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This is a draft document and does not represent a definitive view of the agency on the questions 

addressed.

This and other guidance documents are accessible on the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency 

& Renewable Energy web site at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/guidance/default.aspx?pid=2&spid=1.

Guidance Type: Certification and CCMS, Test Procedures, Conservation Standards, Enforcement

Category: Residential Products

Product: Refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers

Guidance Version: DRAFT

Issued: November 13, 3013

The following is a draft U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) guidance document 

regarding the test procedure for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers (refrigeration 

products). This draft guidance document represents the Department’s interpretation of its existing 

regulations and is exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure 

Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(A). Nonetheless, the Department is accepting comments and suggestions from 

the public until December 13, 2013. Comments and suggestions should be provided in WordPerfect, 

Microsoft Word, PDF, or text file format by sending an email to

KitableResRefrigFreezer2013GUID0046@ee.doe.gov. Please also include the docket number EERE-2013-

BT-GUID-0046. At the end of the comment period, this draft guidance document may be adopted, 

revised, or withdrawn.

Q: Some refrigerator and freezer models leave the manufacturer’s warehouse without an icemaker, but 

are designed such that an icemaker could be installed at a later point in the distribution chain or by the 

user. How should these models, which are commonly referred to as “kitable” or “icemaker ready” 

models, be tested and certified to DOE, and how should model numbers be assigned to them?

A: Based on descriptions provided to the Department by manufacturers and the industry trade 

association, DOE understands that these refrigerator or freezer models are currently marketed in three 

possible ways: 1) without an automatic icemaker; 2) with an automatic icemaker; or 3) without an

automatic icemaker but as a product that is capable of having an icemaker installed after it leaves the 

factory (e.g., “icemaker ready”). DOE is clarifying that each configuration that a manufacturer offers for 

sale (e.g., by advertising the refrigerator-freezer on its website) must be tested and subsequently 

certified in accordance with DOE’s regulations. Consequently:

If the manufacturer elects to offer for sale a configuration that does not have icemaking 

capability, it must be tested and certified as a non-icemaker model (e.g., product class 3, 5, 

or 7). 

If the manufacturer elects to offer for sale a configuration that includes an icemaker, it must be 

tested and certified as an icemaker model (e.g., product class 3I, 5I, or 7I). 

If the manufacturer elects to offer for sale a model for use in two configurations (e.g., by 

advertising it as a product that does not have an icemaker, but is capable of having an icemaker 
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installed as an optional feature (i.e., icemaker ready)), that model must be addressed and 

treated as two separate basic models (e.g., product classes 3 and 3I). In such a case, the 

manufacturer may assign the same individual model number for both configurations, but must 

use separate and distinguishable basic model numbers in its DOE certification for the nonicemaker and icemaker versions. In this situation, a manufacturer need not conduct the 

laboratory portion of the required DOE test procedure twice (for each tested unit) before 

certifying compliance for each of the two basic models. (For example, a manufacturer could 

conduct the laboratory portion of the required test procedure on the minimum two-unit sample

required under 10 CFR Part 429 in the non-icemaker configuration and then complete the 

calculations portion of the test procedure for both the non-icemaker and the icemaker basic 

models based on those laboratory results.)

This clarification applies to products tested using both Appendix A and Appendix B, which will become 

mandatory starting on September 15, 2014.