### ISSUED: FEBRUARY 10, 2011

The following is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) guidance document that provides further
clarification on the definitions, test procedures, and product cla sses applicable to residential refrigeration products to aid manufacturers in determining whether a given basic model is covered by DOE’s regulations. This guidan ce document represents the Department’s
interpretation of its existing regulations and is exempt from the notice and comment
requirements of the Administrative Proce dure Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(A).

Q: What types of refrigerated wine storage pr oducts and/or hybrid wine storage products ( i.e.

, products combining wine storage, fresh food, a nd/or freezer compartments) are covered under DOE’s regulations?

A: For the purpose of this guidance, a wine stor age compartment is a compartment that is not
designed to be capable of storage temperature less than 39  ̊ F. At this time, wine storage
products, defined for these purposes as refriger ation products comprised exclusively of wine storage compartments, are not covered under DOE’s regulations. See 75 FR 78810 (December
16, 2010). DOE has received several inquiries abou t the applicability of DOE’s definitions to
hybrid products that combine wine storage compartments with fresh food and/or freezer compartments. Consequently, DOE is clarifying th rough this guidance that such hybrid products may fall within the current definitions of electric refrigerator 1 

### and electric refrigerator-freezer 2



### .

A wine storage compartment of any size added to what would otherwise be an electric refrigerator does not change the product’s status as an electric refrigerator and does not exempt it from coverage. The same outcome applies for any electric refrigerator-freezer -- i.e. adding a
wine cooler compartment to an electric refrigerator-freezer would not exempt that product’s

coverage as an electric refrigerator-freezer

.

However, products that include a wine storag e compartment but are otherwise freezers do not

meet the freezer 3 

### definition if the wine storage compartment comprises a majority of the total

1 Electric refrigerator means a cabinet designed for the refrigerated storage of food, designed to be capable of achieving storage temperatures above 32 °F (0 °C) and below 39 °F (3.9 °C), and having a source of refrigeration
requiring single phase, alternating current electric energy input only. An electric refrigerator may include a
compartment for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 32°F (0 °C), but does not provide a
separate low temperature compartment designed for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 8 °F (

‐ 13.3 °C). 10 CFR 430.2.

2 Electric refrigerator

‐ freezer means a cabinet which consists of two or more compartments with at least one of

the compartments designed for the refrigerated storage of food and designed to be capable of achieving storage

temperatures above 32 °F (0 °C) and below 39 °F (3.9 °C), and with at least one of the compartments designed for

the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 8 °F (

‐ 13.3 °C) which may be adjusted by the user to a
temperature of 0 °F (

‐ 17.8 °C) or below. The source of refrigeration requires single phase, alternating current

electric energy input only. 10 CFR 430.2.

3 Freezer means a cabinet designed as a unit for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures of 0 °F. or below,

and having a source of refrigeration requiring single phase, alternating current electric energy input only. 10 CFR

430.2.

### storage volume of that product. As an example, the product addressed by the Liebherr waiver that recently terminated, which had over 50% of its volume dedicated as a wine cooler, is not a freezer under the current regulatory definition. See 75 FR 78810, 78817 (Dec. 16, 2010).

DOE recognizes the potential disparity in treatment among these hybrid products. As DOE indicated earlier during its re lated rulemaking activities fo r refrigeration products, the
Department plans to engage in a future rulemaking to more comprehensively address these types of products. See 75 FR 29824, 29827 (May 27, 2010).

DOE notes that there are many different groups of wine storage, fresh food, and freezer
compartments that could be combined in a give n refrigeration product. The different types of compartments distinguished by the standards include the following:

• Freezer (“long-term”): a freezer compartment capable of 0  ̊ F storage temperature. These
compartments are typically found in refrigerator-freezers or freezers.

• Freezer (“short-term”): a freezer compartme nt larger than 0.5 cubic feet in volume
capable of storage temperatures less than 32  ̊ F but normally not less than 8  ̊ F. These
compartments are generally found in refrigerators other than all-refrigerators.

• Freezer (“ice only”): a freezer compartment of 0.5 cubic feet capacity or less capable of
storage temperatures less than 32  ̊ F but normally not less than 8  ̊ F. These compartments
may be found in all-refrigerators.

• Fresh food compartment: a compartment capable of storage temperatures less than 39  ̊ F,
generally not controllable to temperatures less than 32  ̊ F.

• “Wine storage” compartment: a compartment not capable of 39  ̊ F storage temperature
that provides warmer temperatures than 39  ̊ F. Generally such compartments are designed
for storage of wine.

While DOE has not defined all of these terms in its regulations, DOE understands they are commonly used within the refrigeration industry (see, for example, produc t definitions for basic refrigerator and all-refrigerator in AHAM HRF-1-2008, sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2) and is using
them to provide additional clarity in this gu idance document. In particular, these terms are helpful when mapping the basic models on the mark et today to DOE’s regulatory definitions and
product classes for determin ing scope of coverage.

Table 1 below shows several possible combinations of compartments that could be present in a refrigerated product. The table id entifies the product definitions that apply to each distinct
combination of compartments. For example, a product incorporating a “short term” freezer
compartment and a fresh food compartment (the fifth compartment combination identified
below) is a refrigerator other than an all-refrigerator.

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### Table 1: Product Definitions Applicable to Different Compartment Combinations in a

Product

Compartment Types

Freezer (“long term”) Freezer (“short term”) Freezer (“ice only”) Fresh

Food “Wine Storage”Product Types 

### COVERED PRODUCT COMBINATIONS All-Refrigerator 9

9 9

9 9

9 9 9 Refrigerator other

than an AllRefrigerator 9 9

9 9 9

RefrigeratorFreezer 9 9

9 9 9

Freezer 9

EXAMPLES OF CURRENTLY UNCOVERED PRODUCT

COMBINATIONS Wine Storage only 9 Wine Storage with “long term” freezer 9 9

Wine Storage with

“short term”

freezer 9 9

Note: All-refrigerators with “ice-only” freezer compartments may have just one such
compartment. DOE is not aware of the existence of such products with more than one “ice-only”
freezer compartment and has not made a determination of the pr oduct type definition applicable

for such a combination.

Some of the compartment combinations listed do not represent products that are covered under
the regulatory definitions for refrigeration produc ts. Three examples are set forth in the table above; namely, a product that has one or more wine storage comp artments and two products that have only wine storage and freezer compartments.

DOE emphasizes that the “wine storage” compartm ent description as disc ussed herein applies only to compartments that are not “designed to be capable of achieving storage temperatures
below 39 °F (3.9 °C)”. 10 CFR Part 430.2. Hence, a compartment configured for wine storage or identified as a wine storage compartment in marketing literature that achieves temperatures
below 39 °F (3.9 °C) is a fresh food compartment for the purposes of identifying the applicable
product definition and dete rmining scope of coverage with DOE’s regulations. In addition, a compartment that is designed to be a fresh food compartment, but does not reach 39 °F (3.9 °C)

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### or lower in an energy test in a 90  ̊ F ambient temperature with controls set to the coldest position
is still a fresh food compartment.

Q: How should covered refrigeration products that include wine storage compartments be

tested?

A: The current energy efficiency test procedures address testing for the different types of
products. Refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers are tested as set forth in 10 CFR 430, subpart B,
appendix A1, and freezers are tested as set fo rth in Appendix B1. Compartment temperature settings for the tests are as indicated in section 3.2 of the applicable appendix. If the wine storage compartment is a separate auxiliary compartment in such a product (i.e. access to it is through a
separate exterior door rather than through the door of another compartment ), it would be tested
with the standardized temperature of a fresh food compartment (45  ̊ F (7.2  ̊ C)). If testing of such
a product that meets the electric refrigerator or electric refrigerator-freezer definition is impossible or leads to test results that are inconsistent with a representative average use cycle because of the wine storage compartment’s inab ility to approach the standardized fresh food
compartment temperature of 45  ̊ F (7.2  ̊ C), manufacturers have the option of requesting test
procedure waivers. (See 10 CFR 430.27.) We not e that DOE recently issued general guidance

on waivers in the context of residential clothes washers. See http://www.gc.energy.gov/documents/LargeCapacityRCW_guidance_122210.pdf

.

Q: Which product classes apply to hybrid re frigeration products that include wine storage
compartments?

A: Energy conservation standards applicable to hybrid products including wine storage
compartments with fresh food and/or freezer compartments are determined based on the
applicable product classes as presented in 430.32 (a). In most cases, identification of the applicable product class will be clear based on the characteristics of a given basic model. For instance, a product including only fresh food and wine storage compartments is an allrefrigerator. If it is compact and has automatic de frost, it is product class 13; if it is compact and
has manual defrost, it is product class 11. (See 10 CFR 430.32(a).) If the manufacturer does not
believe there is a clear distinction as to which pr oduct class is applicable to a given basic model, manufacturers are encouraged to request additional clarification from DOE. DOE notes that all
basic models, including those with various comp artment types, which meet the definition of electric refrigerator, electric refrigerator-freezer, or freezer must be certified to the Department.

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