1 

## Public Meeting for Test Procedures for Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies May 7, 2010

— Washington, D.C.

Issues for Stakeholder Comment
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a NOPR for Test Procedures for Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies, 75 FR 16958 (April 2, 2010). While DOE invites comments from interested parties on all aspects of the material presented in the NOPR , there are several issues in particular on which DOE seeks comment. These are specifically requested in the NOPR and are flagged in issues boxes in the associated public meeting presentation.

The list of issues both from the NOPR and to be presented i n today’s public meeting presentation is reproduced below, grouped according to their appearance in the NOPR.

**1. BC Active Mode Test Procedure** 

**Item 1** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the proposed approach for testing BCs in active mode, in particular the adoption and modification of the CEC test procedure.

Scope

**Item 2** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the proposed limitation of scope of the test procedure to encompass BCs with DC or U.S. line voltage AC input

.

**Item 3** DOE seeks comment on including BCs for golf carts and other consumer motive equipment batteries in a single test procedure based on part 1 of the CEC BC test procedure

.

Definitions

**Item 4** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the adoption of new definitions, in particular any deviation f rom those currently in the CEC test procedure.**Issues for Comment**

2 Test Apparatus and General Instructions

**Item 5** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the proposed modifications to section II of the CEC test procedure intended to ease testing burden, and in particular, recommendations on which charge rates are most representative of typical use.

**Item 6** DOE s eeks comment from interested parties on the batteries that are typically used with BCs that are packaged with multiple batteries or packaged without batteries (e.g., AA and AAA and 12 volt lead

- acid chargers) as well as the testing burdens

associated with testing such chargers multiple times under the battery selection method currently in the CEC test procedure.

**Item 7** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the categorization of non

- battery charging functions and its intention not to make allowances for energy consumption due to additional functionality.

**Item 8** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the pro posed revision to section II.G of the CEC test procedure to explicitly lay out the iterative steps required to measure battery capacity when none is provided.

Test Measurement

**Item 9** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the proposal to strike the inactive mode energy consumption measurement from section 4(a) of appendix Y.

**Item 10** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the optional method of shortening the charge and ma intenance mode test period in the proposed active mode amendment to the BC test procedure, in particular its impacts on testing burden and the accuracy and repeatability of the measurement.

**Item 11** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the proposed reversal of the CEC test procedure order, resulting in: The battery being (1) conditioned (if necessary); (2) charged until full by the BC under test, in preparation for the measurement; (3)

dischar ged; and (4) recharged by the BC under test. The discharge energy in step (3) and the input power to the BC in step (4), above, would be measured.

**Item 12** DOE seeks comment from interested parties on the end

- of

- discharge voltages for the nanophosphate lithium

- ion and silver

- zinc chemistries that are proposed for inclusion in Table 5.2 in appendix Y.

**2. BC and EPS Standby and Off Mode Test Procedures** 

**Item 13** DOE also invites comment on the proposed test method for measuring standby**Issues for Comment**

3 mode and off mode energy consumption for EPSs, including whether the duration of the measurement is sufficiently long.

**3. Single** 

**- Voltage EPS Active Mode Test Procedure** 

**Item 14** DOE seeks comment on the possible modification of the single

- voltage EPS test procedure to accommodate EPSs that must communicate with their loads; in particular the prevalence of such EPSs, the need to amend the test procedure to accommodate them, and suggestions on amendments.

**Item 15** DOE seeks comment on the possible further modification of the single voltage EPS test procedure to accommodate EPSs with output current limiting and high output

power.

**4. Multiple** 

**- Voltage EPS Active Mode Test Proce**  **dure**

**Item 16** DOE seeks comments on all issues pertaining to testing of multiple

- voltage EPSs. In particular, DOE invites comments on reporting 5 separate loading conditions (no

- load, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent of nameplate output current) without averaging the results. Additionally, DOE seeks comment on how it should weigh these measurements in an energy conservation standards rulemaking for multiple

- voltage EPSs.