### In the Matter of: SANYO E&E Corp., Petitioner**BF~FORE** 

### THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

### Washington, D.C. 20585 ) ) ) ) ) Case Number:

PETITION FOR WAIVER
SANYO E&E Corporation CSANYO E&E '") respectfully submits this Petition for Waiver ("Petition") pursuant to 

### 10 C.F.R. § 430.27 on the ground that its hybrid w ine chiller /beverage center models ("hybrid model(sr) listed below contain one or more design characteristics that prevent testing ofthe basic models according to the test procedures prescribed in 10 C.F.R. 

### § 430, subpm1 B , appendix AI

. Sanyo therefore requests that it be permitted to employ the altcrnative testing method detailed below , as it is currently impo ssible to test thcse hybrid modcls under the existing tcst procedures. 1. Description of Applicant
SANYO E&1:: is part of an international organization with many subsidiaries and affiliates, including in the United States. Further intormation can be found at http:// wwvv.sanyo. col.ll. SANYO E&E "s core traditional business has been the production of compact and mid-size rcfi'igerators , freezers , wine storage appliances and other**consum~rand** commercial refrigeration products. SANYO E&E , which is headquartered in San Diego , California, has been designing and selling these consumer and commercial refrigeration products since 1979. FUl1her, SANYO E&E produces products sold not only under the SANYO brand name, but also under multiple other brand names and which are sold in the United States by SANYO E&E"s customers. 2. Background and General Information SANYO E&E is requesting a waiver with respect to the test procedures for its hybrid models that consist of a combination of a refrigerated "beverage" eompmiment in the top portion ofthese single-cabinet units and a wine storage compartment on the bottom ofthe units , and for which an alternative testing procedure is necessary in order to certify, rate, and sell such models. These hybrid models include the following basic models: JUB248LB , JUB248RB, JUB248LW , JUB248RW , KBC024LS, KBCS24LS , KBC024RS , KBCS24RS, and MBCM24FW.
SANYO E&E understands that DOE does not wish to prevent manufacturers from marketing new, innovative products that will enhance consumers ' well being and satisfaction

. The market for wine storage products and related hybrid models has seen robust growth over the last few years and is expected to continue expanding for the foreseeable future. Therefore, there is a significant demand and need for these hybrid models. As discussed below, however, because oftheir unique design characteristics and temperature specifications, there is no way tocertify, rate, and sell these hybrid models under the existing testing procedures, and a waiver is thus necessary. DOE has now cl arified that it considers such hybrid models as covered products. Currently, however, there are no DOE testing procedures specifically tailored to hybrid models. Accordingly, the current testing requirements would not measure energy usage in a manner that truly represents the energy-consumption characteristics ofthese unique products, and, in fact, as described below , it would be impossible to test these models under the existing testing procedures

. As DOE has previously stated, " [[Jully recognizing that product development occurs faster than the test procedure rulemaking process, the Depatiment's rules permit manufacturers of models not contemplated by the test procedures

.. . to petition f()r a test procedure waiver in order to certify, rate, and sell such models

." GC Enforcement Guidance on the Application of Waivers and on the Wai ver Process at 2 (reI. Dec. 23, 2(10);1 

### see also DOE FAQ Guidance Regarding Coverage ofWine Chillers , Etc. in the R/F Standard/Test Procedure at 2 (reI. Feb

. 10, 2011) (" DOE recognizes the potential disparity in treatment among these hybrid products. As DOF indicated

... , the Department plans to engage in a future rulemaking to more comprehensively address these types ofproducts

." ). Accordingly , SA NYO E&E respectfully rcquests a waiver from the test proccdures prcscribed in 10 C.F.R

.**~** 430, subpart B, appendix A I until such time as DOE issues test procedures tailored to the unique product characteristics ofthese hybrid models, as discussed below.
3. Product Characteristics of SANYO E&E Hybrid Models As noted abovc, SANYO E&E's hybrid models consist of a combination of a rcfrigcrated "beverage" compartment in the top pOliion ofthese single-cabinet units and a wine storage compatiment on the bottom ofthe units. Wine connoisseurs recommend an avcrage of 55

-57 OF for the long term storage of any kind of wine, and SANYO E&E has designed the wine storage compartments ofits hybrid models with this ideal average temperature in mind

. But because various types ofwines have different ideal drinking temperatures (e.g.

. some red wines are best served in the mid

-sixties , while some white wines are ideally served in the mid-fOliies) , SANYO F&E has designed the wine storage compartments ofits hybrid models to operate between a minimum temperature of45 OF and a maximum temperature of 64 °F. In fact, heaters are used to ensure that the temperature in the wine storage compartment never drops below 45 OF, as wines chilled below this temperature risk becoming crystallized and, therefore, ruined

. Currently, however, DOE's testing procedures contained in 10 C.F.R

.**~** 430, subpati B, appendix A I , mandate that energy consumption be measured when the compartment temperature is set at 38 OF

. Based on the design characteristics ofits hybrid models noted above, however, SANYO E&E would need a waiver in order to properly " cetiify, rate, and sell such models ," because the existing test procedures contained in 1 0 C.F.R. § 430, subpart B , appendix AI , do not contemplate a product that is designed to be incapable ofachieving a temperature below 45 OF. In short, testing SANYO E&E's hybrid models at 38 

### OF is simply not possible and not representative ofthe energy consumption characteristics ofthese models.

Available at http ://www.gc .energy.gov/documents/LargeCapacityRCW**guidance ~**  12221 O

.pdf. 2Further, the hybrid models will typically have a door

-opening usage aligned with household freezers , thus 0.85 is the employed K factor (correction factor). See Appendix B 1 to Subpart 430, 5.2 .1 .1, because Subpart 430 does not recognize wine chiller as a category. Thus, the 

### K factor from CAN/CSA 300-08 6.3.1.2 and HRF-1-2007 8.7.2.1.1 is used. SANYO E&E's hybrid models listed above cUlTently cannot be tested under the existing regulations, without a waiver as sought herein. To evaluate the models in a manner truly representative oftheir actual energy consumption characteristics, the standard temperature of single wine coolers (55 OF) for the wine storage compartment and the standard temperature (38 OF) for the refrigerated beverage compartment should be used. Therefore, the energy consumption is defined by the higher ofthe two values calculated by the following two formulas (according to 10 C.F.R.**~** 430, subpart B, Appendix AI): 

### Energy consumption of the wine compartment: EWine --e BTl 

### -+ [(ET2-ETI) x (55 °F

-TWI) / (TW2

--TWI)] *0.85 

### Energy consumption of the refrigerated beverage 

### compartment: EBeverage Compartment= ET I 

### + [(ET2-ET 

### 1) x (38 °F

-TBC 

### 1) / (TBC2

- TBC 

### 1 )]. The total adjusted volume ofbasic model MBCM24rw is 5.75 cubic feet. Usi ng the standard temperature of 55 

### OF for the wine compartment the annual energy use ofthe model is 436 kWh/year. According to current DOE standards , this model is classified as a compact refrigerator with automatic defrost without through-the-door ice service

. The total adjusted volume ofbasic models JUB248LB, JUB248RB, JUB248LW , JUB248RW, KBC024LS, KBCS24LS, KBC024RS, KBCS24RS is 5.41 cubic feet. Using the standard temperature of 55 OF for the wine compartment the annual energy use ofthe model is thus 431 kWh/year. According to current DOE standards, these models are also classified as compact refrigerators with automatic defrost without through-the-door ice service

. 

### 4. Manufacturers of Other Basic Models Marketed in the United States 

### Known to Incorporate Similar Design Characteristics After reviewing publicly available product manuals ofcomparable hybrid models, SANYOE E&E was unable to locate a basic model marketed in the United States that incorporates similar design characteristics and that also would be considered a "covered product" under Section 430.62 of DOE ' s rules. 2

SANYO E&E cannot guarantee that its search disclosed every possible competing model , as SANYO E&F ordinarily does not search for and retain this information in the nonnal course ofbusiness, but to the best of SANYO E&E's knowledge, certain GE hybrid models appear to be the closest substitutes to SANYO E&E ' s hybrid models in terms of both functionality and design characteristics. However, GF represents in its product manuals that its hybrid models , specifically, ZDBC240 , ZDBT240 , ZDBR240 , and ZDBI240 , do not achieve temperatures below 40 OF and thus would not be considered a covered product under DOE regulations. SANYO 1::&1:: is uncertain ifGE 

### 3If DOE requires any additional infOlmation to properly consider this Petition for Waiver, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Respectfully submitted,

# .-**~** Kenji Maru President SANYO E&E Corp

.

# u_**ad/7r~** I\lan G. Fishel I\dam D. Bowser I\RINT Fox LLP 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036-5369 (202) 857-6450 Ii shd.aI an**~~are n** tfox. com bowser.adam @arentfox. colll

means that the average temperature of the entire cabinet does not drop below 40 "F, which is the case with all SANYO E&E's hybrid models, or whether GE is representing that no portion of its single-cabinet models can achieve temperatures below 40 of. Based on this uncertainty, SANYO E&E excluded Gf::: from this section. SANYO E&E's research did not reveal any other basic models that, after review of the design characteristics, were comparable to SANYO E&E's hybrid models.
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