., as amended). It also describes the reasons for such delays and the Secretary's plan for expeditiously prescribing new or amended standards. Section 141 requires both an initial report and semi-annual implementation reports.

  • Updated Report to Congress on Appliance Energy Efficiency Rulemakings entitled "Implementation Report: Energy Conservation Standards Activities" dated August 2006
  • Report to Congress on Appliance Energy Efficiency RulemakingsMeeting on Appliance Standards Scheduling

The Department of Energy held a public meeting on November 15, 2005, in Washington, D.C., to discuss appliance standards scheduling issues. The Department received comments on the desire to bring all appliance rulemaking activities into compliance with the applicable statutory requirements. The Department based its standards scheduling plan on consideration of comments received during and following the public meeting.

Further information on that meeting is shown below. Analytical updates or revisions to last year's data sheets and spreadsheets are specified as 2006 analyses where applicable.

Schedule Setting Documents

  • Preliminary Agenda for the November 15, 2005 meeting.

  • The Department issued a statement on November 15, 2005, that it will release, no later than January 31, 2006, schedules to complete all affected rulemakings.
  • The Federal Register Notice published on October 24, 2005, contains more details about the public meeting and how to provide comments.

  • DOE Appliances & Commercial Equipment Standards Program—Rulemaking Activities contains a list of rulemakings with any specified statutory cycle deadlines.

  • 2006 Draft Rulemaking Activities Data Sheets contain last year's data sheets with some 2006 updates. Revised data sheets are labeled "revised for 2006".

  • 2006 Rulemaking Spreadsheets contains Excel spreadsheets for 17 products, including two new spreadsheets for commercial refrigeration, and ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits. This spreadsheet contains calculations for potential energy savings.

  • DRAFT TECHNICAL REPORT: Analysis of Amended Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Refrigerator-Freezers, October, 2005. This additional analysis was prepared in response to a petition by stakeholders to amend the standards.

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