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[Federal Register: January 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 9)]
[Notices]               
[Page 2122-2124]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ja10-35]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

 
Additional Guidance Regarding Application of Current Procedures 
for Testing Energy Consumption of Refrigerator-Freezers With Automatic 
Ice Makers

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department of Energy's (DOE) 
guidance to ensure the consistent application of DOE's current test 
procedure to refrigerator-freezers with French doors, bottom-mounted 
freezers, and through-the-door (TTD) ice service (French door TTD 
models). This Guidance was issued on December 18, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stephanie Weiner at 202-586-9648.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 
1975, as amended, (EPCA or the Act) requires the Department of Energy 
(DOE or the Department) to prescribe standardized test procedures to 
measure the energy consumption of certain consumer products. See 42 
U.S.C. 6293, 6295(r). The Department's current test procedure for 
residential refrigerator-freezers is set forth at 10 CFR Part 430, 
Subpart B, Appendix A1, Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy 
Consumption of Electric Refrigerators and Electric Refrigerator-
Freezers (Appendix A1). DOE issues this guidance to ensure the 
consistent application of the current test procedure to refrigerator-
freezers with French doors, bottom-mounted freezers, and through-the-
door (TTD) ice service (French door TTD models).
    Appendix A1 requires products to be tested in accordance with the 
relevant sections of Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) 
standard HRF-1-1979 (HRF-1). See Appendix A1, section 2.2; 47 FR 34517 
(Aug. 10, 1982). HRF-1 specifies that ``automatic ice makers are to be 
inoperative during the test'' (``ice maker exclusion''). See HRF-1, 
section 7.4.2. HRF-1 defines ``automatic ice maker'' as ``[a] device, 
connected to a water supply, which automatically produces, harvests, 
and stores ice in a storage bin, with means to automatically interrupt 
the harvesting operation when the bin is filled to a predetermined 
amount.'' Id. at sec. 3.5.
    At the time when AHAM developed and DOE adopted HRF-1, 
refrigerator-freezer models equipped with automatic ice makers located 
the ice maker in the freezer compartments, rather than separate ice 
compartments outside the

[[Page 2123]]

freezer. Further, ice maker controls were generally electro-mechanical 
(i.e. the electrical switches in the controls that turn functions on 
and off are operated by mechanical action). Thus, since the test 
procedure was adopted, DOE has typically applied HRF-1's ice maker 
exclusion by raising the baler arm bar of an automatic ice maker into 
its upright locked position, which stops ice production during normal 
operation. More specifically, this action stops the harvesting 
functions--the process of freeing or removing ice pieces from the ice 
mold of an automatic ice maker. Preventing the removal of ice from the 
ice mold, in turn, stops the subsequent activation of solenoid valves 
that allow the flow of more water into the ice maker. This longstanding 
test procedure renders the ice maker inoperative without affecting any 
energy-using functions of the product beyond active ice making 
operations. It most accurately reflects the real-world energy use of 
these devices because it includes in the efficiency calculation the 
energy used whenever the ice maker is powered on (as it will be most, 
if not all, of the time in normal household use), while excluding from 
the efficiency calculation the additional energy used when the ice 
maker is operative--i.e., when it is actively making and harvesting 
ice. The additional energy that is used during these periods of active 
operation is excluded in recognition that these active ice making 
functions occur only intermittently--when the ice maker senses that the 
ice bin is not full.
    Over the last few years, several manufacturers have introduced 
French door refrigerator-freezer models with bottom-mounted freezers 
and TTD ice service, which are designed to permit ice to be produced, 
stored, and dispensed at a consumer-friendly height through the door. 
The ice compartment is typically a special insulated compartment 
located within the fresh food compartment or mounted on one of the 
fresh food compartment doors. As these French door TTD models grew in 
number, DOE became aware that design variations led to the use of ice 
making components, such as the fill tube heater and ice ejection 
heater, that may consume energy beyond that used when the ice maker is 
actively making and harvesting ice. As a result, in some designs, 
turning the ice maker and its components off results in the machine 
using significantly less energy than when the ice maker is on, but not 
making ice.
    In January 2009, DOE posted on its Web site a short statement on 
the application of this test procedure to refrigerator-freezers with 
automatic ice makers. See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=refrig.pr_refrigerators. That January statement made clear 
that an ice storage bin must be maintained at a temperature to prevent 
the ice from melting during testing. We also stated that under DOE's 
test procedure, energy consumed by components that interact with the 
ice maker, but are not involved in making ice, must be included in 
calculating a product's reported total energy use.
    We understand that, despite our consistent past practice and prior 
efforts to be clear, some manufacturers may have misapplied our test 
procedure with respect to ice making components in French door TTD 
models. DOE issues this guidance to eliminate any lingering 
inconsistency in the application of our procedure to these 
refrigerator-freezers. Specifically, we make clear our consistent view 
that, under the current test procedure, ice makers and all ice making 
components--including the fill tube heater and ice ejection heater--
must be on and functioning as they would be when the icemaker is not 
actively making ice. The ice maker and all ice making components--
including the fill tube heater and ice ejection heater--may be rendered 
``inoperative'' by preventing the machine from making ice during the 
test, such as by creating a condition in which the machine senses a 
full bin of ice. Turning the ice maker and/or its components off during 
the test is not permitted because it may improperly exclude energy 
beyond that used during the intermittent periods when the ice maker is 
operative--i.e., when it is actively making ice.
    This application of the ice maker exclusion to French door TTD 
models follows from the plain language and intent of our test 
procedure, comports with the purpose of the Act, and is consistent with 
nearly 30 years of DOE understanding and practice. As stated above, 
HRF-1 specifies that ``automatic ice makers are to be inoperative 
during the test.'' See HRF-1, section 7.4.2. DOE interprets 
``inoperative'' by reference to the definition of an automatic ice 
maker. HRF-1 defines ``automatic ice maker'' as ``[a] device, connected 
to a water supply, which automatically produces, harvests, and stores 
ice in a storage bin, with means to automatically interrupt the 
harvesting operation when the bin is filled to a predetermined 
amount.'' Id. at sec. 3.5 (emphasis added). Thus, an ice maker is 
``inoperative'' when the ice maker has ``interrupt[ed] the harvesting 
operation,'' such as when the unit senses that ``the bin is filled to a 
predetermined amount.'' As described above, such an action prevents the 
machine from making ice, by stopping the harvesting of ice, which in 
turn stops the production of additional ice, without affecting the 
energy consumed by other refrigerator-freezer functions.
    Our application is also informed by EPCA's underlying purpose of 
advancing energy efficiency. 42 U.S.C. 6201(5). In authorizing DOE to 
promulgate test procedures, the Act provides that ``[a]ny test 
procedures prescribed or amended under this section shall be reasonably 
designed to produce test results which measure energy efficiency * * * 
of a covered product during a representative average use cycle or 
period of use.'' 42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3). Guided by this provision, we 
apply our test procedures, to the extent possible, to reflect the 
energy consumed during representative consumer use. In our view, 
keeping the ice maker and its associated components on, but preventing 
them from making ice, better represents the average use of a 
refrigerator-freezer, such as when the machine has a full bin of ice in 
a consumer's home. Turning off either the ice maker or components 
associated with the ice maker, by contrast, does not represent the 
average use of a refrigerator-freezer, and may cause the machine to 
consume less energy than when the ice maker is on, but not making ice.
    Finally, we emphasize that--far from a change to our existing 
view--this clarification of DOE's interpretation of HRF-1 is consistent 
with DOE's longstanding practice with respect to the ice maker 
exclusion. DOE has never interpreted the ice maker exclusion in our 
current test procedure to allow manufacturers to turn the ice maker or 
its components off. Rather, as described above, since this test 
procedure was adopted over twenty-seven years ago, DOE has applied the 
ice maker exclusion with the view that the ice maker should be on but 
prevented from making ice. Indeed, the advent of French door TTD models 
reinforces the importance of DOE's pre-existing approach, which ensures 
that the exclusion is narrowly targeted to exempt only active ice 
making energy from a product's total energy consumption.
    This guidance, which reflects nearly 30 years of Department 
practice, represents the Department's interpretation of the existing 
test procedure. It is not intended to create or remove any rights or 
duties, nor is it intended to affect any other aspect of EPCA or DOE 
regulations. This guidance was originally issued on December 18, 2009, 
at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/[[Page 2124]]appliance_standards/residential/pdfs/rf_test_procedure_addl_guidance.pdf.

    Dated: January 8, 2010.
Scott Blake Harris,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-570 Filed 1-13-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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