2830 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2010–BT–TP–0026] 

RIN 1904–AC29 

Energy Conservation Program: Test 

Procedure for Television Sets 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) proposes to establish a 

new test procedure for television sets 

(TVs). DOE repealed the prior Federal 

test procedure for TVs on October 20, 

2009, due to petitions from the 

California Energy Commission (CEC) 

and the Consumer Electronics 

Association (CEA). CEC and CEA 

petitioned for the repeal in light of the 

June 13, 2009, Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) transition from 

analog to digital broadcast transmissions 

for TVs. In their petitions, the CEC 

requested repeal of the regulatory 

provisions establishing the test 

procedure and defining ‘‘television set,’’ 

and the CEA petitioned for DOE’s 

adoption of the International 

Electrochemical Commission’s (IEC’s) 

test procedure IEC Standard 62087– 

2008, ‘‘Methods of measurement for the 

power consumption of audio, video and 

related equipment.’’ DOE is proposing a 

new test procedure for TVs that was 

developed from existing industry test 

procedures including those by IEC, 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), and CEA. Additionally, DOE will 

hold a public meeting to receive and 

discuss comments on the proposal. 

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting 

on a date that is to be determined, from 

9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Washington, DC. 

Once a public meeting date is selected, 

that date can be found at: http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

tv_sets.html. The meeting will also be 

broadcast as a webinar. See section V, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ for webinar 

registration information, participant 

instructions, and information about the 

capabilities available to webinar 

participants. 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

information regarding this notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NOPR) before and 

after the public meeting, but no later 

than April 3, 2012. See section V, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ for details. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. To 

attend, please notify Ms. Brenda 

Edwards at (202) 586–2945. Please note 

that foreign nationals visiting DOE 

Headquarters are subject to advance 

security screening procedures. Any 

foreign national wishing to participate 

in the meeting should advise DOE as 

soon as possible by contacting Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 to 

initiate the necessary procedures. 

Any comments submitted must 

identify the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NOPR) for the TV Test 

Procedure, and provide docket number 

EERE–2010–BT–TP–0026 and/or 

regulatory information number (RIN) 

number 1904–AC29. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: Televisions-2010-TP0026@ee.doe.gov. Include the docket 

number EERE–2010–BT–TP–0026 and/ 

or RIN 1904–AC29 in the subject line of 

the message. 

3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

CD. It is not necessary to include 

printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. If possible, please 

submit all items on a CD. It is not 

necessary to include printed copies. 

For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see section V, ‘‘Public Participation,’’ of 

this document. 

Docket: The docket is available for 

review at regulations.gov, including 

Federal Register notices, framework 

documents, public meeting attendee 

lists and transcripts, comments, and 

other supporting documents/materials. 

All documents in the docket are listed 

in the www.regulations.gov index. 

However, not all documents listed in 

the index may be publicly available, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure. 

A link to the docket web page may be 

found at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ 

buildings/appliance_standards/ 

residential/tv_sets.html. This Web page 

will contain a link to the docket for this 

notice on the regulations.gov site. The 

regulations.gov Web page will contain 

simple instructions on how to access all 

documents, including public comments, 

in the docket. See section V for 

information on how to submit 

comments through regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Victor Petrolati, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–2192. Email: 

Victor.Petrolati@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Celia Sher, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 287–6122. Email: 

Celia.Sher@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Authority and Background 

A. General 

B. Test Procedure Rulemaking Process 

C. Rulemaking Background 

II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

III. Discussion 

A. Effective Date and Compliance Date of 

Test Procedure 

B. Existing Television Test Procedures 

C. Scope 

1. Products Covered by This Rulemaking 

2. Definition of Television Sets 

3. Other Definitions 

a. Definitions Incorporated From IEC 

62087–2011 

b. Definitions Incorporated From ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 

c. New Definitions for Incorporation 

D. Testing Conditions and Instrumentation 

1. Accuracy and Precision of Measurement 

Equipment 

a. Power Supply 

b. Power Meter 

c. Light Measurement Devices 

2. Test Room and Set-Up Criteria 

a. Dark Room Conditions 

b. Ambient Temperature and Humidity 

c. Signal Source and Generation 

E. Test Measurements 

1. Picture Settings To Test 

2. Testing Order 

3. Luminance 

a. Warm-Up and Stabilization 

b. Method for Testing Luminance 

c. Video Signals 

d. Number of Luminance Measurements 

e. Measurement Distances and Angles for 

Luminance Testing 

4. On Mode 

a. IEC 62087–2011 Dynamic BroadcastContent Video Signal 

b. Testing of Television Sets Shipped With 

Automatic Brightness Control Enabled 

c. Television Sets Shipped Without 

Automatic Brightness Control Enabled 

d. Three Dimensional Display Testing 

5. Standby and Off Modes 

a. Additional Functions 

b. Power Saving Technologies 

c. Standby Modes 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2831 

1Energy Conservation Program: Repeal of Test 

Procedures for Televisions. 74 FR 53640 http://

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_

standards/pdfs/74fr53640.pdf. 

2 Digital transition mandated by Public Safety Act 

of 2005 http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/

digitaltv.html. 

3Chamberlain, William M., ‘‘Petition of the 

California Energy Commission to Repeal the Test 

Method for Television Sets in 10 CFR. Part 430 

Subpart B.’’ May 23, 2008. http://

www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/2008rulemaking/

documents/2008-05-15_workshop/other/Petition_Of

_The_CEC_To_Repeal_The_Test_Method_For_

Television_Sets_In_10_CFR_Part_430_Subpart_

B.pdf. 

4When the RFI was published, the most current 

version of EPA’s test procedure was ENERGY STAR 

v. 4.1 and the most recent version of the IEC–62087 

was 2008. Since then, EPA has published an 

updated version, ‘‘ENERGY STAR Program 

Continued 

d. Off Mode 

6. Energy Efficiency Metric(s) for 

Televisions 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act 

C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 

H. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

J. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

K. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

L. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

V. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 

B. Procedure for Submitting Prepared 

General Statements for Distribution 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

D. Submission of Comments 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

VI. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Authority and Background 

A. General 

Title III of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291, et 

seq.; ‘‘EPCA’’ or, ‘‘the Act’’) sets forth a 

variety of provisions designed to 

improve energy efficiency. (All 

references to EPCA refer to the statute 

as amended through the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007 

(EISA 2007), Public Law 110–140 (Dec. 

19, 2007)). Part B of Title III (42 U.S.C. 

6291–6309), which was subsequently 

redesignated as Part A for editorial 

reasons, establishes the ‘‘Energy 

Conservation Program for Consumer 

Products Other Than Automobiles.’’ 

This includes television sets (TVs), the 

subject of this notice. (42 U.S.C. 

6292(a)(12)) 

Under EPCA, this program consists 

essentially of three parts: (1) Testing, (2) 

labeling, and (3) Federal energy 

conservation standards. The testing 

requirements consist of test procedures 

that manufacturers of covered products 

must use (1) as the basis for certifying 

to DOE that their products comply with 

the applicable energy conservation 

standards adopted under EPCA, and (2) 

for making representations about the 

efficiency of those products. Similarly, 

DOE must use these test requirements to 

determine whether the products comply 

with any relevant standards 

promulgated under EPCA. 

B. Test Procedure Rulemaking Process 

In 42 U.S.C. 6293, EPCA sets forth the 

criteria and procedures DOE must 

follow when prescribing or amending 

test procedures for covered products. 

Specifically, if DOE determines that a 

test procedure should be prescribed or 

amended, it must publish the proposed 

test procedure in the Federal Register 

and give interested parties an 

opportunity to provide public comment 

on the procedures. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(2)) EPCA also provides that the 

test procedure shall be reasonably 

designed to produce test results which 

measure energy efficiency, energy use, 

or estimated annual operating cost of a 

covered product during a representative 

average use cycle or period of use, and 

shall not be unduly burdensome to 

conduct. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)) 

EISA 2007 amended EPCA to require 

DOE to implement a standby and off 

mode energy consumption 

measurement, if technically feasible, in 

test procedures where not previously 

present. Otherwise, DOE must prescribe 

a separate standby and off mode energy 

test procedure, if technically feasible. 

(42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A)) EISA 2007 

also requires any final rule to establish 

or revise a standard for a covered 

product, adopted after July 1, 2010, to 

incorporate standby mode and off mode 

energy use into a single amended or 

new standard, if feasible. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(3)(A)) DOE recognizes that the 

standby and off mode conditions of 

operation apply to the product covered 

by this rulemaking. In response to this 

requirement, DOE proposes adopting 

provisions in the test procedures to 

address standby and off mode as 

discussed in section III.E.5 of this 

proposed rulemaking. 

C. Rulemaking Background 

DOE adopted a test procedure for TVs 

on June 29, 1979, codified at 10 CFR 

part 430, subpart B, appendix H. 44 FR 

37938. In May 2008, DOE received 

petitions from both the California 

Energy Commission (CEC) and the 

Consumer Electronics Association 

(CEA), which were drafted in light of 

the June 13, 2009, Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC) 

transition from analog to digital 

broadcast transmissions for TVs.1 As of 

June 12, 2009, the Digital Transition and 

Public Safety Act of 2005 required that 

all broadcasting stations transmit in 

digital to make analog frequencies 

available for public safety 

communications.2 Both the CEC and the 

CEA petitioned for repeal of the 

regulatory provisions establishing the 

test procedure. CEC’s petition stated 

that the old test procedure was not 

capable of accurately measuring the 

energy consumption of modern TVs 

because TV broadcasting is no longer 

transmitted via an analog signal.3 In 

addition, the CEA petitioned for DOE’s 

adoption of the International 

Electrochemical Commission’s (IEC) test 

procedure IEC 62087–2008, ‘‘Methods of 

measurement for the power 

consumption of audio, video and related 

equipment.’’ 74 FR 53641. In light of 

these petitions, and the fact that the 

previous test procedure was largely 

obsolete for today’s products because of 

the mandated transition from analog to 

digital signal transmission, DOE 

repealed the test procedure on October 

20, 2009. The test procedure DOE is 

proposing today seeks to rectify the 

problem with the old test procedure by 

allowing for accurate measurement of 

the energy consumption of modern TVs. 

DOE notes that the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–113) directs 

Federal agencies to use voluntary 

consensus standards in lieu of 

Government standards whenever 

possible. Consequently, as described in 

today’s NOPR, DOE incorporates by 

reference in its test procedures the 

generally accepted test procedures or 

recognized industry standards, such as 

those issued by the IEC, the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), or the CEA, that provide either 

specific aspect(s) of the test procedure, 

or complete test procedures, for the 

specified modes. 

As the first step in this rulemaking to 

establish a new test procedure, DOE 

published a Request for Information on 

September 3, 2010, 75 FR 54048, (the 

2010 RFI) requesting stakeholders to 

provide information and views on DOE 

utilizing both the IEC 62087–2008 and 

the ENERGY STAR Program 

Requirements for Televisions, Version 

4.1 (ENERGY STAR v. 4.1) as reference 

standards for the basis of a new DOE 

test procedure.4 DOE also solicited 

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2832 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Requirements for Televisions, Version 5.3’’ and the 

IEC has published an updated version, ‘‘IEC 62087– 

2011.’’ 

5The DOE Web site: Appliance and Commercial 

Equipment Standards: Television Sets. U.S. 

Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

6 Id. 

comments on the key issues affecting 

the development of a new test 

procedure including the following: 

(1) An appropriate method for 

ensuring screen brightness, 

(2) Utilizing the nine point video 

signal, 

(3) An appropriate method for 

measuring screen luminance, 

(4) Requiring testing on all preset 

viewing modes, 

(5) Testing multiple illuminance 

levels (specifically 10, 100, 150, and 200 

lux), 

(6) An appropriate method for 

generating illuminance, 

(7) The best possible signal source 

and connection to that signal source, 

(8) An appropriate stabilization time 

for luminance and power 

measurements, 

(9) An appropriate method of testing 

3D energy consumption, 

(10) Measuring download acquisition 

mode (DAM) power, 

(11) Measuring internet connectivity 

power, 

(12) Measuring power saving 

technology energy (including presence 

sensors, display power management 

systems (DPMS), and high-definition 

multimedia interface consumer 

electronic controls (HDMI-CEC)), and 

(13) The scope of coverage for the 

rulemaking. 75 FR 54048. 

II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing a 

new test procedure for determining the 

energy use of TVs. The proposed test 

procedure includes measuring screen 

luminance and testing energy 

consumption for active (on mode), 

standby, and off modes. 

The luminance test is proposed to be 

performed by measuring the screen 

luminance while the TV is displaying 

the IEC 62087–2011 three bar video 

signal in both the home and retail 

picture settings. The luminance test is 

being proposed to allow the ENERGY 

STAR program to utilize the 

measurement. The on mode test will 

measure on mode energy consumption 

when the TV is displaying the IEC 

62087–2011 dynamic broadcast-content 

video signal. If the TV is shipped with 

an automatic brightness control (ABC) 

sensor enabled by default, on mode will 

be tested at various room illuminance 

levels. If the TV does not have an ABC 

sensor or the sensor is disabled by 

default, the test would be performed 

while the TV is in the home picture 

setting. 

DOE’s proposed standby test 

procedure incorporates both IEC 62087– 

2011 ‘‘Methods of measurement for the 

power consumption of audio, video and 

related equipment’’ and the CEA 

‘‘Procedure for DAM Testing: For TVs’’ 

(CEA DAM test procedure). DOE’s 

proposed off mode test procedure 

incorporates IEC 62087–2011. 

Although DOE is aware of TVs with 

additional modes, DOE is not proposing 

to require testing these, but rather is 

simply considering these modes and 

requesting comment on them. These 

modes include: 

(1) On mode tests for TVs with internet 

connectivity; 

(2) 3D mode, if capable; and 

(3) Standby-active, low mode (when the 

internet is enabled but the TV is in 

standby, and the TV is not sending or 

receiving external data, for those TVs 

with internet access). 

To supports its efforts in developing 

a Federal test procedure, DOE 

conducted various tests, the results of 

which can be found on the DOE Web 

site.5 The information found on the DOE 

Web site helps support this NOPR by 

providing additional data and 

clarification. DOE conducted testing at 

two different testing facilities and 

therefore some of the data is organized 

according to where that data was 

collected. The data from test facility one 

is denoted with numerical values, while 

the data from test facility two is denoted 

with alphabetical letters. The test 

facilities were determined to produce 

similar results as indicated in the Round 

Robin Test Program Final Report for 

Televisions. This information, found on 

the DOE Web site,6 includes the 

following: 

(1) Television Test Procedure 

Comparison Chart which compares key 

aspects of various TV standards 

including IEC 62087–2011, CEA 2037– 

2010, ENERGY STAR version 5.1, CEC, 

BS EN 62087 ‘‘Methods of measurement 

for the power consumption of audio, 

video, and related equipment’’, and EN 

62087 ‘‘Methods of measurement for the 

power consumption of audio, video, and 

related equipment’’. 

(2) Video Signal of Test Patterns 

Comparison Table which compares the 

different advantages and disadvantages 

of particular video signals including the 

3-bar, 9-point, DOE 5-point, and 

dynamic video signals. DOE assessed 

these video signals based on their 

availability, impact on average picture 

level (APL), affect on power limiting, 

and interested party input among other 

features. 

(3) Room Illuminance Measurements 

During TV Viewing: Pilot Study which 

summarizes a pilot study that DOE 

conducted to continuously measure 

room illuminance in nine homes over a 

period of a week or more as well as 

taking discrete one-off measurements at 

different locations in the room. This 

document also sets out the detailed 

methodology that DOE used for its pilot 

study. 

a. Room Illuminance Measurements 

During TV Viewing: Pilot Study Data 

which includes the source data which 

was analyzed to develop the 

conclusions in the pilot study. 

(4) Round Robin Test Program Final 

Report for Televisions that summarizes 

a round robin test study to assess the 

repeatability and reproducibility of TV 

energy test results. This round robin 

study utilized the ENERGY STAR 

version 5.1 test procedure across three 

labs and compares their results. 

(5) Television Energy and Luminance 

Test Data Set which includes the energy 

and luminance data for all of the TVs on 

which DOE conducted testing. 

(a) Television Luminance Data which 

includes test results for luminance 

testing using the 9-point (both 

perpendicular and off-axis 

measurements), 5-point Video 

Electronics Standards Association 

(VESA), and DOE 5-point video signals. 

DOE conducted luminance testing based 

on the ENERGY STAR version 5.1 test 

procedure but altered the video signal to 

determine which video signal was most 

appropriate. DOE used the 3-bar static 

video signal specified in IEC 62087 Ed. 

2.0 as well as the 9-point, VESA 5-point, 

and DOE 5-point video signals as 

specified in this NOPR. 

(b) Television Luminance 

Stabilization Period Data which 

includes graphs indicating how TV 

screen luminance changes over time and 

with respect to different stabilization 

periods. DOE took measurements of 

screen luminance after different 

stabilization periods to determine the 

most appropriate method for conducting 

luminance testing. DOE initially 

warmed-up the TVs using the method 

from IEC 62087–2011 and then 

displayed the video signal for 15 

minutes to conduct the luminance 

measurement. The second luminance 

measurement was taken after a 10 

minute warm-up period followed by 2 

minutes of a black screen. DOE tested 

this stabilization period for both the IEC 

3-bar and 9-point video signals. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2833 

7ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 references ENERGY STAR 

v. 4.2; however, for the purposes of the NOPR, all 

references will be made in terms of ENERGY STAR 

5.3 although testing was conducted using ENERGY 

STAR 5.1. http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/ 

prod_development/revisions/downloads/television/ 

V5.3_Program_Requirements.pdf. 

(c) Television Power Data that 

includes test results for power 

consumption testing while TVs are in 

various different modes. DOE conducted 

this testing according to the ENERGY 

STAR version 5.1 test method, but 

adjusted specific aspects on the TV to 

determine the energy consumption 

associated with that particular feature 

including volume, ABC, and internet 

connectivity. 

(d) Television Internet Standby Data 

which is comprised of data indicating 

the energy consumption when TVs are 

in standby mode and connected to 

various external sources including 

HDMI, cable, Ethernet, and wireless 

internet. DOE conducted power 

consumption testing according to the 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 standby test 

procedure while alternating the specific 

internet connections present on the TV. 

(e) Television 9-point Video Signal 

Comparison Data that includes data 

depicting the difference between 

perpendicular and off-axis 

measurements while the TV is 

displaying the 9-point video signal. 

Luminance results were collected 

according to the ENERGY STAR version 

5.1 test procedure, except that DOE 

altered the video signal to the 9-point 

video signal specified in this NOPR. 

(f) Television On Mode Automatic 

Brightness Control Data which includes 

the power and luminance data for TVs 

tested by DOE with ABC enabled by 

default across various room illuminance 

levels. A PowerPoint which charts some 

of this data is also included to 

demonstrate the range of 

implementation of ABC among TVs 

tested by DOE. DOE conducted power 

consumption testing according to the 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 (with additional 

room lighting levels) using the IEC 

dynamic test clip specified in IEC 62087 

Ed. 2.0. Luminance results were 

collected according to the ENERGY 

STAR version 5.1 test procedure, using 

the 3-bar static test pattern specified in 

IEC 62087 Ed. 2.0. 

(g) Television Download Acquisition 

Mode Data which includes data 

indicating the energy consumption 

associated with DAM mode. DOE 

conducted this testing on two TVs by 

configuring the internal electronic 

program guide (not enabled by default) 

and connecting to a subscription cable 

service by (1) coaxial cable only, (2) 

Ethernet only and (3) cable and Ethernet 

together. Results over a 24 hour period 

were recorded and charted for each 

connection configuration. 

(h) Television 3D Mode Data that 

contains data as to TV energy 

consumption while in various 3D 

modes. This testing was conducted on 

five TVs under the following modes: 

When the TV is displaying a 3D video 

signal, when the TV is up-converting a 

2D video signal to 3D, and when the TV 

is receiving a video signal from a Bluray player that has up-converted a 2D 

video signal to 3D. 

DOE believes that the proposed test 

procedure will accurately represent the 

energy consumption of TVs by 

capturing the annual energy 

consumption in on mode, standby 

mode, and off mode. However, DOE 

requests comments from interested 

parties on improvements or changes to 

the proposed test procedure. DOE will 

consider modifications that improve the 

accuracy, precision of language, or other 

elements of the procedure and/or 

decrease the testing burden. In 

submitting comments, interested parties 

should state the nature of the 

recommended modification and explain 

how it would improve upon the test 

procedure proposed in this NOPR. 

Interested parties should also submit 

data, if any, to support their positions. 

III. Discussion 

A. Effective Date and Compliance Date 

of Test Procedure 

If adopted, the effective date for this 

test procedure would be 30 days after 

publication of the test procedure final 

rule in the Federal Register. At that 

time, the new metrics and any other 

measure of energy consumption which 

depends on these metrics may be 

represented pursuant to the final rule. 

Compliance with the new test procedure 

for representation purposes would be 

required 180 days after the date of 

publication of the test procedure final 

rule. On or after that date, any such 

representations, including those made 

on marketing materials and product 

labels, must be based upon results 

generated under the final test procedure 

proposed to be included in Appendix H 

to Subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. 

Furthermore, EPCA requires the 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to 

prescribe labeling rules for certain 

covered products including TVs. (42 

U.S.C. 6294(a)(2)(I)) Hence, the final 

DOE test procedure is required to be 

utilized by the FTC for labeling 

requirements and shall be utilized or 

referenced by other organizations, such 

as the EPA for its ENERGY STAR 

specification for TVs. This test 

procedure must also be referenced by 

the CEC in California and any other 

state regulation providing for the 

disclosure of information with respect 

to any measure of TV energy 

consumption once the test procedure 

becomes effective 30 days after the test 

procedure final rule publication. The 

final rule would supersede any existing 

state test procedure for TVs to the extent 

the state regulation requires testing in a 

manner other than that required by the 

final DOE test procedure. (42 U.S.C. 

6297(a)(1)) 

B. Existing Television Test Procedures 

While developing the proposed test 

procedure for TVs, DOE researched 

existing industry test procedures that 

measure TV energy consumption, as 

discussed in its 2010 RFI. 75 FR 54048, 

54049. Among the most widely accepted 

are the IEC 62087–2011 and EPA’s 

‘‘ENERGY STAR Program Requirements 

for Televisions, Version 5.3’’ (ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3).7 DOE also reviewed both 

the CEA–2037–2009 ‘‘Determination of 

Television Average Power 

Consumption’’ and the CEC test 

procedures, and noted that these test 

procedures are largely based on both the 

EPA and IEC 62087 test procedures. In 

response to the 2010 RFI, DOE received 

comments from interested parties on 

what they believed aspects of a robust 

test procedure should include, as well 

as on the validity of the existing test 

procedures that DOE reviewed and 

considered. 

Several interested parties expressed 

general concerns and made suggestions 

pertaining to what should be considered 

when DOE developed its proposed test 

procedure. Consumer Electronics 

Retailers Coalition (CERC) expressed 

desire for a standardized test procedure 

and standard that are reflective of 

consumer use and that will not increase 

the cost of equipment. CERC further 

stated that a patchwork of state 

regulations, mandating different test 

procedures for energy consumption, 

different standards, or different labels, 

will confuse consumers with conflicting 

or unclear information, and ultimately 

be counterproductive. (CERC, No. 10 at 

p. 1) CERC urged DOE to adopt a single 

federal test procedure for TV energy 

consumption, because it will better 

inform the public and better show 

energy savings. (CERC, No. 10 at p. 2) 

Natural Resources Defense Council 

(NRDC) asked that DOE develop a test 

procedure that allows flexibility for 

policy makers when setting standards 

such as allowing policy makers to 

require testing at different pre-set 

picture settings and establishing desired 

luminance ratios. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 1) 

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2834 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

8The DOE Web site: Appliance and Commercial 

Equipment Standards: Television Sets. U.S. 

Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

9ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 defines TV as: A 

commercially available electronic product designed 

primarily for the reception and display of 

audiovisual signals received from terrestrial, cable, 

satellite, Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), or other 

digital or analog sources. A TV consists of a tuner/ 

receiver and a display encased in a single 

enclosure. The product usually relies upon a 

cathode-ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display 

(LCD), plasma display panel (PDP) which are 

examples of the more common display 

technologies. 

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and a 

joint comment submitted by Southern 

California Gas Company, San Diego Gas 

and Electric Company, and Southern 

California Edison, henceforth referred to 

as ‘‘California Investor Owned Utilities 

(IOUs),’’ expressed desire for a test 

procedure that accounts for all current 

and future TV technologies. (PG&E, No. 

12 at p. 1; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 

1) Finally, Sony asked that the test 

procedure provide adequate guidance 

and meaningful power consumption 

data without forcing manufacturers to 

perform unnecessary, burdensome, and 

costly activities. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 4) 

Environment Northeast (ENE) also 

had general recommendations for DOE’s 

proposed TV test procedure and 

suggested that the test procedure should 

be designed so that the test results 

reflect energy consumption in the field 

to the maximum extent possible. (ENE, 

No. 2 at p. 1) It urged DOE to develop 

a test procedure that only promotes 

energy management features that deliver 

significant savings in the field. (ENE, 

No. 2 at p. 1) ENE commented that 

energy consumption should be 

measured under a range of values 

(rather than using average values for 

ambient illumination, viewing distances 

and angles, and user adjustments to 

settings) and that the average expected 

energy consumption of a model in the 

field be calculated. (ENE, No. 2 at p. 1) 

ENE believes that a test procedure that 

adheres to its direction will provide 

more accurate results and reduce the 

likelihood of manufacturers ‘‘designing 

to the test’’. (ENE, No. 2 at p. 1) Finally, 

ENE urged DOE to design a test 

procedure that does not discourage 

innovation. (ENE, No. 2 at p. 1) 

Other interested parties commented 

that DOE should use existing test 

procedures when developing its test 

procedure. NRDC stated that DOE 

should review and adopt key portions of 

IEC 62087–2008 but noted that aside 

from the IEC 62087–2008 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal, the 

remaining sections of the IEC 62087– 

2008 test procedure are either 

incomplete or need revision. (NRDC, 

No. 5 at p. 2) CEA believes that future 

ENERGY STAR specifications should 

conform to the DOE test procedure, and 

that CEA–2037–2009 is suitable for 

adoption now with specified discrete 

changes, although the CEA did not 

specify these discrete changes. (CEA, 

No. 13 at p. 2) CEA also urged DOE to 

adopt CEA–2037–2009 to avoid the 

federal government using and 

promoting two different test procedures. 

(CEA, No. 13 at p. 3) CERC commented 

that the CEA–2037–2009 test procedure 

is the best test procedure because it is 

most familiar to manufacturers and 

retailers and added that it provides a 

reasonably accurate, practicable, and 

cost-effective test procedure. (CERC, No. 

10 at p. 2) SHARP urged the DOE to 

utilize IEC 62087–2008 and CEA–2037– 

2009 as a basis for its test procedure. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 1) Finally, 

Mitsubishi requested that DOE adopt 

CEA–2037–2009 as its fundamental TV 

test procedure, and commented that if 

DOE finds that CEA–2037–2009 test 

procedure is inadequate, then it should 

base its test procedure on IEC 62087– 

2008. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 2) 

Sony and CEC asked DOE to consider 

how its test procedure will affect state 

regulations and test procedures. Sony 

recommended that DOE create a test 

procedure that supersedes state 

regulations, while CEC believes that 

DOE should consider how its test 

procedure will preempt CEC’s test 

procedure. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 4) 

Specifically, CEC urged DOE to measure 

on mode power, standby-passive power, 

power factor, and luminance to ensure 

that the CEC can also require this 

testing. (CEC, No. 15 at p. 4) 

In addition to considering stakeholder 

comments, DOE also conducted 

research and validation testing, which 

consisted of on, standby, and off mode 

energy consumption testing as well as 

luminance testing. The results of this 

research indicated that the IEC 62087– 

2011 could be utilized with some 

modifications as it would adequately 

measure TV energy consumption.8 DOE 

proposes a test procedure for TVs that 

uses IEC 62087–2011 as a basis, with 

additional detail and modifications, 

most of which are seen in ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3. DOE believes this is 

consistent with the requests of many 

commenters, who recommended using 

IEC 62087–2011 and CEA–2037–2009, 

which references the IEC 62087 test 

procedure. DOE based the proposed 

luminance measurement on the one 

found in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. 

C. Scope 

1. Products Covered by This 

Rulemaking 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

comments on the scope of the TV test 

procedure rulemaking. DOE received 

comments highlighting the similarities 

and differences between displays, TVs, 

and digital picture frames and the 

coverage of the test procedure. Unlike 

TVs, displays and digital picture frames 

do not have a TV tuner and therefore 

cannot receive digital broadcast content. 

While all of these technologies have the 

ability to display digital content they do 

have some differences. DOE notes that 

these differences are subtle, and 

therefore considered the possibility of 

including all displays in this 

rulemaking. 

Display and TV technologies have 

started to converge and have become 

more similar in their capabilities. Given 

the convergence of display and TV 

technologies, PG&E, and the California 

IOUs advocated that the coverage of 

displays be explored in this rulemaking. 

They supported DOE’s research into 

whether displays should be 

incorporated into the test procedure and 

specifically stated that DOE should 

study the category of displays less than 

30 inches in greater detail as well as 

displays greater than 60 inches. (PG&E, 

No. 12 at p. 4; California IOUs, No. 9 at 

p. 4) 

Other stakeholders opposed the 

inclusion of displays in the scope of the 

rulemaking. Sony asserted that TVs and 

displays are different in the following 

ways and therefore need to be tested 

differently. TVs have different 

resolutions than displays because rate 

conversion circuits operate differently 

in the two products; resolution affects 

power consumption in displays but not 

in TVs; and TVs with computer inputs 

do not fully comply with the VESA 

DPMS requirements established for 

displays. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 4) Rather, 

Sony recommended that DOE use the 

same definition for TVs that is used in 

the ENERGY STAR v. 5.3.9 (Sony, No. 

8 at p. 4) Panasonic also does not 

recommend combining TVs and 

displays, as they believe these are two 

distinct products. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 

9) CERC commented that the scope of 

the test procedure should not 

encompass all types of TVs because 

professional and retail displays require 

high luminance, sharpness, and 

performance. (CERC, No. 10 at p. 3) 

CERC further commented that displays 

are designed differently than TVs due to 

their primary use; namely, TVs are 

meant to be viewed from further 

distances than displays. (CERC, No. 10 

at p. 3) Finally, CEA commented that 

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10Personal Communication, DisplaySearch at SID 

Conference, May 22, 2011. 

11Quarterly LCD TV Cost & Price Forecast Model 

Report: Q1’11 History with Q2’11–Q4’15 Forecast. 

Rep. DisplaySearch, 2010. 

DOE should not include displays in its 

rulemaking because the IEC 62087–2011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal 

used for TV testing is not representative 

of typical content viewed on displays. 

(CEA, No. 13 at p. 9) SHARP 

recommended that DOE remain focused 

on TVs that are used primarily by 

residential consumers and that 

commercial displays should not be 

included. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 10) 

DOE believes that some products can 

only be identified as TVs or displays on 

the basis of marketing. Some 

manufacturers (e.g., Samsung and LG) 

make identical products that are 

marketed separately as a display and 

TV.10 Moreover, there exist highdefinition displays sold with the option 

of purchasing an external tuner or 

speakers, which enable the customer to 

use the product as a TV. Modern TVs 

can also typically be connected to 

computers and function as monitors. 

Despite some overlap, DOE agrees with 

stakeholders who suggested that TVs 

and displays are designed differently in 

most instances (e.g. TVs are equipped 

with a tuner and displays are not). 

Although TVs and displays may be used 

interchangeably, they are designed to 

perform different tasks. Displays have 

different screen resolutions that allow 

for clearer text reading and are typically 

set up in a 4:3 aspect ratio, as opposed 

to TVs which are primarily set up in 

16:9 aspect ratio which is optimal for 

displaying video. DOE acknowledges 

that despite the increasing overlap 

between these products, which may 

increase in the future, they currently 

have different usage patterns (e.g. they 

are used in different lighting conditions 

and locations as well as have different 

hours of operation). 

The presence of a tuner is not an 

unequivocal distinguishing factor 

between TVs and other displays; 

however, DOE still considers it a 

suitable way of broadly separating 

products which are generally intended 

to be used as displays or digital picture 

frames from those generally intended to 

be used as TVs (particularly in the 

smaller sizes). Accordingly, DOE 

proposes to define TVs with reference to 

displays but excluding displays if they 

are sold without tuners. Further, DOE 

believes that this effectively excludes 

from the proposed TV test procedure 

most displays and digital picture frames 

currently on the market. 

TVs, unlike displays, often contain a 

tuner, which historically cost about 

$5.50 to the manufacturer and were 

projected to cost around $2.70 by the 

end of 2010.11 Modern TVs have similar 

inputs to displays, and their uses are 

increasingly similar, with the latest TVs 

having USB ports, PC inputs, video 

inputs, Ethernet cable inputs, and 

inputs enabling connection with 

cameras and MP3 players (e.g., 

Samsung, Panasonic, Sony). Moreover, 

the latest display connection 

technology, High-Definition Multimedia 

Interface (HDMI), is expressly designed 

to work with both TVs and displays and 

does not differentiate between the two. 

DOE is monitoring marketplace 

convergence and will consider updating 

the definitions and scope of the TV 

rulemaking in the future. 

Consequently, DOE is proposing to 

include in the scope of this rulemaking 

only displays of 15 inches and above 

which are sold with a tuner. DOE 

acknowledges interested party 

comments stating that TVs and displays 

capable of showing moving images are 

not similar in all ways. However, DOE 

believes that displays which are sold 

with a tuner are used in the same 

manner as TVs, and is also taking into 

consideration that EPA requires 

displays to be tested with IEC 62087 

Dynamic broadcast content. DOE 

welcomes comment on the proposed 

scope of this rulemaking, particularly 

the inclusion of certain types of 

displays. (See Issue 1 in section V. E 

‘‘Issues On Which DOE Seeks 

Comment’’). 

2. Definition of Television Sets 

TVs are a covered product under 42 

U.S.C. 6292(a)(12) of EPCA. DOE has the 

authority to adopt test procedures for 

such covered products under 42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(2) of EPCA. Further, 42 U.S.C. 

6295(l)(3) of EPCA specifically grants 

DOE the authority to promulgate energy 

conservation standards for TVs. There 

are no statutory definitions for TVs 

under EPCA. In 1979 DOE adopted the 

following regulatory definitions for TVs 

(44 FR 39798, June 29, 1979), which are 

set forth in 10 CFR 430.2: 

Television set means a color television 

set or a monochrome television set. 

Color television set means an 

electrical device designed to convert 

incoming broadcast signals into color 

television pictures and associated 

sound. 

Monochrome television set means an 

electrical device designed to convert 

incoming broadcast signals into 

monochrome television pictures and 

associated sound. 

Similar to DOE’s recently repealed 

test procedure (74 FR 53640, October 

20, 2009), the current DOE definitions 

for TVs, developed in 1979, are no 

longer appropriate and are proposed to 

be updated as part of this rulemaking. 

The definition refers to both color TVs 

and monochrome TVs (also known as 

black-and-white TVs, which are rarely 

produced for the mass market today) 

and with the evolution of technology, 

these definitions are too broad to 

adequately define the products covered 

by this rulemaking. Since the digital 

switch-over in 2009, analog TVs can no 

longer receive broadcast signals without 

an external digital tuner. Accordingly, 

the definitions require updating in order 

to reflect the realities of modern TVs 

and technological developments, 

including the convergence of display 

and TV technology, and to avoid the 

proposed rule being rendered 

ineffective. 

DOE notes that at the time the 

Department repealed the test procedure 

for TVs (74 FR 53640, October 20, 2009), 

it also considered amending the 

definition of TVs on the basis of the 

transition to digital TV and found this 

factor in isolation to be an insufficient 

reason to amend the definition. At that 

time, the Department had not taken into 

account other factors, including, rapid 

technology changes, the changing focus 

away from transmission towards display 

technology and the phenomenon of TV 

and display technology convergence. 

The combination of these factors which 

are currently evident in this product 

market have led DOE to preliminarily 

determine that a revised definition of 

TVs is required. 

CEA asked that DOE develop a 

definition of TVs that excludes batterypowered TVs because they inherently 

are designed for efficiency so as to 

improve battery life. CEA stated that 

battery-powered TVs are different from 

typical TVs that require AC or main 

power supplies in their technology and 

usage patterns. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 9) 

Additionally, CEA commented that 

displays used for commercial 

applications and those that fully 

function on battery-power should not be 

included in the scope of coverage. CEA 

further observed that portable and 

handheld displays are designed to be 

power efficient and should therefore not 

be included in the scope of coverage. 

In today’s NOPR, after reviewing TV, 

display, digital picture frame market 

trends, and accessory technologies, as 

well as other industry definitions from 

IEC, EPA, and CEA, DOE is proposing 

an updated definition for TVs; one that 

it believes will not become obsolete 

with rapid changes in technology. 

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12The Nielsen Company, LLC (2011). 

Accordingly, a broad technology-neutral 

definition is proposed that includes all 

TVs and displays above 15 inches 

which are sold with a TV tuner. This 

definition also includes products that 

incorporate internal media readers (e.g. 

TV DVD combination units) while 

excluding laptop monitors, monitors 

having integrated computers (all-in-one 

integrated desktops), digital picture 

frames, and TVs operable by batterypower. The exclusion of these products 

is based upon DOE’s belief that these 

products do not represent the typical TV 

usage and therefore should not be 

included in this definition. DOE has 

determined the typical TV usage as a 

product that is commonly used seven 

hours a day 12 to watch dynamic visual 

information. Consequently, DOE 

proposes the following definition to 

subpart A of 10 CFR 430.2: 

Television set (also referred to as 

‘‘TV’’): A product designed to be 

powered primarily by mains power 

having a diagonal screen size of fifteen 

inches or larger that is manufactured 

with a TV tuner, and that is capable of 

displaying dynamic visual information 

from wired or wireless sources 

including but not limited to: 

(1) Broadcast and similar services for 

terrestrial, cable, satellite, and/or 

broadband transmission of analog and/ 

or digital signals; and/or 

(2) Display-specific data connections, 

such as Video Graphics Array (VGA), 

Digital Visual Interface (DVI), HighDefinition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), 

DisplayPort, used typically for a 

computer or workstation that is not 

physically attached to the display; and/ 

or 

(3) Media storage devices such as a 

USB flash drive, a memory card, or a 

DVD; and/or 

(4) Network connections, usually 

using Internet Protocol, typically carried 

over Ethernet or WiFi. 

A TV may contain, but is not limited 

to, one of the following display 

technologies: Liquid crystal display 

(LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), 

cathode-ray tube (CRT), and plasma 

display panel (PDP). TVs also include 

TV Combination Units that DOE has 

further defined in appendix H to 

subpart B of this part. 

DOE notes that this proposed 

definition also includes TV combination 

units which are TVs that incorporate 

additional devices such as a digital 

video disc (DVD) player, Blu-ray player, 

hard disk drive (HDD), or videocassette 

recorder (VCR).These products maintain 

the general purpose of a TV but are 

combined with additional features. 

3. Other Definitions 

DOE’s proposed test procedure for 

TVs incorporates definitions from IEC 

62087–2011 and ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. 

DOE is also proposing to add its own 

definitions, which were neither 

addressed by IEC 62087–2011 nor 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, and feels the 

proposed definitions are necessary. 

Specifically, DOE proposes to include 

the following defined terms found in 

IEC 62087–2011: ‘‘additional 

functions,’’ ‘‘off mode,’’ ‘‘standby-active, 

high mode,’’ ‘‘standby-active, low 

mode,’’ and ‘‘standby-passive mode.’’ 

DOE is aware that section 42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(1) of EPCA defines on, 

standby, and off modes, but believes 

that the proposed IEC 62087–2011 

definitions provide added clarification 

to the test procedure. Second, DOE 

proposes to include the following 

defined terms found in ENERGY STAR 

v. 5.3: ‘‘download acquisition mode,’’ 

‘‘luminance,’’ ‘‘on mode,’’ and ‘‘TV 

combination unit.’’ For the reasons 

discussed below, DOE also proposes to 

develop new definitions for ‘‘home 

picture setting’’ and ‘‘retail picture 

setting.’’ 

a. Definitions Incorporated From IEC 

62087–2011 

DOE is proposing to define 

‘‘additional functions’’ using the 

definition found in IEC 62087–2011. 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘additional 

functions’’ because many TVs are now 

equipped with a wide variety of 

features, such as DVD players, memory 

card readers, music player inputs, that 

are not standard among different 

manufacturers and models. 

Furthermore, DOE believes that this 

definition from IEC 62087–2011 is 

appropriate because it is clear, concise 

and widely accepted as an industry 

definition. The definition for additional 

functions found in IEC 62087–2011 also 

has not been redefined by any of the 

later published TV industry standards. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

this term in section 2.1 (additional 

functions) of appendix H to subpart B of 

10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Additional functions: Additional functions 

are functions that are not required for the 

basic operation of the device. Additional 

functions include, but are not limited to a 

VCR unit, a DVD unit, a HDD unit, a FMradio unit, a memory card-reader unit, or an 

ambient lighting unit. 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘off 

mode’’ using the definition found in IEC 

62087–2011, rather than the definition 

provided in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. 

Although ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 also 

defines off mode, DOE believes the 

definition is too broad. Specifically, the 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 definition 

requires that an indicator be present that 

shows that the product is in off mode, 

a clause that is not included in the IEC 

62087–2011 definition. Accordingly, 

DOE is proposing to define this term in 

section 2.9 (off mode) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Off mode: Off mode is the mode where the 

appliance is connected to a power source, 

produces neither sound nor picture and 

cannot be switched into any other mode with 

the remote control unit, an external or 

internal signal. 

DOE is proposing a test for standbypassive mode in this NOPR and thus 

provides a definition for the mode. DOE 

is proposing to define ‘‘standby-passive 

mode’’ by using the IEC 62087–2011 

definition for standby-passive. This 

standby-passive mode test is being 

proposed to capture the energy 

consumption associated with the TV 

when it produces neither sound nor 

picture. DOE believes that IEC has 

clearly and appropriately defined 

standby-passive mode. DOE is 

proposing to define this term in section 

2.12 (standby-passive mode) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 as follows: 

Standby-passive mode: Standby-passive 

mode is the mode in which the appliance is 

connected to a power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture but can be 

switched into another mode with the remote 

control unit or an internal signal. 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘standbyactive, high mode’’ consistent with the 

IEC 62087–2011 definition for standbyactive, high. IEC’s definition clearly and 

accurately captures the state of the TV 

while in standby-active, high mode. 

DOE is proposing a definition for 

standby-active, high, since DOE is also 

proposing a test in the standby-active, 

high mode. Standby-active, high mode 

would cover TVs when they are 

switched off with a remote, but remain 

active in some manner. This includes 

TVs that are downloading information 

from the internet or cable while 

switched into standby mode. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

this term in section 2.13 (standby-active, 

high mode) of appendix H to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Standby-active, high mode: The appliance 

is connected to a power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture but can be 

switched into another mode with the remote 

control unit or an internal signal and can 

additionally be switched into another mode 

with an external signal and is exchanging/ 

receiving data with/from an external source. 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘standbyactive, low mode’’ consistent with the 

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IEC 62087–2011 definition for standbyactive, low. Although DOE is not 

proposing a test in the standby-active, 

low mode, DOE is still proposing a 

definition for standby-active, low to 

remain consistent with IEC 62087–2011 

and to ensure that this particular mode 

is not tested. DOE has reviewed existing 

industry definitions, TV technology, 

and TV operating modes and believes 

that IEC 62087–2011 clearly separates 

distinct TV operating modes and defines 

each of these modes appropriately. 

Standby-active low mode would cover 

TVs when they are switched off with a 

remote and can be switched into other 

modes via an external signal. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

this term in section 2.14 (standby-active, 

low mode) of appendix H to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Standby-active, low mode: The appliance 

is connected to a power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture but can be 

switched into another mode with the remote 

control unit or an internal signal and can 

additionally be switched into another mode 

with an external signal. 

b. Definitions Incorporated From 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 

DOE proposes to include a definition 

for ‘‘download acquisition mode’’ 

(otherwise known as DAM) in its test 

procedure that is identical to the 

definition found in ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3. The DAM involves a TV’s download 

of data while it produces neither sound 

nor picture. The definition allows 

readers to more clearly understand the 

DAM energy consumption test 

procedure. The energy consumption 

associated with DAM is measured when 

the TV is downloading information from 

an electronic program guide (EPG). DOE 

also believes that the ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3 definition is appropriate because it 

is a widely accepted industry definition 

and the term is not defined in IEC 

62087–2011. Accordingly, DOE is 

proposing to define this term in section 

2.3 (download acquisition mode) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 as follows: 

Download acquisition mode: 

Download acquisition mode is the 

power mode in which the product is 

connected to a mains power source, 

produces neither sound nor picture, and 

is actively downloading data. Data 

downloads may include channel listing 

information for use by an electronic 

programming guide, TV setup data, 

channel map updates, firmware 

updates, monitoring for emergency 

messaging/communications or other 

network communications. 

DOE is proposing to define 

‘‘luminance’’ by incorporating the 

definition found in ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3. DOE believes that the ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 definition is appropriate 

because it is widely accepted within the 

industry and the term is not defined in 

IEC 62087–2011. Further, the ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 definition is appropriate 

because DOE is proposing the 

luminance ratio so that it may be used 

in the ENERGY STAR test procedure. 

The ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 definition is 

clear and concise and provides the 

manufacturer with a thorough 

understanding of what is meant by 

luminance to allow for luminance 

testing. Accordingly, DOE is proposing 

to define this term in section 2.8 

(luminance) of appendix H to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Luminance: Luminance is the 

photometric measure of the luminous 

intensity per unit area of light traveling 

in a given direction, expressed in units 

of candelas per square meter (cd/m2). 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘on 

mode’’ using the definition found in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, rather than the 

definition provided in IEC 62087–2011. 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 defines ‘‘on 

mode’’ more broadly, stating that the TV 

can be providing ‘‘one or more of its 

primary functions.’’ On the other hand, 

the IEC 62087–2011 definition specifies 

that the TV must be producing both 

sound and picture. Although many TVs 

will produce sound and picture, DOE’s 

proposed scope may include units that 

are not able to produce sound (e.g. 

computer monitor that does not include 

speakers). Because DOE does not want 

to prevent those products from being 

tested in the ‘‘on mode’’, DOE is 

proposing to exclude any references to 

sound consistent with the definition 

from ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 in section 

2.10 (on mode) of appendix H to subpart 

B of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

On mode: On mode is the power mode in 

which the product is connected to a mains 

power source, has been activated, and is 

providing one or more of its principal 

functions. 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘TV 

combination unit’’ using the definition 

found in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. IEC 

62087–2011 defines multi-function 

equipment, which may be considered 

similar to TV combination unit, but this 

term is not specific to TVs. Defining the 

term TV combination unit provides 

clarity to the test procedure since these 

particular TVs may require special 

consideration when being tested. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

this term in section 2.16 (TV 

combination unit) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

TV combination unit: TV combination unit 

is a television in which the TV and one or 

more additional devices (e.g., DVD player, 

Blu-ray Disc player, Hard Disk Drive) are 

combined into a single enclosure, and which 

meets the following criteria: a) it is not 

possible to measure the power of the 

individual components without removing the 

product housing; and b) the product connects 

to a wall outlet via a single power cord. 

c. New Definitions for Incorporation 

DOE is proposing to define ‘‘home 

picture setting’’ in its test procedure. 

DOE developed this definition because 

neither IEC 62087–2011 nor ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 provides a definition for 

this particular setting. ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3 does reference a home mode (or 

default mode), as the mode in which the 

TV is shipped. In order to eliminate 

confusion between picture settings and 

testing modes (such as on mode, 

standby mode, and off mode), defining 

home picture setting helps clarify how 

to conduct both the luminance and on 

mode tests since home picture setting is 

utilized for conducting part of the 

luminance test as well as the on mode 

test. DOE believes that defining home 

picture setting will improve the 

consistency in which products are 

tested across labs. DOE is proposing to 

define this term in section 2.4 (home 

picture setting) of appendix H to subpart 

B of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Home picture setting: (or default picture 

setting) is the picture setting which is 

recommended by the manufacturer from the 

initial set up menu or the mode that the 

television comes shipped in if no setting is 

recommended. 

Finally, DOE is proposing to define 

‘‘retail picture setting’’ in its proposed 

test procedure. Retail picture setting is 

a picture setting present on most TVs 

and corresponds to the brightest preset 

selectable picture setting. Although 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 uses the term 

retail mode in its specification, it does 

not provide a definition of this mode. So 

as not to confuse picture settings with 

testing modes (such as on mode, 

standby mode, and off mode), DOE is 

proposing to utilize the term ‘‘retail 

picture setting’’ instead of the term 

‘‘retail mode’’. In the proposed DOE test 

procedure, retail picture setting is one of 

the two picture settings that the TV is 

set to for luminance testing. Therefore, 

DOE believes that defining retail picture 

setting clarifies the requirements of the 

test procedure. DOE is proposing to 

define this term in section 2.11 (retail 

picture setting) of appendix H to subpart 

B of 10 CFR part 430 as follows: 

Retail picture setting: is the preset picture 

setting in which the TV produces the highest 

luminance during the on mode conditions. 

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2838 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

D. Testing Conditions and 

Instrumentation 

1. Accuracy and Precision of 

Measurement Equipment 

a. Power Supply 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing a 

slightly modified version of the power 

supply specifications from IEC 62087– 

2011. DOE proposes to limit the input 

voltage and frequency used in its test 

procedure to 115 V at 60 Hz, rather than 

including a general requirement that the 

TV be tested at ‘‘the nominal voltage of 

the region,’’ as in IEC 62087–2011. DOE 

is also proposing to add a power factor 

measurement requirement. The power 

factor measurements are based on those 

found in IEC 62087–2011 as well as 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. 

DOE is also proposing certain 

specifications for test tolerances. First, 

DOE is proposing to incorporate 

tolerances for voltage and frequency 

identical to those in ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3, which specifies that the voltage and 

frequency be maintained at ± 1 percent 

rather than ± 2 percent, as required by 

IEC 62087–2011. DOE believes that this 

will not impose undue burden because 

many interested parties are already 

accustomed to these more stringent 

specifications required to meet ENERGY 

STAR specifications. Second, DOE is 

proposing to add a tolerance of power 

measurements consistent with that in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. As mentioned 

above, ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 refers the 

reader to ENERGY STAR v. 4.2 where 

these specifications can be found. Third, 

DOE is proposing to add the 

requirements for total harmonic 

distortion (THD) consistent with that in 

IEC 62087–2011, which requires that the 

harmonic components not vary by more 

than 5 percent. While ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3 has requirements for THD that are 

more stringent (2 percent), DOE believes 

that these requirements may impose 

undue burden on manufacturers by 

requiring the purchase of more 

expensive equipment. DOE believes that 

the cost of more expensive equipment 

(e.g., a power supply unit as found by 

market research) outweighs the benefits 

of stricter THD requirements, therefore 

less stringent requirements are being 

proposed. DOE believes that the 

requirements that it is proposing to 

incorporate are accepted within 

industry and are sufficient to ensure a 

repeatable and reproducible test 

procedure. THD impacts the quality and 

stability of the electricity being received 

by the TV which can impact energy 

consumption. High levels of THD can 

increase current draw on TVs resulting 

in high circuitry temperatures and 

inefficiencies. The language proposed to 

ensure that the correct power is being 

supplied to the TV is being incorporated 

in section 3.1.1 (power supply) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 is as follows: 

Carry out measurements using a power 

supply providing voltage of 115 V at 60 Hz. 

The fluctuation of the voltage supplied 

during the tests shall not exceed ± 1 percent. 

The frequency fluctuation and the harmonic 

components of the supplied power shall not 

exceed ± 1 percent and 5 percent 

respectively. 

b. Power Meter 

DOE is proposing to incorporate 

specifications for the power meter used 

to collect the power data for the TV test. 

DOE plans to slightly modify the 

specification found in IEC 62087–2011 

to include more guided instructions on 

the sampling rate. Rather than setting 

the sampling rate ‘‘high enough to 

achieve an accurate measurement’’ as 

required in IEC 62087–2011, DOE is 

proposing that samples be taken once 

per second or more frequently. This 

sampling rate is generally accepted by 

the industry and found in IEC 62301– 

2011. This sampling rate should not be 

difficult to accomplish and produces a 

more repeatable power measurement 

than the measurement specified in IEC 

62087–2011. Specifying the proposed 

sampling rate decreases the chances of 

missing trends and power spikes. The 

duration of testing remains the same 

and typically only a few changes to the 

data acquisition program are required to 

modify the sample rate. The language 

proposed to ensure that the correct 

power measurements are taken is being 

incorporated in section 3.1.2 (power 

meter) of appendix H to subpart B of 10 

CFR part 430 is as follows: 

The measurement shall be carried out 

directly by means of a wattmeter, a wattmeter 

with averaging function, or a watt-hour 

meter, by dividing the reading by the 

measuring time. For TVs for which the input 

video signal varies over time, use a wattmeter 

with an averaging function to carry out the 

measurement. 

The language proposed to ensure that 

the correct sampling rate for which the 

power measurements shall be taken is 

being incorporated in section 3.1.2.1 of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 is as follows: 

The sampling rate of the watt-hour meter 

or wattmeter with averaging function shall be 

one measurement per second or more 

frequent. 

The language proposed describing the 

power measurement uncertainty is 

being incorporated in section 3.1.2.3 of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 is as follows: 

Power measurements of 0.5 W or greater 

shall be made with an uncertainty of less 

than or equal to 2 percent (at the 95 percent 

confidence level). Measurements of power of 

less than 0.5 W shall be made with an 

uncertainty of less than or equal to 0.01 W 

(at the 95 percent confidence level). The 

power measurement instrument shall have a 

resolution of: 

• 0.01 W or better for power measurements 

of 10 W or less; 

• 0.1 W or better for power measurements 

of greater than 10 W up to 100 W; 

• 1 W or better for power measurements of 

greater than 100 W. 

DOE is also proposing to require that, 

as part of the test procedure, the power 

factor of the TV be recorded while in 

‘‘on mode’’ consistent with that in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. DOE believes that 

requiring a power factor measurement 

will not impose undue burden on 

manufacturers because the ability to 

measure power factor is widely 

available on power meters. The power 

factor measurement only requires that 

the power factor be recorded while the 

on, standby, and off modes are 

measured. DOE is proposing to require 

this measurement because power 

quality can impact energy consumption 

and measuring the power factor will 

allow other regulating bodies the 

flexibility to consider requirements for 

power quality. The language proposed 

to ensure that the power factor and real 

power consumed are taken is being 

incorporated in section 3.1.2.2 of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430 is as follows: 

The power measurement instrument used 

shall measure the power factor and the real 

power consumed regardless of the power 

factor of the device under test. 

c. Light Measurement Devices 

i. Luminance Contact and Distance 

Meters 

Light measurement devices (LMDs) 

are used to measure the luminance of 

the TV screen. DOE is aware of two 

primary categories of LMDs that are 

used to make luminance measurements: 

contact meters and distance meters. In 

response to the 2010 RFI, DOE received 

comments advocating that the DOE test 

procedure for TVs allow the use of the 

contact meter to measure luminance. 

Panasonic stated that although there are 

many valid methods of measurement, a 

contact measurement is easier to comply 

with since it prevents ambient light 

from interfering with the measurement 

and eliminates the need for a dark room. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 4) NRDC also 

supports the contact method of 

measuring luminance as it simplifies the 

performance of the test due to it being 

unnecessary to adjust the room lighting 

levels. (NRDC, No. 5 at pp. 4–5) 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2839 

13This similarity of results can be found in the 

Round Robin Test Program Final Report for: 

Television at the DOE Web site: Appliance and 

Commercial Equipment Standards: Television Sets. 

U.S. Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. 

<http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html>. 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

allow the use of either a distance meter 

or a contact meter to measure luminance 

for purposes of the DOE test procedure, 

so long as the meter meets the 

specifications detailed in section 

III.D.1.c.ii of the NOPR. DOE is aware 

that each type of meter has specific 

advantages. While distance LMD meters 

are typically less accurate and require 

the use of a dark room for luminance 

measurements, they are less expensive 

than contact LMD meters. DOE is also 

aware that the use of a dark room adds 

burden to the procedure by increasing 

both cost and set-up time. Alternatively, 

the use of a contact LMD meter would 

reduce set up time (with regard to both 

aligning the meter as well as removing 

the need for a dark room) and will have 

a more accurate measurement since 

these meters typically have a higher 

accuracy; however, contact meters 

themselves are more expensive. 

Through testing, DOE has learned that 

the two types of meters yield similar 

results when used to test TVs.13

Therefore, in section 3.1.3 (light 

measurement device) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430, the test 

procedure allows the use of either meter 

as long as it meets the specifications 

outlined below. By allowing the use of 

different meters it provides more 

flexibility, while ensuring the accuracy 

of the measurement and providing 

comparable results. 

ii. Light Measurement Device 

Specifications 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate specifications for the LMDs 

used in performing the test procedure. 

Neither IEC 62087–2011 nor ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 provides specific 

requirements with respect to LMDs. 

Consequently, DOE has developed 

proposed specifications for today’s 

NOPR. To develop these, DOE 

researched existing test procedures and 

standards that provide LMD 

specifications. DOE has found that the 

VESA Flat Panel Display Measurements 

Standard v. 2 provides tolerances for 

LMDs. VESA specifies that the 

luminance must be within ± 5 percent 

and repeatability must be less than ± 0.5 

percent of the luminance or the 

uncertainty introduced by any 

digitalization over a five minute period. 

DOE also researched available LMDs for 

testing to develop the following 

proposed requirements. 

DOE is proposing, in section 3.1.3 

(light measurement device) of appendix 

H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430, that 

all LMDs have an accuracy of ± 2 

percent (± 2 digits) of the digitally 

displayed value and repeatability within 

0.4 percent (± 2 digits) value. DOE is 

also proposing that the LMD should 

have an acceptance angle of 3 degrees or 

less. To determine the precision of a 

measured number, the displayed value 

on the measuring device needs to be 

taken into consideration. The increment 

of the last significant digit is said to be 

the accuracy of the display and 2 digits 

is twice the interval. The overall 

tolerance of LMDs is found by taking 

(+/¥) the absolute sum of 2 percent and 

2 significant digits of the measured 

value. 

DOE believes that these criteria are 

sufficiently stringent to ensure that 

measurements will be repeatable and 

accurate, without imposing burden on 

manufacturers by requiring overly 

precise measurement devices. However, 

DOE welcomes comments on the 

proposed LMD specifications. (See Issue 

2 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’). 

2. Test Room and Set-Up Criteria 

DOE received comments from 

interested parties requesting that it 

clarify how to set up the TV for testing. 

Specifically, NRDC requested that DOE 

review the requirements in IEC 62087– 

2008 and urged DOE to provide 

sufficient clarity on preparing the TV 

before testing. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 2) 

DOE has analyzed IEC 62087–2008 as 

NRDC requested and found that the 

requirements in IEC 62087–2008 are 

similar to those found in IEC 62087– 

2011. PG&E and California IOUs also 

requested that DOE require a standard 

test set-up that ensures the most robust 

results possible. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 3; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 3) DOE has 

analyzed both IEC 62087–2011 and IEC 

62087–2008, and has evaluated other 

existing TV test procedures to develop 

proposals for creating dark room 

conditions, ambient temperature and 

humidity, THD, and signal source 

generation, with the goal of ensuring 

repeatable results. The proposals are 

discussed in detail in the following 

sections. 

a. Dark Room Conditions 

DOE is proposing that, if the lab 

technician elects to use a distance meter 

for luminance testing, it must make the 

measurements in dark room conditions, 

similar to the requirement in ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3. DOE is proposing, in 

section 4.2 (dark room conditions) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430, language from the requirement in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, which (with 

minor modification), states: ‘‘All 

luminance testing shall be performed in 

dark room conditions. Display screen 

illuminance * * * as measured with the 

UUT in [o]ff [m]ode shall be less than 

or equal to 1.0 lux.’’ 

b. Ambient Temperature and Humidity 

DOE is proposing ambient conditions 

consistent with IEC 62087–2011 and 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, which both 

require that ambient temperature be 23 

°C ± 5 °C. ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 further 

specifies that relative humidity must be 

between 10 and 80 percent, which DOE 

is also proposing to require in its test 

procedure. Because these are both 

widely accepted test methods, and each 

of the temperate and humidity ranges is 

quite large, these requirements should 

be reproducible across a wide range of 

test laboratories. These ambient 

condition requirements are being 

proposed in sections 4.3 (ambient 

temperature conditions) and 4.4 

(ambient relative humidity conditions) 

of appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR 

part 430. 

c. Signal Source and Generation 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

feedback from interested parties 

regarding the signal source as well as 

the input cable to be used when testing. 

75 FR 54048, 54050. As discussed 

below, interested parties were generally 

in agreement that the input cable should 

be HDMI, if the TV has an HDMI input. 

If the TV does not have an HDMI input, 

DOE has proposed a list of alternative 

connections in the order in which they 

should be used to conduct testing, 

which can be found below. Interested 

parties were also in support of using a 

Blu-ray player as the signal source for 

testing. 

Mitsubishi, Sony, LG, NRDC, 

Panasonic, CEA, CEC, PG&E, and 

California IOUs were all in support of 

DOE using HDMI as its preferred input 

cable. Mitsubishi recommended that 

DOE require an HDMI cable be used if 

the input exists and component cables 

be used if HDMI inputs do not exist. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 5) Sony 

similarly commented that a HDMI input 

cable should be the preferred input 

cable, and if it not available, the next 

highest resolution input should be used. 

(Sony, No. 8 at p. 3) LG supported using 

an HDMI input cable because it has a 

digital signal and other sources have 

calibration issues. (LG, No. 3 at p. 1) 

NRDC recommended that DOE use a 

HDMI input cable if the input is 

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2840 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

14Calwell, Chris, Mercier, Catherine, & FosterPorter, Suzanne. Assessment of Options for 

Improving Energy Efficiency Test Procedures for 

Display. (Last accessed July 26, 2011). http://www.

efficientproducts.org/%5Creports%5Ctvs%5CEcos_

Display%20Test%20Procedure%20Report_FINAL.

pdf. 

available. If not available, then a 

component input cable should be used. 

NRDC also stated that VGA connectors 

should not be allowed to serve as the 

means to input the content. (NRDC, No. 

5 at p. 6) Panasonic agreed that a HDMI 

input cable should be used if available. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 6) CEA agreed 

that a HDMI input cable should be used 

if it is available, but stated that variation 

between different inputs is minor. (CEA, 

No. 13 at p. 7) CEA further commented 

that it is vital to allow various different 

input cables to be used because some 

TVs are produced with neither a HDMI 

input nor a component input. (CEA, No. 

13 at p. 7) Ecos Consulting found in its 

previously cited report the effect of 

different input cables on the test results. 

Their report recommended that an 

HDMI input cable be used for testing 

because it produced similar results to a 

standardized signal generator unlike 

component and VGA inputs.14

As outlined above, comments from all 

interested parties agreed that an HDMI 

input should be the preferred input. 

Some interested parties also advocated 

that alternative inputs should be 

allowed if an HDMI input is not 

available. DOE acknowledges that all 

TVs may not be shipped with an HDMI 

input available, and therefore is 

proposing the following order for 

inputs: HDMI/DVI, VGA, component, S– 

Video, and finally composite. If none of 

these inputs are available, the highest 

resolution input must be used. DOE 

believes that by proposing an input 

format hierarchy, it will ensure 

consistency and repeatability between 

tests without imposing undue burden 

upon manufacturers. However, DOE 

welcomes comments on the purposed 

input formats hierarchy. (See issue 14 in 

section V.E ‘‘Issues on Which DOE 

Seeks Comments’’) 

DOE also received comments on the 

signal source to be used for testing. 

NRDC commented that a signal should 

not be generated by a personal computer 

(PC). NRDC preferred that a standard 

method of generating signal be used, but 

did not specify what the preferred 

method should be. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 

6) Panasonic believes that the Blu-ray 

player is the most appropriate device to 

supply the IEC 62087–2008 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal, which is 

the same as the IEC 62087–2011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 6) CEC concurs 

with the recommendations made in the 

report done by Ecos Consulting 

regarding signal sources, which 

recommends a signal generator with an 

HDMI input connection. (CEC, No. 15 at 

p. 3) PG&E and California IOUs also 

cited the report done by Ecos 

Consulting, but commented that DOE 

should conduct additional testing on 

various size TVs with different display 

technologies to confirm the proper 

signal source. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 3; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 3) SHARP 

recommended that DOE not require a 

specific signal source like CEA–2037– 

2009. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 7) SHARP 

commented that there should be no 

dependency on the nature of the source 

(Blu-ray player, computer, etc), as long 

as the decoder and signal are properly 

implemented according to existing and 

well-known standards. (SHARP, No. 14 

at p. 7) 

The IEC 62087–2011 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal, which is 

discussed further in section III.E.3.a of 

this NOPR, is supplied in two formats 

for testing, DVD and Blu-ray. DOE 

acknowledges interested party 

comments recommending that a 

particular signal source should not be 

used but believes that establishing a 

specific signal source will increase 

repeatability and reproducibility. As 

some commenters requested, DOE is 

proposing to require testing using a Bluray player. The TV market is moving 

towards watching TV in high-definition, 

as evidenced by increased production of 

high definition TVs and broadcasting of 

high definition channels. Blu-ray 

players produce a 1080p image that 

yields far more detail than the 480p 

image provided by DVD; therefore, DOE 

is proposing that it be used for testing. 

DOE welcomes comments on the signal 

source and generation specifications 

proposed in this NOPR. (See Issue 3 in 

section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’). 

E. Test Measurements 

As previously mentioned, DOE is 

proposing a test procedure largely based 

on IEC 62087–2011, with some 

modifications to improve the 

repeatability as well as tailor the 

procedure to the U.S. market. DOE is 

proposing that the following test 

measurements be taken as described in 

the following sections. 

1. Picture Settings to Test 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

comment on testing the TV in multiple 

power consuming modes. For 

luminance testing, ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 

requires that the TV be tested in two 

picture settings: home mode and retail 

mode. As stated earlier, DOE is 

proposing to replace the terms home 

mode and retail mode (as used in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3) with home 

picture setting and retail picture setting. 

This is to distinguish the luminance 

picture setting from the testing modes 

for energy consumption. IEC 62087– 

2011 does not reference luminance 

testing. Alternatively, for power testing, 

both IEC 62087–2011 and ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 require that TVs be tested 

only in the home picture setting. DOE 

received comments and is considering 

testing energy consumption in picture 

settings other than the home picture 

setting. 

Numerous commenters informed DOE 

that only a limited number of 

consumers switch their TVs out of the 

home picture setting, and therefore DOE 

should only require testing in the home 

picture setting. Other interested parties 

suggested that DOE analyze all preset 

picture settings to determine the energy 

consumption of all possible picture 

settings. Mitsubishi commented that 

manufacturer statistics show that less 

than 5 percent of TV viewers ever 

utilize non-default display settings. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 2) PG&E and 

California IOUs stated that DOE should 

collect and analyze available 

technologies (e.g., LCD, plasma) in 

several selectable preset picture settings: 

the dimmest setting, home setting, and 

retail setting. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 1; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at pp. 1–2) PG&E 

and California IOUs also urged DOE to 

develop the test procedure such that any 

preset picture setting may be measured 

using the procedure. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 

2; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) Finally, 

they suggested that the DOE should 

obtain and analyze data on consumer 

home viewing habits. (PG&E, No. 12 at 

p. 2; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) 

SHARP commented that because 

consumers do not adjust their TV 

settings and it is not possible to predict 

the popularity of each picture setting, 

multiple picture settings should not be 

tested. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) 

DOE also received comments desiring 

that only the home picture setting 

should be used for testing. SHARP 

stated that there are no reliable data on 

the popularity of modes that can be 

applied across the industry, and, 

therefore, the out-of-the-box setting 

remains the best predictor of actual 

power use. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 3) Sony 

commented that there is little 

information regarding consumer 

preferences for preset picture settings. 

Sony’s call center data indicates that 

more than 95 percent of returned sets 

remain in the home picture setting 

when received, while information 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2841 

obtained during CEC’s rulemaking 

process suggests that consumers tend to 

use the home picture setting. (CEC, No. 

15 at pp. 2–3 and Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) 

NRDC commented that to the extent a 

TV has a ‘‘forced’’ set up menu; the test 

should be performed on the TV as 

shipped after selecting the home picture 

setting in the menu. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 

3) CERC believes that the test procedure 

should focus on the energy 

consumption of TVs in the home picture 

setting due to the difference in room 

lighting and energy consumption of TVs 

in retail and home settings. (CERC, No. 

10 at p. 3) CEA commented that DOE 

should not require testing of other 

preset viewing settings because it is 

time consuming and will not yield 

useful information because consumer 

viewing habits are unknown and preset 

viewing settings are not standard across 

manufacturers. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 5) 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing that 

luminance measurements be taken in 

both the home and retail picture 

settings, and that power measurements 

(for TVs without ABC enabled) only be 

taken in the home picture setting. As 

many interested parties commented, 

most consumers do not switch their TVs 

out of the picture setting in which they 

are shipped. Therefore, requiring power 

measurements in the retail picture 

setting or any other alternative picture 

settings may cause unnecessary burden 

on manufacturers by increasing testing 

time. A luminance measurement in both 

the home and retail picture setting must 

still be taken in order to generate a 

luminance ratio, which is utilized by 

other regulatory programs such as 

ENERGY STAR. However, DOE is also 

considering testing on mode energy 

consumption in picture settings other 

than the home picture setting. DOE is 

aware of some TVs that are equipped 

with remotes that have easy-to-access 

shortcuts that enable the user to switch 

from the home picture setting to other 

preset picture settings (sport, vivid, 

movie, etc.), without requiring that the 

user enter the main menu. Although 

interested parties commented that 

consumers do not switch between 

picture settings, DOE believes that if TV 

remotes are designed with shortcuts to 

switch between preset picture settings, 

more consumers may do so, either 

accidently or intentionally. For this 

reason, DOE is considering whether this 

should be taken into account in the test 

procedure. In particular, DOE is 

considering testing on mode energy 

consumption in some of these 

additional preset picture settings. 

Possible approaches could include 

testing in the highest and lowest energy 

consuming preset picture settings, while 

displaying the IEC 62087–20011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal, 

or the brightest and dimmest preset 

picture settings. An additional approach 

could include testing in all preset 

picture settings. DOE invites comments 

on testing in additional preset picture 

settings, particularly the balance 

between a representative and not overly 

burdensome test procedure. (See Issue 4 

in section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’). 

2. Testing Order 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

require that testing be conducted in the 

following order: luminance, on mode 

power, standby mode power, and off 

mode power tests. This is not consistent 

with the test procedure prescribed in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, which specifies 

on mode tests be conducted prior to 

luminance tests. DOE is aware that some 

TVs are unable to operate in the retail 

picture setting once the TV has been 

switched into the home picture setting. 

Therefore, it is necessary to measure 

luminance in the retail picture setting 

before switching to the home picture 

setting to ensure that the retail picture 

setting luminance is captured. For this 

reason, DOE is proposing to perform 

luminance testing prior to on mode 

power testing in section 5.3.1 

(luminance test) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. DOE does 

not believe that this alternative testing 

order will increase the testing burden or 

cause any issues with test results, but 

will ensure that all TVs are adequately 

tested in each prescribed mode. 

3. Luminance 

Although IEC 62087–2011 does not 

include a luminance test, ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 requires a test of the screen 

luminance. The luminance test is 

included to ensure that TVs are not 

shipped in an overly dim picture setting 

in order to achieve a lower measured on 

mode power value, since under 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 TVs are tested in 

‘‘as shipped’’ condition. In the 2010 RFI, 

DOE asked interested parties for 

comments on multiple facets of 

luminance testing. Specifically, DOE 

requested input on (a) whether testing 

luminance should be required, and (b) 

the different display patterns that can be 

used to adequately test luminance. 75 

FR 54048, 54049. Many interested 

parties provided feedback regarding the 

need for luminance testing. Several 

interested parties supported luminance 

testing. NRDC stated that screen 

luminance is important to include in the 

test procedure because it often has a 

direct impact on TV on mode power use 

and future energy conservation 

standards might include these 

parameters in the rulemaking; thus, 

including a test for screen luminance 

would allow policy makers the ability to 

add luminance requirements to their 

standards. (NRDC, No. 5 at pp. 2–3) It 

further clarified that the luminance test 

method should include details on (a) the 

video signal being used; (b) the type of 

instrument and its precision; (c) the 

angle and location of the measurement 

points; and (d) the ambient lighting 

conditions, if necessary. (NRDC, No. 5 at 

p. 5) Finally, NRDC stated that it 

believes the DOE luminance testing 

could require: (a) Testing in ‘‘as 

shipped’’ conditions in home or retail 

picture settings; (b) ability to measure 

either a luminance ratio or a power 

ratio; and (c) TVs to be set at a specified 

luminance prior to measurement. 

(NRDC, No. 5 at pp. 3–4) 

LG supported the ENERGY STAR 

luminance test method, which involves 

measuring the luminance while 

displaying the IEC 62087–2011 three bar 

video signal. This test is conducted 

twice, once while the TV is in the home 

picture setting and again when the TV 

is in the retail picture setting. After both 

measurements are taken, the ratio of the 

two luminance measures is calculated. 

LG believes that it is an acceptable and 

representative measure of luminance 

and provides consistency across state 

and federal programs. (LG, No. 3 at p. 

1) SHARP does not support luminance 

testing, but asserts that, if DOE must 

define a luminance measurement 

procedure, it should follow the ENERGY 

STAR v. 4.1 (which remained 

unchanged in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3) test 

procedure in detail. (SHARP, No. 14 at 

p. 5) Similarly, Sony believes that the 

luminance requirement as defined by 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 is an unnecessary 

test, but finds the method itself provides 

a rather simple solution to a complex 

subject. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) 

Alternatively, CEA and some 

manufacturers strongly opposed 

requiring a luminance measurement, 

with primary arguments including that 

default TV picture settings are not too 

dim, and DOE should not regulate a 

performance metric. CEA stated that a 

luminance requirement is unnecessary, 

premature and essentially not energy 

related. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 3) CEA also 

commented that any proposal to impose 

limits on luminance and/or tie 

luminance levels to power levels is 

speculative and a performance 

requirement should not be embedded 

within the test procedure as it may not 

be authorized by EPCA. (CEA, No. 13 at 

p. 4) Mitsubishi stated that DOE should 

not set standards that assure that 

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2842 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

15The warm up period data can be found on the 

DOE Web site: Appliance and Commercial 

Equipment Standards: Television Sets. U.S. 

Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

products meet a certain consumer 

utility. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 3) CEA 

noted that DOE should not include a 

luminance requirement, but if a 

luminance test is included it should 

mirror the test outlined in ENERGY 

STAR v. 4.1 (which, as noted above, 

remained unchanged in ENERGY STAR 

v. 5.3). (CEA, No. 13 at p. 4) According 

to CEA, data indicates that consumers 

maintain the default settings of the TVs, 

and, therefore, retail picture settings are 

not relevant to those consumer viewing 

habits. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 3) Sony also 

commented that, after thoroughly 

reviewing its call center data, it found 

no complaint of dim pictures, which 

was DOE’s reasoning for including a 

luminance test. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 1) 

Sony commented that the test procedure 

should measure power and should not 

be a luminance test procedure. (Sony, 

No. 8 at p. 4) Mitsubishi commented 

that manufacturers will not produce 

TVs with dim home picture settings, 

because this would create poor reviews 

and high return rates. Mitsubishi further 

believes it is undesirable for 

manufacturers in this industry to sell a 

TV that is too dim because there are 

very tight margins. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at 

p. 2) Panasonic believes that a 

regulation on luminance is not required 

since manufacturer competition 

discourages the shipping of dim TVs. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 1) Panasonic 

affirmed that the luminance testing in 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 was adopted as a 

solution to prevent only the remote 

possibility of the TVs being shipped too 

dim. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 2) 

SHARP stated that DOE should not 

specify a luminance measurement and 

observed that the 65 percent home to 

retail ratio required by ENERGY STAR 

specifications may be encouraging TVs 

to have a brighter home picture setting 

than they otherwise would. SHARP did 

not believe that setting a lower bound 

for luminance would address the issue 

of shipping a TV too dim to decrease its 

power consumption for home mode 

testing. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 3) SHARP 

wrote that IEC did not set luminance 

requirements because manufacturers 

will not ship overly dim TVs and risk 

product returns. Additionally, SHARP 

commented that there is no consensus 

on how to measure brightness levels, 

and setting a lower bound on home 

mode brightness is a performance 

requirement rather than an energy 

requirement. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 2) 

SHARP further noted that if 

performance requirements force 

minimum luminance levels to be set too 

high, potential energy savings are lost. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 3) Lastly, SHARP 

commented that any static video signal 

can be detected and circumvented, and 

therefore DOE should not implement a 

luminance measurement. (SHARP, No. 

14 at p. 3) It stated that IEC 62087–2008 

(which is the same as IEC 62087–2011) 

was not based on prescribed luminance 

levels for the following reasons: 

(1) Consumers generally do not adjust their 

TVs from the default settings, 

(2) Relatively few consumers have their 

TVs professionally calibrated, 

(3) There is no consensus on how to 

measure perceived brightness levels, 

(4) Perceived brightness is often related to 

contrast ratio as it is related to pure 

brightness, 

(5) Some TV technologies have a nonlinear relationship between power and 

brightness, 

(6) Variation in consumer illuminance 

levels make the ideal brightness difficult to 

determine, and 

(7) Humans have poor acuity for discerning 

absolute brightness levels, and there is no 

data that identifies the level of brightness to 

which the average person would adjust a 

television by hand. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 2) 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

include a luminance test as part of its 

test procedure. In recognition of 

interested parties’ concerns, DOE 

clarifies that the proposed luminance 

test is included in the test procedure 

solely for the purpose of supporting the 

ENERGY STAR program; the 

Department is not proposing to include 

the luminance measurements in its final 

metrics for measuring the energy 

efficiency or consumption of TVs. 

Including a luminance test as part of the 

test procedure for TVs will allow other 

programs such as ENERGY STAR to 

utilize the results. The sections, below, 

describe the different aspects of this 

proposal, as well as comments from 

interested parties on these aspects. 

a. Warm-Up and Stabilization 

As mentioned in section III.E.2, 

above, DOE is proposing to require that 

luminance tests be conducted prior to 

on mode testing. Due to the change in 

luminance testing order (conducting 

testing in the retail picture setting prior 

to the home mode picture setting), DOE 

considered both warming-up the TV 

with respect to power and stabilizing 

the TV for luminance. However, in 

today’s notice, DOE is proposing that 

the TV be warmed-up but not be 

stabilized prior to measuring display 

luminance. 

IEC 62087–2011 and ENERGY STAR 

v. 5.3 both require that the TV be 

warmed-up prior to energy 

measurement but do not include a 

recommended or minimal time period. 

Rather, they state that energy 

measurements be taken ‘‘after the TV 

has achieved a stable condition with 

respect to power consumption.’’ With 

respect to luminance testing, ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 requires the three bar video 

signal be displayed for 10 minutes to 

stabilize a TV prior to conducting a 

measurement. DOE received comments 

from interested parties on the 

appropriate time required to warm-up 

and stabilize a TV prior to conducting 

testing. 75 FR 54048, 54051 

Mitsubishi commented that 

measurements of power consumption 

should be taken after the TV has 

reached normal operating temperature. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 5) Mitsubishi 

further commented that warm-up times 

vary by model and it is difficult to 

identify a minimally sufficient warm-up 

time, but it is also unnecessary. It 

continued by adding that it is sufficient 

to require that before testing begins, the 

device under test has reached thermal 

equilibrium, and that the test procedure 

need not indicate a specific time but 

rather a minimum. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at 

p. 6) PG&E and California IOUs stated 

that the warm-up time should be 

sufficient to reflect real-world 

conditions while also aiming not to be 

too long so as to become overly 

burdensome. (PG&E, No.12 at p. 3; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 3) SHARP, 

Sony, Panasonic, and CEA 

recommended that DOE refer to the IEC 

62087–2008 test procedure for warm-up 

periods. The warm-up periods remained 

unchanged in IEC 62087–2011. (SHARP, 

No 14 at p. 7; Sony, No. 8 at p. 3; 

Panasonic, No. 6 at p.7; CEA, No. 13 at 

p. 7) 

DOE acknowledges all stakeholder 

comments and is proposing to 

incorporate language that the TV be 

warmed-up consistent with that in IEC 

62087–2011, with the addition of a 

minimum warm-up period requirement. 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing TVs be 

warmed-up using the IEC 62087–2011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal 

for at least one hour in section 5.2 

(warm-up) of appendix H to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430. DOE conducted 

testing to determine if this warm-up was 

appropriate.15 Although the power did 

not change drastically over the one hour 

for any of the TVs tested, DOE believes 

that because no interested party 

commented on the desire to reduce the 

duration, a one hour warm-up period 

was still appropriate. DOE will further 

propose that the TVs can be warmed-up 

for longer than one hour if the TV does 

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16 Keith Jones, Managing Director, Australian 

Digital Testing and Bob Harrison, Principal 

Scientist, UK Government Market Transformation 

Programme Consumer Electronics and Information 

and Communication Technologies. 

17The stabilization period can be seen to stabilize 

within one hour based on the data found in the 

Luminance Period document which can be found 

on the DOE Web site: Appliance and Commercial 

Equipment Standards: Television Sets. U.S. 

Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

18The appropriate stabilization period and drop 

off in luminance compared to time can be seen in 

the Luminance Stabilization Period document 

found on the DOE Web site: Appliance and 

Commercial Equipment Standards: Television Sets. 

U.S. Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

19 Id. 

not reach a stable state with respect to 

power consumption within the one hour 

time period. DOE is defining a stable 

state as an average power measurement 

over the 10 minute test clip that varies 

by less than 2 percent on consecutive 

plays. DOE believes that by establishing 

a minimum warm-up period, the test 

results will be more consistent, because 

all TVs will be warmed up for an 

identical time period. Further, DOE 

testing indicates that the majority of TVs 

will stabilize within one hour. DOE also 

consulted with industry subject matter 

experts 16 who had similar findings.17

Although DOE plans to specify that a 

one hour warm-up period be used, there 

is flexibility to utilize a longer warm-up 

period for the TV to reach a stable 

energy consuming state. For luminance 

stabilization, DOE is not proposing that 

the TV be stabilized prior to conducting 

luminance measurements, rather that 

luminance measurements be taken 

immediately upon displaying the three 

bar video signal. Luminance 

measurements are made immediately to 

prevent automatic image correction 

programs from revising the luminance 

of the observed test pattern. 

DOE received a comment from 

Panasonic recommending that DOE 

adopt the luminance measurement test 

procedure in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, 

which requires that luminance be 

measured immediately following the on 

mode test, ensuring that the TV is 

sufficiently stabilized with respect to 

power prior to conducting the 

luminance test. Panasonic also stated 

that it does not object to increasing the 

10 minute stabilization periods if it is 

felt to be necessary. (Panasonic, No. 6 at 

p. 7) No other interested parties 

commented on the topic. 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 requires that the 

TV display the three bar video signal for 

10 minutes prior to conducting a 

luminance measurement. As part of 

today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

require that luminance measurements 

be taken immediately after displaying 

the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal from the warm-up 

period in section 5.4.1 of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. DOE 

conducted extensive research to 

determine the appropriate stabilization 

period and has preliminarily 

determined that taking luminance 

measurements immediately after 

displaying the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal is the 

most technology neutral method.18

DOE’s research also found that the 

luminance of some TV technologies 

drops as the same image remains on the 

screen and luminance with other TV 

technologies increases as the same 

image remains on the screen.19 Taking 

an immediate measurement helps to 

mimic actual operating conditions, in 

which images are changing constantly. 

Specifically, taking measurements 

according to this method ensures that 

TVs, particularly plasmas, do not enter 

into an automatic brightness limiting 

(ABL) state prior to luminance testing. 

ABL is a technology that is used on 

phosphor based TV screens (CRT and 

plasma) that is designed to limit the 

luminance of the screen to a level that 

will avoid damage to the phosphors. 

This type of protection is not necessary 

in LCD technology as high luminance 

levels cannot cause damage to the 

display elements. Measuring the 

luminance immediately after displaying 

the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal, without allowing a 

substantial period of delay, will ensure 

that TVs do not require additional 

stabilization time while displaying the 

IEC 62087–2011 three bar video signal 

which would result in some TVs 

entering an ABL state. This method will 

promote more consistent testing across 

products. Taking measurements 

according to this method also ensures 

that TVs, particularly LCDs with cold 

cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) 

technology, have been stabilized. DOE 

welcomes comments on the stabilization 

and warm-up periods proposed in this 

NOPR. (See Issue 6 in section V.E 

‘‘Issues On Which DOE Seeks 

Comment’’). 

b. Method for Testing Luminance 

As mentioned above, many TVs have 

multiple preset viewing settings. Again, 

the retail picture setting is typically 

used in showrooms, whereas the home 

picture setting is intended to be more 

suited for typical home viewing 

conditions. ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 uses 

a luminance ratio test that compares 

these two picture settings. However, 

DOE is aware of alternative methods for 

ensuring that the TV does not have an 

overly dim home picture setting such as 

power ratios and absolute luminance 

measurements, and therefore in the 

2010 RFI, DOE requested feedback on 

testing by using luminance ratios, power 

ratios and absolute luminance. 75 FR 

54048, 54049. 

Many commenters believed that 

power cannot be measured to determine 

the brightness of the TV. Panasonic 

commented that the relationship 

between power and luminance is often 

non-linear and is highly variable 

between TV technologies, specifically in 

TVs with ‘‘local dimming’’ and ‘‘power 

on demand’’. Panasonic believes that 

this non-linear relationship makes a 

power ratio an unfair measurement of 

screen brightness. Panasonic believes 

that the measurement of the power 

would not result in the goal of 

determining whether a TV is ‘‘too dim.’’ 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 2) Panasonic 

commented that though they recognized 

all of DOE’s concerns pertaining to a 

luminance ratio, they support its 

inclusion in the test procedure. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 2) Mitsubishi 

commented that different display 

technologies have different luminance 

and power characteristics, and these 

two aspects of TVs should not be 

conflated. Mitsubishi also noted that 

luminance variation across the screen is 

unrelated to energy consumption. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 2) Mitsubishi 

also believes that measuring power 

rather than a luminance ratio does not 

satisfy the ‘‘goal’’ of preventing 

manufacturers from producing devices 

that are not useful in the home picture 

setting. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 3) 

Finally, Mitsubishi commented that 

some TV display technologies have a 

power consumption that correlates 

significantly with the content displayed 

rather than the display luminance. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 3) SHARP stated 

that a fixed luminance level is not 

prescribed for power measurements 

made with CEA–2037–2009 and IEC 

62087–2008 (nor in IEC 62087–2011), 

and therefore DOE does not need to 

implement a luminance measurement. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 3) Sony also does 

not support measuring power 

consumption at prescribed luminance 

levels or picture settings. Sony believes 

that picture settings are performance 

settings and are not directly tied to 

luminance. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) 

CEC presented an alternative method 

for using power to ensure the TV is not 

shipped in an overly dim picture 

setting. CEC suggested that a power ratio 

be taken between home and retail 

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picture settings. The home picture 

setting would be used for compliance 

when the ratio was closer to one, while 

a weighted result of home and retail 

picture settings power would be used as 

the power deviates from one. (CEC, No. 

15 at p. 2) NRDC suggested that DOE 

improve the ENERGY STAR luminance 

test by establishing a minimum screen 

luminance for all presets in the set up 

menu. The method would require the 

lab technician to record the screen 

brightness that was measured prior to 

running the on mode power test with 

the IEC 62087–2008 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal, which is the same 

as the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal. (NRDC, 

No. 5 at p. 4) NRDC also urged DOE to 

ensure that all measurements for ratios 

should be made identically. (NRDC, No. 

5 at p. 5) 

SHARP also suggested an alternative 

method for ensuring that TVs are 

shipped in a picture setting that satisfies 

consumer viewing desires. SHARP 

commented that DOE should set a 

requirement based on a ‘‘floor,’’ which 

would be a fixed percentage of the 

power of the most consumptive setting, 

and recommends that the floor be 40 

percent of the most power consuming 

setting. This approach will help ensure 

that home picture setting is not overly 

dim as well as cap the maximum power 

consumption of a TV regardless of the 

picture setting. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 5) 

SHARP supports the maximum power 

ratio approach, given that the allowable 

home to retail picture settings power 

ratio is no more than 40 percent. SHARP 

believes that unlike the luminance ratio 

approach, which is a performance 

requirement, setting a threshold for 

reported power is part of the power 

measurement process. (SHARP, No. 14 

at p. 3) P.R. China suggests 

implementing an efficiency ratio of the 

output power and input power that 

includes luminance in the nominator, 

multiplied by the screen size, and 

divided by the input power. (China, No. 

16 at p. 3) 

PG&E, California IOUs, and CEC 

requested a flexible test procedure with 

respect to luminance. PG&E and 

California IOUs recommended that the 

test procedure be designed so that 

policy-makers could consider 

luminance or power ratios between 

different preset picture settings. (PG&E, 

No. 12 at p. 2; California IOUs, No. 9 at 

p. 2) CEC urged DOE to adopt a test 

procedure which includes both power 

and luminance testing at a minimum 

picture setting and the retail picture 

setting, but provides enough flexibility 

that the policy makers can decide how 

these numbers are used to set standards. 

(CEC, No. 15 at p. 2) 

Interested parties also offered 

comments discouraging the possible 

inclusion of an absolute luminance 

measurement. Panasonic believes that 

absolute luminance does not provide 

enough data to determine if the TV is 

providing a ‘‘satisfactory consumer 

viewing.’’ Panasonic noted that many 

TV calibrators and video post 

production engineers consider the 

contrast ratio to be more important than 

absolute luminance. (Panasonic, No. 6 at 

p. 2) Panasonic also commented that 

when measuring luminance, the method 

must provide accurate results across all 

technologies, which is much easier with 

a ratio than with absolute luminance 

measurements. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 2) 

Finally, Panasonic commented that 

using a relative ratio is more tolerant of 

non-calibrated luminance meters, 

measurement distances and angles and 

the measurement location because the 

error cancels out between the two 

measurements. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 3) 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing 

measuring luminance to allow the 

ENERGY STAR program to utilize the 

measurement in section 5.3.1 

(luminance test) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. As 

mentioned in section III.E.1 above, DOE 

is proposing to test the TV in home and 

retail picture settings. DOE is proposing 

to include a luminance ratio, as is done 

in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. DOE believes 

that by taking a ratio, less error is 

introduced than if taking an absolute 

luminance measurement. Further, ratios 

have been used in many other TV 

efficiency measures. For example, 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 requires that 

home picture setting shall not be less 

than 65 percent of the peak luminance 

of the retail picture setting. The 

European Parliament requires a 

luminance ratio of at least 65 percent in 

the Commission Delegated Regulation 

(EU) No. 642/2009. Australia’s 

government requires a 50 percent 

luminance ratio in AS/NZS 

62087.2.2:201. Although DOE does not 

currently intend to include the 

luminance measurements in its final 

metrics for measuring energy efficiency 

or consumption, testing for a luminance 

ratio will allow DOE’s TVs test 

procedure to support the requirements 

of the ENERGY STAR Program and 

allow other regulating bodies to include 

a luminance ratio in their test 

procedures. DOE invites comments on 

luminance testing and including a 

luminance ratio. (See Issue 5 in section 

V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE Seeks 

Comment’’). 

c. Video Signals 

To test luminance, ENERGY STAR v. 

5.3 requires that a static video signal be 

displayed, and a measurement be taken 

using an LMD. In the 2010 RFI, DOE 

asked for comments on the use of two 

video signals: The IEC 62087–2008 three 

bar video signal, which is the same as 

the IEC 62087–2011 three bar video 

signal, and the Chinese TV test 

procedure’s nine point video signal 

(hereafter referred to as the nine point 

video signal). 75 FR 54048, 54050. As 

mentioned, IEC 62087–2011 does not 

require luminance testing, whereas 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 requires that a 

single luminance measurement be taken 

while the TV is displaying the three bar 

video signal. 

DOE believes that an ideal TV 

luminance video signal should 

represent actual broadcast content as 

closely as possible so that the measured 

luminance is an accurate reflection of 

the luminance produced under realworld operating conditions and is 

technology-neutral. DOE recognizes that 

it is possible that an ideal video signal 

may vary depending on the purpose for 

which it will be used. DOE envisions 

that the three bar luminance video 

signal proposed in today’s NOPR would 

be used as part of a luminance ratio. The 

table below lists the various video 

signals that DOE is considering as well 

as their perceived advantages and 

disadvantages. It should be noted that a 

number of stakeholder comments 

appear to equate the number of white 

areas in the video signal with the 

number of measurements. DOE wishes 

to clarify that these are two separate 

issues (for example, the nine point 

video signal could be used to test at 

anywhere between one and nine points); 

the number of measurements and 

related test burden are discussed in a 

following section. Any of the following 

video signals could be measured at a 

single point or multiple points. 

Three key features of plasma TV 

technology impact the brightness of 

white areas on their screens. These 

features, therefore, need to be taken into 

consideration in evaluating and 

selecting an appropriate technologyneutral video signal. Most plasma 

technology TVs limit brightness for very 

bright parts of the screen. As mentioned 

above, this feature called ABL is 

intended to protect the screen. Although 

the intention of ABL is to protect the 

screen, ABL functions differently across 

TVs. The protection is, however, 

generally based on the size of the bright 

area. For very small areas such as tiny 

spots seen on firework displays, ABL is 

likely to have little effect and the spots, 

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therefore, will be very bright. The larger 

the white area, the more ABL tends to 

be applied. The second type of 

protection is when a static picture is 

detected with bright (and maybe not so 

bright) areas. After several minutes of a 

static image the brightness may be 

decreased to try to eliminate phosphor 

image burn. The third protection mode 

operates when the whole screen is 

bright: To protect plasma drive circuits, 

the power, and thus also the luminance, 

tend to be limited. What is being 

observed is the image burning 

protection. 

DOE recognizes that none of the video 

signals currently under consideration is 

ideal. Each has advantages and 

disadvantages which are described 

below. Until a markedly improved video 

signal is made available, DOE is not 

inclined to change the status quo. DOE 

understands that IEC is contemplating a 

pattern with a dynamic video signal 

which may have significant advantages. 

DOE supports IEC’s development of this 

potentially improved pattern and would 

consider incorporating it in future TV 

test procedures. 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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20This pattern was created using the IEC 62087– 

2011 dynamic content video signal with black and 

white squares in the center of the screen as 

measurement points. 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–C 

DOE received comments on each of 

the video signals (see sections, below), 

described above as well as alternative 

suggestions for luminance testing, 

including the number of measurements 

to take while displaying a particular 

video signal. In response to 

commenters’ concerns, DOE considered 

multiple video signals when developing 

its NOPR. DOE considered the three bar, 

the nine point, and a DOE developed 

dynamic video signal. In this NOPR, 

DOE is proposing to test luminance 

using the three bar video signal in 

section 5.3.1.2 (three bar video signal 

measurement) of appendix H to subpart 

B of 10 CFR part 430, but is also 

considering using the other two signals. 

i. Three Bar Video Signal 

The three bar video signal was 

developed by the IEC and published in 

the third edition of its TV broadcast 

transmission test procedure, IEC 60107– 

1997 Ed. 3.0 ‘‘Methods of measurement 

on receivers for TV broadcast 

transmissions—Part 1: General 

considerations—Measurements at radio 

and video frequencies.’’ The three bar 

video signal is found in IEC 62087– 

2011, and is used to measure luminance 

in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. It is the most 


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widely used video signal for measuring 

luminance. The three bar video signal 

produces three equidistant vertical 

white bars on a black background. The 

width of each of these bars is 1⁄6 of the 

nominal horizontal width of the picture. 

The three bar video signal has an APL 

of 50 percent. A higher APL can cause 

some plasma TVs to enter more quickly 

into a power limiting state to prevent 

screen burn-in caused by displaying a 

bright screen for an extended period of 

time. 

In response to the 2010 RFI, many 

commenters expressed desire for DOE to 

use the three bar video signal for testing 

luminance. CERC, CEA, Sony, 

Mitsubishi, and Panasonic supported 

the use of the three bar video signal. 

(CERC, No. 10 at p. 3; CEA, No. 13 at 

p. 4; Sony, No. 8 at p. 2; Mitsubishi, No. 

7 at p. 3; Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 3) 

Mitsubishi believes that the three bar 

video signal is adequate. (Mitsubishi, 

No. 7 at p. 4) Sony commented that the 

3-bar test pattern is used in IEC and 

ENERGY STAR test procedures. 

Changing it will add complexity to an 

already complex subject. (Sony, No. 8 at 

p. 2) CEA stated that DOE should 

institute the ENERGY STAR test method 

of using the three-bar measurement 

procedure. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 4) 

Panasonic supports the use of the 3 bar 

pattern, as it is used by ENERGY STAR, 

CEA, CEC, and Australia. (Panasonic, 

No. 6 at p. 3) 

Conversely, SHARP commented that 

the three bar video signal is ineffective 

for plasma TVs, giving an advantage to 

the technology and is not necessarily 

‘‘unpredictable for LED backlit TVs,’’ as 

DOE stated in the 2010 RFI. (SHARP, 

No. 14 at p. 4) 

Although DOE is proposing that 

luminance testing be conducted with 

the three bar video signal, DOE 

acknowledges that there are drawbacks 

associated with its use. The APL of the 

three bar video signal is 50 percent, 

which is greater than that of typical 

broadcast content. The three bar video 

signal also does not have a reference 

point to vertically center the luminance 

meter readings which requires 

additional time to establish where the 

measurement should be taken. Another 

drawback to the three bar video signal 

is a static video signal which is not 

representative of typical TV program 

content. The final disadvantage to the 

three bar video signal is that it results 

in a quick ABL for plasma TVs due to 

the amount of white space on the 

screen. Although, the three bar video 

signal has disadvantages, DOE is 

currently unaware of a truly technology 

neutral video signal that isn’t affected 

by the type of TV technology. Video 

signals can have differing affects on TV 

technologies resulting in higher power 

consumption in some technologies and 

lower power consumption in other 

technologies. Because the three bar 

video signal is the current industry 

standard, it is used as a basis for 

comparison for the other video signals 

considered in the sections below. 

ii. Nine Point Video Signal 

The nine point video signal is used in 

the Chinese TV test procedure ICS 

27.010. The video signal was developed 

to measure variations in luminance 

across the screen and account for local 

dimming. This video signal consists of 

nine white rectangular boxes 

symmetrically arranged in a three by 

three grid. The nine point video signal 

is also a static video signal which does 

not improve upon the current three bar 

video signal and can also result in some 

ABL for plasma TVs. The average APL 

for the nine point video signal is 17 

percent which is lower than typical 

broadcast content. (P.R. China, No. 16 at 

p. 3) Because the nine point video signal 

has a lower APL than the three bar 

video signal, it alters the luminance 

ratio between home and retail picture 

settings for some TVs which would 

force policy makers to alter their 

respective luminance ratio 

requirements. DOE found that at least 

four different plasma TVs, which would 

have met ENERGY STAR requirements 

for luminance ratio with the three bar 

video signal, had a ratio below 65 

percent when displaying the nine point 

video signal. 

Panasonic discouraged DOE from 

using the nine point video signal and 

Digital Video Essential (DVE) window (a 

VESA industry video signal) because 

Panasonic believes these patterns do not 

prevent some TVs from power limiting; 

therefore they are not technology 

neutral. Panasonic did not provide any 

comment on how the video signals 

impact the TV’s power limiting. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 4) 

Alternatively, P.R. China 

recommended that DOE utilize the nine 

point video signal because the APL is 17 

percent, it is technology neutral, and it 

accounts for non-uniform screen 

luminance. (P.R. China, No. 16 at p. 3) 

DOE conducted various tests utilizing 

the nine point video signal. After 

interpreting data, the absolute 

luminance values obtained while using 

the DOE nine point video signal were 

generally higher in the retail picture 

setting and lower in the home picture 

setting than those obtained while using 

the three bar video signal, particularly 

in plasma TVs. DOE believes these 

results can be attributed to the lower 

APL of the nine point video signal, 

which prevents the TV from quickly 

entering ABL. This video signal might 

than disproportionately disadvantage 

plasma TVs. DOE also determined that 

changing the video signal will also 

impact the luminance ratio. Due to the 

change in absolute luminance values 

obtained while using the DOE nine 

point video signal, luminance ratios 

generally decreased for plasma TVs 

when compared to displaying the three 

bar video signal. DOE did not find any 

other major trends in size or brand for 

the TVs in which the ratio differed 

when using the nine point video signal 

as opposed to the three bar video signal. 

Due to the reasons stated above, DOE 

has determined not to propose utilizing 

the nine point video signal in this 

NOPR. 

iii. DOE Five Point Video Signal 

As mentioned above, DOE developed 

a five point video signal that has an APL 

identical to typical consumer broadcast 

content (34 percent). This video signal 

is based largely on the VESA five point 

video signal and consists of five white 

rectangular boxes arranged with one box 

in the center of the screen and one box 

in each corner. 

Upon testing, DOE found that the 

absolute luminance values obtained 

while using the DOE five point video 

signal were generally lower than those 

obtained while using the three bar video 

signal. DOE believes these results are 

due to the fact that the five 

measurements took into account the 

perimeter of the screen which is 

typically dimmer than the center. 

Similar to the nine point and the VESA 

five point video signal, this can also be 

attributed to the location of the 

measurements taken, as the center of the 

screen is typically brighter than the 

edges. With testing, DOE determined 

that this video signal also displayed 

some ABL for some plasma TVs 

regardless of the fact that the APL is 34 

percent. DOE did not find any major 

trends in size or brand for the TVs in 

which the ratio differed when using the 

DOE five point video signal as opposed 

to the three bar video signal other than 

changes in the luminance ratio for some 

TVs. 

iv. DOE Dynamic Video Signal 

Finally, DOE is interested in the 

development of a video signal that it 

believes may be more representative of 

actual consumer use, and may be more 

technology neutral. A technology 

neutral video signal was requested by 

numerous interested parties in response 

to DOE’s 2010 RFI. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2

2848 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

21 Directive 2005/32/EC of the European 

Parliament and of the Council with regard to 

ecodesign requirements for televisions http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:

2009:191:0042:0052:EN:PDF>. 

22 Keith Jones, Managing Director, Australian 

Digital Testing and Bob Harrison, Principal 

Scientist, U.K. Government Market Transformation 

Programme ICT and CE products. 

Some interested parties expressed a 

general desire for a technology neutral 

video signal or one that has an APL 

more similar to the IEC 62087–2008 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal, 

which is the same as the IEC 62087– 

2011 dynamic broadcast-content video 

signal. PG&E and California IOUs 

encouraged DOE to develop a video 

signal that has an APL that is more 

similar to the IEC 62087–2008 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal than the 

three bar video signal. This will help 

ensure that the luminance 

measurements are more reflective of 

actual TV usage. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 2; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) PG&E and 

the California IOUs also commented 

that the video signal should not favor 

one type of display technology over 

another. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 2; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) Panasonic 

agreed that the goal of a technology 

neutral video signal is certainly 

appropriate, though they feel that such 

a pattern has been elusive. (Panasonic, 

No. 6 at p. 3) NRDC encourages DOE to 

track the IEC development effort that is 

in progress, because IEC may be 

considering a potentially more 

technology neutral video signal 

including the nine point video signal 

used in China. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 4) 

Finally, CEC supported DOE’s 

investigation to identify a suitable video 

signal and recommends one that has an 

APL close to that of the IEC 62087–2008 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal. 

(CEC, No. 15 at p. 2) P. R. China agrees 

that an alternative video signal with an 

APL more similar to the IEC 62087– 

2008 dynamic broadcast-content video 

signal should be developed. (P.R. China, 

No. 16 at p. 3) P.R. China suggests that 

TVs be adjusted using the ‘‘8-gray scale 

mode’’ and then be tested using the nine 

point video signal. (P.R. China, No. 16 

at p. 3) 

Panasonic also suggested alternative 

language found in the EuP 642/2009 21

to conduct luminance testing. The EuP 

642/2009 allows for different video 

signals for various TV technologies and 

only specifies that the video signal must 

be a ‘‘full screen,’’ which does not 

exceed the APL point where power 

limiting occurs. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 

3) Panasonic commented that the 

European Union recognizes that each 

technology has a different, non-linear 

methodology for determining the 

brightness of individual images and 

therefore has prescribed different video 

signals for various technologies to meet 

the criteria of having a video signal that 

is not ‘‘power limiting’’ or dimming the 

screen as more pixels are required to be 

illuminated. Panasonic believes that 

both of these methods are also valid 

approaches of measuring luminance. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 3) 

Alternatively, Mitsubishi commented 

that the APL is irrelevant to the goal of 

measuring luminance, which is to 

determine if the home picture setting 

luminance is overly dim. (Mitsubishi, 

No. 7 at p. 3) 

To address interested party 

comments, DOE’s subject matter 

experts 22 have recommended 

development of a video signal that 

simulates the apparent brightness of a 

picture as well as an APL similar to the 

IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal. The proposed 

video signal would consist of a black 

rectangle (with an APL of zero percent) 

and a white rectangle (with an APL of 

100 percent) placed at the center of the 

IEC 62087–2008 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal. These rectangles 

will maintain the video signal’s APL at 

approximately 34 percent, which is 

similar to typical broadcast content. 

Each rectangle would be approximately 

1 × 1 inch for a 26 inch TV. The purpose 

of the small size of the rectangles is to 

minimize the overall impact they have 

on the APL of the video signal but allow 

for a white section to measure the 

luminance. Also, to help ensure that the 

TV does not detect the squares as 

stationary objects, the squares will 

alternate places with each other every 

minute. 

DOE hopes that this video signal will 

not unfairly benefit any specific 

technology, because it will simulate the 

state that the TV enters when displaying 

the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal. This video signal 

may also prevent the TV from APL, 

because it is a dynamic video signal 

which neither the three bar nor nine 

point video signal are capable of 

preventing. 

In summary, DOE understands the 

issues associated with the three bar 

video signal as well as all static video 

signals, but is utilizing the three bar 

video signal as the tentative default 

video signal for this NOPR while it 

continues to investigate other video 

signals and receive comments about 

them. Although DOE is proposing to 

require the three bar video signal, it 

would appreciate any comments on 

measuring luminance while displaying 

either the nine point or dynamic video 

signal that DOE also considered for 

incorporation in this rulemaking. (See 

Issue 7 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which 

DOE Seeks Comment’’). 

d. Number of Luminance Measurements 

In addition to the particular video 

signal displayed during luminance 

testing, the number of measurements 

and how those measurements are taken 

is important. In the 2010 RFI, DOE 

asked for comments on a nine point test 

measurement versus a single point test 

measurement. 75 FR 54048, 54050. 

Given the interested party feedback and 

additional testing discussed below, DOE 

is proposing to only require a single 

point luminance measurement. 

In response to the 2010 RFI, many 

commenters expressed desire for DOE to 

only require one luminance 

measurement if a luminance 

measurement is required. Mitsubishi 

stated that the variation of luminance 

across the screen, which they believe is 

the purpose of measuring multiple 

points while displaying the nine point 

video signal, does not relate to the goal 

of ensuring that TVs do not have a home 

picture setting that is overly dim. 

Mitsubishi added that, for this reason, 

taking nine measurements using the 

nine point video signal adds 

unnecessary burden. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 

at p. 4) Sony believes that using a video 

signal other than the three bar video 

signal and measuring multiple points 

will add complexity to an already 

complex subject. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) 

Panasonic commented that the nine 

point video signal offers no benefit over 

the three bar video signal, noting that a 

nine points measurement requires more 

time, is more difficult to perform, and 

is less repeatable. (Panasonic, No. 6 at 

p. 3) Sony similarly stated that 

manufacturers in China suggested that 

measuring luminance while utilizing 

the nine point video signal is lengthy 

and complex when measuring multiple 

points, and it does not provide more 

meaningful energy information than 

measuring a single point, though Sony 

did not explicitly state which Chinese 

manufacturers provided this comment. 

(Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) CEA also strongly 

opposed replacing the single point 

luminance measurement with the nine 

point video signal measurement, 

because taking nine measurements adds 

burden without giving more meaningful 

results. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 5) SHARP 

believes that a single point 

measurement is adequate for a ratio test. 

SHARP added that the Chinese test 

procedure uses a nine point video signal 

since it outputs an absolute luminance. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2849 

23The luminance ratio data indicates that the 

ratio from any one particular location (regardless of 

location) is similar between home and retail 

settings. This data can be found on the DOE Web 

site: Appliance and Commercial Equipment 

Standards: Television Sets. U.S. Department of 

Energy. August 2, 2011. <http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html>. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) SHARP 

commented that a nine point video 

signal measurement is much more 

expensive than a single, centered 

measurement. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) 

Other commenters urged DOE to 

adopt a luminance test that required 

multiple measurements, rather than a 

single measurement as currently 

required in ENERGY STAR v. 5.3. PG&E 

and California IOUs recommended DOE 

collect and analyze data using multiple 

point video signals to account for 

variations of luminance levels on 

different areas of a screen. (PG&E, No. 

12 at p. 2; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 

2) PG&E and California IOUs 

acknowledged that adding a multiple 

measurement video signal will add test 

variation; however, they believe that 

luminance measurements from multiple 

points may be needed. (PG&E, No. 12 at 

p. 2; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) 

NRDC did not specify a particular video 

signal to be used, but they prefer a 

method that requires multiple 

measurements rather than a single 

measurement. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 4) 

DOE conducted testing with the nine 

point video signal in order to determine 

the drawbacks and benefits of 

measuring luminance at multiple 

locations compared to measuring at only 

one point. Testing using this video 

signal was conducted using two 

separate methods: (1) Perpendicularly 

realigning the LMD to the center of each 

of the nine white squares (hereinafter 

referred to as the DOE nine point 

method); and (2) aligning the LMD 

perpendicularly with the center white 

square, maintaining the LMD fixed 

position, and angling the meter to 

measure eight off-axis white squares 

(hereinafter referred to as the Chinese 

nine point method). A distance 

luminance measurement is required to 

test off-axis measurements, but both a 

distance and contact meter can be used 

to take the perpendicular 

measurements. These nine 

measurements can be averaged to arrive 

at the overall screen luminance, 

ensuring that the brightness across the 

entire screen is accounted for in the 

measurement. Although the results for 

individual points varied across the 

screen when measuring luminance at 

multiple locations, DOE notes that 

measuring the additional locations 

would not impact the luminance ratio as 

the ratio would remain similar between 

TVs. DOE found that each of the 

individual measurement points across 

the TV screen maintained a similar ratio 

in the home and retail picture setting. 

DOE therefore believes that its proposed 

method of measuring luminance at a 

single location is sufficient for this test 

procedure. DOE’s test results show that 

the ratio from the average of the nine 

locations and only the central location 

are exactly the same on all but one TV 

tested which had ratios that were within 

three percent.23 Because luminance is 

calculated as a ratio, multiple location 

measurements serve to decrease the 

measurement accuracy and repeatability 

of measurement. 

In summary, DOE is proposing that 

only one luminance measurement be 

taken in each home and retail picture 

setting in section 5.3.1.2 (three bar video 

signal measurement) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. Taking 

multiple measurements, specifically 

with a distance meter, greatly increases 

the test burden and this burden 

outweighs the potential benefits of 

measuring multiple locations around 

the screen. Measuring only one location 

will also harmonize the DOE test 

procedure with other TV test procedures 

that manufacturers currently use to 

evaluate products. Although DOE is 

proposing to only require one 

luminance measurement per picture 

setting, DOE is seeking comments on 

taking a single measurement versus 

multiple measurements when testing for 

luminance, along with any testing data 

that supports or refutes DOE’s proposed 

method. 

e. Measurement Distances and Angles 

for Luminance Testing 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE considered 

requiring that luminance measurements 

be taken at various distances and angles, 

rather than perpendicular to the center 

of the screen as required by ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3. 75 FR 54048, 54050. 

However, after further investigation and 

input from interested parties, DOE is 

proposing that luminance 

measurements be taken perpendicular to 

the center of the screen, similar to the 

approach in the ENERGY STAR test 

procedure. 

PG&E and California IOUs believe that 

the angle needs to be specifically 

defined and that a perpendicular angle 

may be appropriate; they also 

recommend that DOE acquire test 

results using different angles to inform 

the decision. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 2; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) Sony 

questioned the need to measure at 

angles and the benefits it provides in a 

test procedure, stating that the optimal 

distances to take luminance 

measurements are described in the LMD 

specifications. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) 

Similarly, Panasonic recommended that 

a single luminance measurement be 

taken perpendicular to the center of the 

screen. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 4) They 

believe that the contrast will vary with 

the room ambient light and the viewing 

angles. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 2) CEA 

also stated that the measurement 

distances and angles are not as 

important as making the measurements 

in a consistent manner. (CEA, No. 13 at 

p. 5) P.R. China measures luminance 

from a distance of three times the height 

of a high-definition TV screen and four 

times the height of a standard display 

TV screen because it simulates 

consumer viewing conditions. (P.R. 

China, No. 16 at p. 4) Finally, SHARP 

commented that luminance 

measurements at various distances and 

angles would only be appropriate if 

absolute luminance measurements were 

the goal. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) SHARP 

also commented that a perpendicular 

measurement is adequate, if a 

luminance measurement is required. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) SHARP stated 

that the correct distance for the 

measurement is dictated by the 

measurement tool, rather than the TV. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 4) 

Taking nine perpendicular 

measurements using a distance measure 

greatly increases testing burden as it 

requires that the meter be aligned nine 

times, once for the measurement of each 

white square. The Chinese nine point 

method also increased burden as it 

requires nine measurements rather than 

a single one. Although the luminance 

meter only needs to be positioned once, 

the additional off-angle measurements 

still increase the burden of the test 

method. In addition, the Chinese nine 

point method eliminates the ability to 

use a contact LMD. 

As stated, above, DOE is proposing 

that luminance measurements be taken 

perpendicular to the center of the screen 

in section 5.3.1.1 (LMD setup) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430. DOE believes that measuring 

multiple locations on off-axis angles 

will add unnecessary variation to 

measurements made, will likely reduce 

the repeatability of the test and increase 

testing time. DOE is also proposing that 

the distance for which these 

measurements are taken are in 

accordance to the set specifications for 

the luminance measurement device, 

which can be found in III.D.1.c.ii of this 

NOPR. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2

2850 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

24Calwell, Chris, Mercier, Catherine, & FosterPorter, Suzanne. Assessment of Options for 

Improving Energy Efficiency Test Procedures for 

Display. http://www.efficientproducts.org/ 

%5Creports%5Ctvs%5CEcos_Display%20Test

%20Procedure%20Report_FINAL.pdf. 

25The energy consumption at different 

illuminance levels while ABC is enabled can be 

found on the DOE Web site: Appliance and 

Commercial Equipment Standards: Television Sets. 

U.S. Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

4. On Mode 

DOE is proposing to use the IEC 

62087–2011 on mode test procedure. 

This test procedure displays the widely 

accepted IEC 62087–2011 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal while the 

TV is in the on mode. Consistent with 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, DOE is 

considering testing on mode differently 

depending on whether ABC is enabled 

or disabled when the TV is shipped. If 

the TV is shipped with ABC enabled by 

default, the TV would be tested at 

multiple room illuminance levels, and if 

the TV is without ABC enabled by 

default, it would only be tested in the 

home picture setting. However, DOE 

wishes to continue to encourage 

manufacturers to ship TVs with ABC 

enabled. Although DOE is proposing to 

measure on mode without being 

connected to the internet, DOE is also 

interested in receiving feedback on 

potentially measuring on mode while 

the TV is connected to the internet. See 

section 11 of this NOPR. 

a. IEC 62087–2011 Dynamic BroadcastContent Video Signal 

IEC 62087–2011 and ENERGY STAR 

v. 5.3 both require the use of the IEC 

62087 dynamic broadcast-content video 

signal for on mode testing, which is the 

same in both the 2008 and 2011 

versions of the test procedure. This 

video signal displays a variety of clips 

that have an average APL equivalent to 

typical broadcast content. DOE received 

a comment from NRDC supporting the 

use of the IEC 62087–2008 dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal. (NRDC, 

No. 5 at p. 2) Although no other 

interested party explicitly stated that the 

IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal should be 

incorporated, no interested party 

opposed the use of the video signal. 

Moreover, a number of parties suggested 

that the clip should be the basis for any 

3D test procedure, affirming its wide 

acceptance. In this NOPR, DOE is 

proposing that the IEC 62087–2011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal 

be used to measure on mode energy 

consumption in 2D mode on all TVs. 

b. Testing of Television Sets Shipped 

With Automatic Brightness Control 

Enabled 

ABC is a power saving feature in 

which the TV automatically adjusts the 

screen luminance to account for the 

ambient lighting conditions (room 

illuminance). IEC 62087–2011 and 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 require TVs with 

ABC enabled by default to be tested 

differently than those without ABC 

enabled by default. DOE requested 

comment on the method for testing TVs 

with ABC enabled by default, as well as 

which room illuminance levels are most 

appropriate for testing. 75 FR 54048, 

54050. 

Interested parties were generally in 

support of DOE adopting a test 

procedure for TVs with ABC enabled by 

default. PG&E and California IOUs 

commented that appropriate 

implementation of an ABC feature for 

TVs could result in significant energy 

savings. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 2; California 

IOUs, No. 9 at p. 2) PG&E and California 

IOUs urged DOE to adopt a repeatable 

and representative method for 

measuring energy consumption of TVs 

with ABC enabled by default, stating 

that this should be a key area of focus 

for DOE. (PG&E, No. 12 at pp. 2–3; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at pp. 2–3) PG&E 

and California IOUs have observed that 

the on mode power consumption 

reported to EPA drops by an average of 

24 percent when testing with the ABC 

feature enabled. They obtained this data 

by comparing 18 specific TV models 

that did not have the ABC feature 

enabled on the August 2010 EPA 

product list, but did have it enabled on 

the September 2010 list. (PG&E, No. 12 

at p. 3; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 3) 

NRDC also supported the inclusion of a 

method to test TVs with ABC enabled 

by default, stating that when designed 

properly, the ABC feature can provide 

low cost means of delivering significant 

energy savings. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 5) 

NRDC further commented that many 

TVs have ABC as a means to comply 

with the new, more stringent ENERGY 

STAR 4.1 specifications as well as 

standards in California and elsewhere 

that are also likely to be effective soon. 

(NRDC, No. 5 at p. 5) Sony commented 

that the IEC 62087–2008 and ENERGY 

STAR v. 4.1 use the proper method to 

measure ABC energy consumption, and 

in the absence of a better method, DOE 

should adopt the same method. (Sony, 

No. 8 at pp. 2–3) This same method is 

used in IEC 62087–2011 and ENERGY 

STAR v. 4.3. SHARP believes that ABC 

scaling factors should continue to 

encourage adoption of a default-on ABC 

feature. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 6) 

Panasonic commented that due to 

tremendous variability between TV 

manufacturers and individual models, it 

is difficult to measure the performance 

of the ABC features of TVs. (Panasonic, 

No. 6 at p. 5) Finally, CEA informed 

DOE that it will consider changes to 

ABC testing in the next revision of 

CEA–2037–2009 and will propose any 

change to DOE. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 6) 

DOE agrees with the interested parties 

that are in support of incorporating TVs 

with ABC enabled by default in a test 

procedure. Although some interested 

parties disagree with the current method 

of measuring ABC energy savings, the 

majority of them agreed that testing TVs 

with ABC enabled by default was 

appropriate. DOE therefore is proposing 

to incorporate a test procedure for TVs 

with ABC enabled by default in section 

5.4 (on mode test for TVs without ABC 

enabled by default) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. The 

sections below provide details relating 

to room illuminance levels and the 

method for creating test room 

illuminance for purposes of measuring 

energy consumption of TVs enabled 

with ABC. 

i. Test Room Illuminance Levels and 

Associated Television Luminance 

Levels 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 and IEC 62087– 

2011 require that ABC energy 

consumption be measured at two test 

room illuminance levels, 0 lux and 

greater than 300 lux. As mentioned in 

the 2010 RFI, a 2009 study conducted 

by Ecos Consulting discovered that ABC 

is often implemented in a manner that 

may not take full advantage of the 

potential energy savings.24 In particular, 

if implemented incorrectly, ABC may 

achieve significant energy savings at the 

expense of TV picture quality, reducing 

the likelihood that users will actually 

enable the feature and achieve the 

claimed energy savings. The study 

showed that some TVs reduce the 

brightness of their displays at 0 lux, and 

then increase the brightness 

significantly at room illuminance levels 

only slightly above 0 lux. Since both IEC 

62087–2011 and ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 

only measure energy consumption at the 

mentioned two luminance levels, the 

TV seems to consume less energy than 

it does in use, causing results that are 

not representative of actual use. DOE 

also performed testing with respect to 

this issue and rarely observed any kind 

of gradual change in screen luminance 

in response to changes in room 

illuminance.25

DOE conducted testing in mid-2011 

on multiple TVs representing various 

manufacturers, display technologies, 

and screen sizes to understand how TV 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2851 

26 Jones, Keith, Analysis of Television Luminance 

and Power Consumption, CLASP, August 2011, 

http://www.clasponline.org/en/ResourcesTools/ 

Resources/StandardsLabelingResourceLibrary/ 

2011/Analysis-of-tv-luminance-and-powerconsumption. 

27The energy consumption comparison when 

ABC is on and off can be found on the DOE Web 

site: Appliance and Commercial Equipment 

Standards: Television Sets. U.S. Department of 

Energy. August 2, 2011. http://www1.eere.

energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/ 

residential/tv_sets.html. 

28The minimum luminance to which CNET 

calibrates televisions for optimal viewing in a dark 

room is 137 nits. See http://reviews.cnet.com/howwe-test/tv/. The Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) 

recommends a similar minimum luminance for 

dark room viewing conditions. Televisions with an 

ISF Expert display mode tested by DOE operated at 

a minimum luminance in that mode of 100 to 130 

nits. Televisions with a THX display mode tested 

by DOE operated a minimum luminance in that 

mode of 80 to 95 nits. 

luminance varies with changes in room 

illuminance when ABC is enabled. 

These measurements largely confirm 

those recently conducted by the 

Collaborative Labeling and Appliance 

Standards Program (CLASP 26), 

revealing that some TVs increase their 

screen luminance in a steady, 

continuous fashion as room illuminance 

increases (models D and L in 1 below). 

DOE’s testing shows that other TVs 

with ABC operate in a more binary 

fashion (models K and M in 1 below), 

holding luminance largely constant 

until room illuminance becomes quite 

low, and then dropping their luminance 

dramatically. This behavior is likely a 

consequence of the way ENERGY STAR 

currently provides an energy savings 

credit to TVs with ABC enabled by 

default, since ENERGY STAR currently 

only measures at 0 and 300 lux, and not 

at any intermediate points. 

Sample data from DOE’s testing are 

shown in 1. DOE has provided the full 

data set for this testing on its Web site.27

DOE has also determined that a 

significant number of TVs that currently 

implement ABC do so in a way that 

yields unusually low screen luminance 

values (less than 50 nits) when room 

illuminance is at 10 lux or less. Display 

experts recommend a minimum 

luminance for dark room viewing 

conditions of approximately 80 to 137 

nits.28 Very low luminance levels help 

to reduce energy consumption, but may 

yield a display that is so dim that users 

would want to disable ABC or modify 

room lighting conditions in order to 

cause the display to operate at a higher 

luminance level. In either case, much of 

the desired energy savings from ABC 

operation would be lost. 

As a result, DOE is seeking comment 

from stakeholders regarding whether 

there should be a limit to the reduction 

in display luminance achieved from 

ABC, and how a minimally acceptable 

display luminance value should be 

established. DOE also received a 

number of comments on the appropriate 

room illuminance levels at which to 

conduct testing. 

CEC, PG&E and California IOUs 

encouraged DOE to continue to research 

room illuminance conditions that are 

representative of consumer homes. CEC 

supports improvements to ABC testing, 

and believes that more appropriate 

lighting levels can be derived from 

Illuminating Engineering Society of 


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29Matsumoto et al., ‘‘Appropriate Luminance of 

LCD Television Screens under Real Viewing 

Conditions at Home’’, The SID Digest, (2011). 

30The preliminary field tests of room lighting 

levels can be found on the DOE Web site: Appliance 

and Commercial Equipment Standards: Television 

Sets. U.S. Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. 

<http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html>. 

31 Id. 

32 Jones, Keith. Analysis of Television Luminance 

and Power Consumption, CLASP, August 29, 2011, 

www.clasponline.org/, <http:// 

www.clasponline.org/en/ResourcesTools/ 

Resources/StandardsLabelingResourceLibrary/ 

2011/Analysis-of-tv-luminance-and-powerconsumption>. 

33 Id. 

North America (IESNA) studies. (CEC, 

No. 15 at p. 3) PG&E and California 

IOUs urged DOE to collect and analyze 

luminance and power data with and 

without ABC enabled with a range of 

room illuminance levels typical of 

consumer viewing conditions. (PG&E, 

No. 12 at p. 3; California IOUs, No. 9 at 

p. 3) 

Although some manufactures 

suggested that 0 lux should be changed, 

manufacturers were generally opposed 

to altering the room illuminance levels 

at which the TV is tested. Mitsubishi 

believes that measuring power at two 

levels of illuminance and assuming a 

linear relationship between the values is 

an approximation at best. (Mitsubishi, 

No. 7 at p. 5) They continued by adding 

that measuring at four illuminance 

points (e.g. 0, 10, 100, and 200 lux) 

doubles the testing burden on the lab 

making the measurement and does not 

ensure a linear relationship between any 

of the two points or necessarily make 

the power consumption approximation 

significantly better. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at 

p. 5) NRDC stated that DOE should 

require testing at low, medium and high 

room light levels, all at least 100 lux or 

brighter, to better represent actual 

viewing conditions. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 

5) Further, NRDC asserted that the test 

should require the lab technician to 

report the power levels, at different 

luminance levels, and leave it to the 

policy maker to determine the weight at 

each level. The test procedure should 

also require testing with ABC off. 

(NRDC, No. 5 at p. 5) CEA advised 

against changing the ENERGY STAR 

specification, as testing at additional 

luminance levels will not create a more 

repeatable and representative test 

method without further testing. (CEA, 

No. 13 at p. 6) CEA recommends the use 

of ENERGY STAR’s ABC test, but 

changing ‘‘300 lux or greater’’ to ‘‘300 

lux’’ with a reasonable tolerance limit. 

(CEA, No. 13 at p. 6) Additionally, 

Panasonic noted that if absolute 

luminance measurements are required 

at various levels other than 0 lux and 

greater than 300 lux, it will be difficult 

to develop a test method that ensures 

accurate and repeatable results across 

labs. (Panasonic, No. 6 at pp. 5–6) Sony 

believes that accurately capturing light 

conditions and energy savings 

associated with TVs equipped with ABC 

is difficult. Illuminance meters must be 

placed in the exact same position and 

orientation of the light sensor of the TV, 

in order to properly create the desired 

illuminance which varies from home to 

home and from test lab to test lab. Sony 

stated that the lighting conditions are 

outside of the scope of the test 

procedure. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 3) 

Alternatively, SHARP recommended 

that, at a minimum, the low light 

condition be increased somewhat above 

0 lux, but to determine an appropriate 

value, or if additional levels are 

required, more data collection and study 

is required. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 5) 

SHARP also supported the high 

illuminance condition being at precisely 

300 lux, allowing for some reasonable 

tolerance in the measurement condition. 

(SHARP, No. 14 at p. 5) 

To determine the appropriate 

illuminance levels required during on 

mode testing for those TVs with ABCenabled by default, DOE analyzed a 

Japanese study 29 undertaken by Sony, 

Seikei University, Sharp, and Panasonic 

pertaining to room illuminance and 

ABC. In addition, DOE conducted its 

own preliminary room illuminance field 

test.30 In 2011, the Japanese study of 77 

Japanese homes found that the most 

common room illuminance range of 

either day or night measurements was 

50 to 75 lux, and room illuminance was 

100 lux or less in more than 50 percent 

of the measurements. 

In June 2011, DOE conducted its own 

preliminary field tests of room lighting 

levels during TV viewing events.31

Room lighting levels and TV power 

consumption were logged continuously 

over a one-to-two week period in nine 

homes. From this data, light levels were 

correlated to times when the TV was 

actually being watched. Across the nine 

homes, the TV was watched for 10 

minutes or more 95 times in the period 

under consideration. DOE has collated 

the logged illuminance levels for each of 

those sessions, defined as ‘‘TV viewing 

session room illuminance’’ 

measurements, and found that they 

ranged in duration from 10 minutes to 

over five hours. Thirty-one, or about 

one-third, of the TV viewing sessions 

occurred during the day (defined as 6 

a.m. to 6 p.m.), and 64, or about twothirds, occurred at night (6 p.m. to 6 

a.m.). For daytime measurements, the 

range was 0 to 499 lux, with a mean of 

116 lux and a median of 81 lux. For 

nighttime measurements, the range was 

0 to 106 lux, with a mean of 19 lux and 

a median of 12 lux. Across all room 

illuminance measurements, the mean 

was 51 lux and the median was 17 lux. 

More than 90 percent of measurements 

had a room illuminance level between 

1 and 200 lux, and more than 70 percent 

of the measurements had a room 

illuminance level between 5 and 100 

lux. 

In addition to the Japanese study and 

its own preliminary study, DOE is also 

aware that CLASP recently conducted a 

study which assessed how TV energy 

consumption is affected by illuminance 

levels.32 The CLASP study found that 

there is no consistency in the way in 

which manufacturers implement ABC 

(e.g. automatically adjusting TV 

luminance according to the ambient 

light levels). The CLASP study 

suggested that appropriate room 

illuminance levels at which to measure 

ABC are: 10, 50, 100, and 300 lux 33 to 

properly characterize how ABC 

performs. 

Given DOE’s preliminary results that 

more than 70 percent of measurements 

fell between a room illuminance level of 

5 and 100 lux, and CLASP’s 

recommended room illuminance levels, 

DOE is proposing to require testing at 

10, 50, 100, and 300 lux illuminance 

levels in this NOPR. DOE is proposing 

this testing in section 5.5.1 of appendix 

H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. 

These proposed illuminance levels will 

help to characterize how TV energy 

consumption is altered by ABC, which 

is affected by changes in room lighting. 

The CLASP study included testing on 

forty TVs and investigated the energy 

consumption of TVs using ABC at 

various illuminance levels. DOE’s own 

laboratory testing revealed that 

televisions implement ABC differently, 

with screen luminance often following a 

complex function of room illuminance. 

Some televisions exhibit an increase to 

nearly full screen luminance slightly 

above 0 lux, while others exhibit an ‘‘Sshaped’’ response to room illuminance, 

with maximum change occurring 

between approximately 50 and 100–150 

lux. Having at least three (and ideally 

four) measurement points at increasing 

room illuminance levels can begin to 

capture the shapes of either of these 

behaviors that become clearly evident 

with larger numbers of measurements. 

DOE is not proposing testing at 0 lux, 

because it believes that ambient lighting 

levels this low are very difficult to 

achieve in practice in homes or 

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laboratories when the television is 

operating. DOE is only proposing one 

point above 100 lux, based on the 

limited evidence available from the 

Japanese study and its own study (both 

referenced above), DOE assumes that 

viewing at illuminance levels higher 

than 100 lux will be limited. The 

studies measured room illuminance at 

different points—the Japanese study 

from the top of the television and facing 

the viewer, the DOE study from the 

bottom bezel of the television and facing 

the viewer—however, with the limited 

data collected, static measurements of 

light levels at these locations in the DOE 

study suggest that the difference in the 

recorded values is relatively small (12 

percent lower when measured at the top 

of the television). DOE is also proposing 

to measure these 4 illuminace values 

with the IEC 62087–2011 main menu 

displayed on the TV. This screen is a 

static image that is seen directly before 

the Dynamic Broadcast video clip and is 

a predominantly black screen. This 

allows the TV to stay on so it doesn’t 

need to be warmed up again and 

increases repeatability. 

DOE is proposing testing at multiple 

levels to reflect how ABC could change 

display luminance in relation to 

changes in room illuminance. Although 

DOE believes that testing at four 

illuminance levels is the most 

appropriate for this test procedure, it is 

also considering measuring at 

alternative illuminance levels to reduce 

test burden. DOE welcomes any 

comment on potentially testing less than 

four room illuminance levels, including 

which levels would be recommended 

and the rationale for such levels. 

DOE believes that it is difficult to 

measure exact ambient light values with 

illuminance meters having high 

accuracy (high resolution). As such, 

DOE is proposing specified tolerance 

values for each ambient light level. All 

measurements made shall be within the 

specified tolerance levels. The proposed 

tolerance levels for room illuminance 

measurements are based on the 

observation that power consumed by 

ABC-enabled products varies greatly 

with changes in ambient lighting 

conditions less than 100 lux. Based on 

this observation, DOE would require 

that measurements at lower lighting 

levels be made as accurate as possible 

and, as such, proposes low tolerance 

levels at 10 lux (± 1 lux) and 50 lux (± 

2 lux). DOE observed low variance in 

power consumed by TVs at higher 

ambient light levels and hence proposes 

greater tolerance levels at 100 lux (± 5 

lux) and 300 lux (± 9 lux). These 

tolerance requirements have been 

incorporated in section 5.5.1 of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430. DOE seeks comments from 

interested parties on setting tolerance 

levels at each room illuminance point. 

(See Issue 8 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’) 

DOE is currently not proposing to 

weigh power consumption at each of the 

illuminance levels. DOE is, however, 

considering a weighted average to 

calculate the overall power 

consumption recorded when testing at 

the four illumination levels by assigning 

equal weights to each of the values. The 

weighting would reflect the amount of 

time that the average TV spends in that 

particular illuminance level. Providing 

weighting to different illuminance 

levels reflects the fact that TVs are 

watched in rooms with different lighting 

levels and at different times of the day. 

If DOE had additional data on the 

proportion of time TVs spend within 

different illuminance ranges, DOE might 

consider assigning different weightings 

to the power consumptions recorded at 

each illuminance level. DOE welcomes 

comments from interested parties on the 

methods under consideration. (See Issue 

8 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’). 

ii. Method for Creating Illuminance 

Conditions 

Once the respective illuminance 

levels have been selected, DOE must 

specify how to create the room 

illuminance in the test procedure to be 

both repeatable and representative. This 

involves the orientation of the 

illuminance measurement meter, the 

light source type and the location for 

measurement. 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

measure the room illuminance at the 

location of the ABC sensor on the TV 

with the light entering directly into the 

sensor. This method is currently being 

employed by ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 as 

well as IEC 62087–2011, and was 

generally supported by interested 

parties. However, DOE is also 

considering an alternative method. The 

alternative method requires that the 

room illuminance be created using a 

diffused light source, and be measured 

either at the center of the screen or the 

location of the ABC sensor. In response 

to the 2010 RFI, DOE received 

comments on the appropriate method 

for creating illuminance levels. 

DOE received general comments 

requesting a test procedure that clearly 

outlines where to create and measure 

room illuminance with respect to the 

TV. NRDC encourages DOE to establish 

a more specific test method on how to 

measure the light that is entering the 

ABC sensor and/or the TV screen, but 

NRDC did not specify an appropriate 

alternative. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 5) NRDC 

stated that the test procedure should 

provide detail on the orientation of the 

illuminance meter, the type of light 

source, and the location for 

measurement. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 6) 

PG&E and California IOUs 

recommended that DOE specify 

guidance on illuminance meter 

orientation, source light and the 

direction of the source light to ensure 

consistent testing across products. 

(PG&E, No. 12 at p. 3; California IOUs, 

No. 9 at p. 3) 

Commenters expressed desire for 

measuring the room illuminance at the 

location of the light presence sensor 

with the light directly entering the 

sensor. PG&E and the California IOUs 

recommend that measurement of room 

illuminance be taken at the location of 

the TV light presence sensor. (PG&E, 

No. 12 at p. 3; California IOUs, No. 9 at 

p. 3) Sony believed that to accurately 

capture light conditions, the 

illuminance meter should be placed at 

the sensor. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 3) 

Panasonic recommended that ABC be 

measured with the light entering 

directly into the TV’s ambient light 

sensor as specified by IEC 62087–2008, 

ENERGY STAR v. 4.1, and CEA 2037. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 6) CEA similarly 

commented that the illuminance 

measurement should be taken at the 

sensor and the illuminance meter 

should be in the same horizontal 

orientation as the light sensor to ensure 

repeatability across measurements. 

(CEA, No. 13 at p. 6) Finally, Panasonic 

commented that the illuminance should 

be measured immediately adjacent and 

in the same plane as the TV’s ambient 

light sensor opening. They believe that 

measuring light at the center of the 

screen will not provide meaningful and 

repeatable results. (Panasonic, No. 6 at 

p. 6) SHARP commented that 

manufacturers do not gain any 

advantage by putting the ABC sensor in 

an obscure or hidden position, and thus 

the illuminance measurement location 

should be at the sensor. (SHARP, No. 14 

at p. 6) SHARP also believed that no 

problem exists with respect to 

measurement location and lighting, and 

anything other than the IEC 62087–2008 

method adds complexity, uncertainty 

and cost to the measurement. (SHARP, 

No. 14 at p. 6) 

DOE evaluated a second option for 

furnishing ambient light to the 

automatic brightness control sensors in 

a laboratory setup. This second option 

utilizes a diffuse light source. Such a 

source would be located further away 

from the TV than a direct source, and 

its light would reach the TV through a 

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combination of direct and indirect (e.g., 

reflections from the ceiling, walls, and 

floor) pathways. Although a diffuse light 

source better represents actual in-home 

lighting conditions, DOE determined 

that such an approach depends on too 

many variables that are difficult to 

control and which introduce 

uncertainties into the test procedure 

relative to the direct approach. The 

diffuse light source would need to be 

much brighter in order to yield the 

target lux values at the television. The 

light would be arriving at the television 

from many different angles and would 

be incident on the television screen as 

well as its ABC sensor. This increases 

the likelihood that the technician’s 

position in the room during the test 

would influence the measured result, 

and makes it difficult to employ a noncontact luminance meter for television 

screen brightness measurements. 

Finally, differences in test room size, 

configuration, surface reflectivity, and 

light source type would also make it 

very difficult to replicate identical test 

conditions in multiple laboratories. For 

the above reasons, DOE proposes to 

employ only a direct light source for all 

ABC testing. 

In addition to specifying to lighting 

position and sensor measurement 

location, DOE also believes that it is 

necessary to specify the lighting type. Of 

artificial lighting sources, incandescent 

light most closely follows the spectral 

distribution of natural light. Compact 

fluorescent lights (CFL) and LED tend to 

be discontinuous in the spectral density 

curves which may impact the ABC 

sensors ability to perceive light. 

Incandescent lights have a color 

rendering index (CRI) of about 100 

while CFL and LED have a CRI ranging 

from 75–85 (natural light has a CRI of 

100, a metric used for how light makes 

the perceived color of an object appear). 

DOE is proposing that the room 

illuminance be created only by using 

100 watt halogen incandescent light 

bulbs, although the number of bulbs 

needed is dependent on the size of the 

room and the distance from the ABC 

sensor. 

While DOE feels that specifying a 

halogen incandescent is sufficient for 

creating a repeatable lighting condition, 

DOE requests comments on 

incorporating a color temperature range 

in addition to lighting type. Consumers 

have a wide variety of lighting options 

to choose from ranging from ‘‘warm’’ 

(2800–3000 K) to ‘‘cool’’ (3600–5500 K) 

color temperatures and it is still 

unknown how these characteristics may 

be perceived by ABC sensors. DOE also 

requests comments on a warm-up time 

for the lighting source. Incandescent 

lights do not typically have the same 

warm-up characteristics as other lights 

like CFL that require time before 

reaching their optimal brightness. 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

measure the room illuminance at the 

location of the ABC sensor on the TV 

with a halogen incandescent light 

source entering directly into the sensor 

in section 5.5.2 of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. Although 

neither ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 or IEC 

62087–2011 specifies the particular 

location of the light source, DOE 

believes that through specifying the 

location, it will have a more thorough 

and complete test procedure that is 

representative of actual use. Although 

DOE is proposing to measure using only 

one light source, DOE is also interested 

in receiving feedback on measuring 

using multiple light sources. (See Issue 

9 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’). 

c. Television Sets Shipped Without 

Automatic Brightness Control Enabled 

For TVs shipped without ABC 

enabled, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate testing consistent to that in 

the ENERGY STAR v. 5.3, which 

references Section 11: Measuring 

Conditions for Television Sets in On 

(average) Mode of IEC 62087, Ed 2.0. 

DOE believes that this is a respected 

method that is widely accepted in 

industry and reasonably measures the 

average on mode power consumption of 

the TV in section 5.4.1 of appendix H 

to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. In this 

test procedure, the on mode power 

consumption is obtained by playing the 

IEC 62087–2011 dynamic-broadcast 

video signal (which was created to 

mimic typical TV content) in ‘‘as 

shipped’’ condition which is the mode 

in which DOE assumes that most TVs 

stay according to feedback from Sony. 

As noted above, Sony commented that 

their call center data indicates that more 

than 95 percent of returned sets remain 

in the home picture setting when 

received. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 2) DOE did 

not receive any comments pertaining to 

on mode power testing for TVs shipped 

without ABC enabled. 

d. Three Dimensional Display Testing 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

comment on incorporating a test method 

for testing TVs capable of displaying 3D 

images in 3D mode. 75 FR 54048, 54051. 

Interested parties commented on the 

inclusion of this testing into the DOE 

test procedure. 

All agreed that 3D was likely to 

become increasingly prevalent. 

Interested parties, however, had mixed 

views as to the importance of DOE 

incorporating 3D testing in this version 

of its test procedure. Some did not seem 

to consider it a priority, some 

considered it premature, stating that the 

market share is currently small but 

rapidly increasing and the technology is 

still developing, and others felt it 

should clearly be included. Sony offered 

its support to DOE’s studies into 3D 

technology. They believe that the 

amount of time consumers spend 

watching 3D content is currently 

relatively small compared to 2D content 

but increasing. Sony believes that 

sufficient time should be allowed for the 

IEC to create a 3D version of its 2D 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal. 

(Sony, No. 8 at p. 3) Mitsubishi 

commented that a test procedure for 3D 

should be included in DOE’s test 

procedure but it need not involve a 3D 

disc, 2D content could be converted to 

3D in real time. (Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 

6) NRDC commented that TVs having 

the ‘‘3D boost’’ feature could result in a 

significant increase in TV power to 

display 3D content. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 

6) Panasonic asserts that TVs display 3D 

images in a similar manner as 2D 

images. Thus, they believe that a TV 

that is efficient in 2D mode will also be 

efficient in 3D mode, when compared to 

other TVs operating in 3D mode. Once 

IEC has developed a 3D clip, or even 

before, Panasonic believes that it should 

be referenced by DOE. (Panasonic, No. 

6 at p. 7) CEA believes that DOE should 

support standards development 

organizations investigating 3D 

technologies but due to the lack of a 

standardized method and current small 

volumes on the market, 3D technology 

should not be included in DOE’s current 

test procedure. CEA acknowledged that 

it may be appropriate to modify the DOE 

test procedure in the future to include 

3D testing. (CEA, No. 13 at pp. 7–8) P.R. 

China suggested that it is too early to 

consider 3D technology in the DOE test 

procedure. (P.R. China, No. 16 at p. 5) 

SHARP believes that it is premature to 

set power standards for TV in 3D modes 

stating that there are three things that 

are needed: Standardized language for 

testing, a standardized test signal, and 

accurate weightings based on actual 

viewing habits. SHARP recommended 

that the IEC develop a 3D dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal, but such 

a result is unlikely to be available before 

late 2012. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 7) DOE 

should revisit 3D power measurements 

when a 3D dynamic broadcast-content 

video signal becomes available— 

probably no earlier than 2013. (SHARP, 

No. 14 at p. 7) PG&E, California IOUs, 

and Mitsubishi supported DOE in 

currently including 3D testing in its 

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34 Global 3–D TV Shipments Set to Soar to 78 

Million Units in 2015. Riddhi Patel. iSuppli Press 

Release. March 1, 2010. 

35 IEC and necessary copyright holders have 

agreed in principle to allow DOE to modify the test 

clip and return it to IEC. IEC is able to assign rights 

over the material in the test clip with the possible 

exception of certain portions of the test clip owned 

by one copyright holder. Currently, DOE is in 

discussions with that copyright holder. 

proposed test procedure. PG&E and 

California IOUs commented that 3D TVs 

are expected to significantly increase in 

market share, and drop in price. 

Therefore they urged DOE to develop a 

test procedure that applies to 3D TVs on 

the market. (California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 

3; PG&E, No. 12 at p. 3) Although 

Mitsubishi recognized the difficulties of 

creating a test procedure for testing 3D, 

they believed that power consumption 

in 3D operating mode(s) should have a 

single, recognized test procedure, and 

that power consumption in 3D operating 

mode(s) should be measured. 

(Mitsubishi, No. 7 at p. 6) 

DOE recognizes that 3D content is 

becoming increasingly popular and that 

3D TVs are becoming more affordable. 

PG&E and California IOUs cited a study 

that showed that 3D TVs are projected 

to increase from 4.2 million units in 

2010 to 78 million units by 2015, rising 

at a compound annual growth rate of 80 

percent, and that the global average 

selling price for 3D TVs in 2015 will 

drop by more than half the price in 

2010. 34 (California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 3; 

PG&E, No. 12 at p. 3) Industry has more 

recently indicated that over the next 

couple of years 3D will become a 

common feature on many TVs, almost 

available as standard on larger screen 

sizes and with higher end models 

(Society for Information Display 

conference, 2011). Moreover, 3D content 

is becoming increasingly prevalent with 

emerging native 3D material (movies, 

sports content etc. shot in 3D), and Bluray players and TVs on the market with 

the ability to convert content from 2D to 

3D. DOE understands the need for a 

standardized method for measuring the 

power consumption of TVs in 3D mode. 

DOE’s research thus far indicates that 

for most mainstream technologies’ 3D 

mode consumes a significant additional 

power premium. However, DOE 

understands that 3D is a developing 

technology and will most likely take 

time to mature. 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is not 

proposing to include a test procedure to 

measure 3D energy consumption for the 

reasons that: (a) 3D technology has not 

yet stabilized, and (b) a uniform method 

for 3D mode energy measurement has 

not yet been created. However, DOE is 

considering two potential alternatives 

for future inclusion in its test procedure. 

The two alternatives involve either 

creating a 3D dynamic broadcastcontent video signal similar to that of 

the IEC 62087–2011 dynamic broadcastcontent video signal, or employing a 

device that can uniformly convert the 

2D dynamic broadcast-content video 

signal to 3D and output 3D content in 

real time. The two potential test 

methods under consideration are 

outlined below. 

For the first approach that DOE is 

considering, DOE would create a 3D test 

disc capable of being played in a Bluray player. DOE has been working 

closely with the IEC. IEC has agreed in 

principle to provide DOE with all the 

rights which it is able to provide DOE 

to modify the 2D test clip and distribute 

modified versions of the test clip. If 

DOE creates a modified 3D version of 

the IEC test clip for any purpose, it has 

agreed to provide a copy to IEC which 

IEC could then use in its development 

of an IEC 3D test clip.35

It is the intent of DOE that the disc 

will be capable of playing Blu-ray 

format 3D, an HDMI 1.4 interface at 

1080 horizontal lines of vertical 

resolution and at least 1440 vertical 

lines of horizontal resolution. When 

playing the disc, 3D capable TVs will 

recognize that the disc contains 3D 

content, and will switch into 3D mode. 

The average APL of the 3D disc would 

be 34 percent thus simulating normal 

viewing content even while the TV is in 

3D mode. At this time, DOE believes 

that this approach is the best approach 

for developing a 3D test procedure and 

is interested in working with the IEC 

and other interested parties in its 

development. 

DOE is also considering a second 

approach, which employs a device that 

can convert the 2D test clip to 3D and 

output 3D content in real time. Under 

this approach, DOE would try to 

develop a performance specification for 

Blu-ray devices that have this capability 

to ensure that the test results are 

consistent across labs if using different 

2D to 3D convertors. DOE has tested 

some of these devices, and cannot 

conclude at this time what the 

performance specification should be for 

these devices. However, DOE welcomes 

comments on this aspect of the test 

procedure under consideration. 

As mentioned, DOE has performed 3D 

testing using two Blu-ray players 

available for sale in the U.S. from 

different manufacturers, both of which 

are able to convert 2D images to 3D in 

real time. DOE measured the average 

power consumption over a specified 

amount of time and then played a 2D 

disc of the same footage on the 2D to 3D 

converter. DOE found very little 

difference between TV power measured 

using 3D source material and TV power 

measured using 2D source material 

converted to 3D using the Blu-ray 

players. To make the comparison, DOE 

used market available Blu-ray videos 

with both a 3D and a 2D version and 

measured the energy consumption over 

the same ten minute section of the film 

using both methods for generating 3D 

material. The comparison was made on 

five 3D capable televisions spanning 

LED LCD, plasma, and DLP 

technologies. 

DOE believes that, generally, the 

limited test results of the convertor are 

comparable to those of playing 3D 

content. However, there were issues 

with this approach. DOE is concerned 

that the variability found between 

playing the test clip in the converter, 

versus playing a 3D test clip, can be a 

function of the test clip, converter and 

TV used in the test and is not certain 

how to develop an adequate 

performance specification for the 

converter alone. DOE also found 

through testing that not all convertors 

worked with all TV brands. Further, 

DOE determined that, in some cases, the 

convertors put the TV into a mode that 

consumed less energy when playing 2D 

content converted to 3D than when 

playing the same content in 2D. 

DOE requests comment on these two 

options for generating the video signal 

for 3D TVs, along with any other 

considerations for testing 3D TVs. (See 

Issue 10 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’). 

5. Standby and Off Modes 

As mentioned above, EISA 2007 

requires DOE to include consideration 

of standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption in future amendments to 

both its test procedure and energy 

conservation standard. In order to 

adhere to EISA 2007, DOE is proposing 

to include the standby mode 

requirements according to IEC 62087– 

2011 and the off mode requirements 

according to IEC 62301–2011. When 

developing a proposed standby and off 

mode test procedure, DOE assessed both 

IEC 62301–2005 Household Electrical 

Appliances—Measurement of Standby 

Power and IEC 62087–2011. ENERGY 

STAR v. 5.3 references IEC 62087–2011. 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate standby tests for standbypassive in section 5.6.1 (standby-passive 

mode test) of appendix H to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430 and standby-active, 

high in section 5.6.2 (standby-active, 

high mode test) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 as well as 

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an off mode test in section 5.7 (off 

mode) of appendix H to subpart B of 10 

CFR part 430. Although DOE is not 

currently proposing to include a 

standby test for standby-active, low, 

DOE is considering this requirement for 

the future. 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

comments dealing with standby and off 

mode. Specifically DOE focused on 

additional functions, internet 

connectivity and power saving 

technologies, since they can possibly 

alter the energy consumed by the TV. 75 

FR 54048, 54051. 

a. Additional Functions 

As mentioned above, additional 

functions have the potential to increase 

energy consumption while the TV is in 

standby and off mode. Additional 

functions are defined as any function 

that is not required for the basic 

operation of the device. Although DOE 

did not specifically request comments 

pertaining to additional functions in the 

2010 RFI, both NRDC and SHARP 

provided comments on assessing the 

power use associated with additional 

functions. 

NRDC asked that DOE provide 

guidance in its test procedure for 

additional functions and that DOE 

revise the standby section of IEC 62087– 

2008, which is the same as IEC 62087– 

2011. NRDC believes that the test 

procedure must address whether the 

TVs additional functions should be left 

as is, turned on, or turned off/disabled 

prior to testing. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 2) 

Although NRDC requested guidance, 

they were generally opposed to testing 

with additional functions switched on 

unless initially enabled by default. 

NRDC believes that built-in DVD and 

Blu-ray players should be tested without 

a disc inserted, and play should not be 

selected. However, they believe that the 

DVD and Blu-ray players should not be 

allowed to be turned off or physically 

removed prior to testing. (NRDC, No. 5 

at p. 2) NRDC also commented that the 

TV should be tested without the cable 

card inserted, but DOE should 

potentially include a supplement to its 

test procedure that allows guidance on 

how to report for features such as cable 

cards. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 3) 

Additionally, DOE should gather data 

and evaluate methods, including the 

Australian method, which includes 

measuring standby-active and standbypassive once the TV has been tuned to 

an Australian broadcast channel. 

(NRDC, No. 5 at p. 7) 

SHARP was also opposed to enabling 

additional functions when conducting 

energy measurements. SHARP 

commented that IEC 62087–2008 

requires that additional functions be 

turned off to provide for equivalent TV 

model comparison. (SHARP, No. 14 at 

p. 8) SHARP recommends that DOE 

follow precedence and measure the 

basic TV functions without intervention 

in the areas of nascent technologies, 

services and innovations. (SHARP, No. 

14 at p. 9) 

In this NOPR, DOE is proposing 

testing the TV as shipped, without 

manually enabling any additional 

functions. This method is consistent 

with the comments made by both 

SHARP and NRDC. Although enabling 

additional functions while testing in 

standby and off mode would encourage 

manufacturers to lower energy 

consumption for those functions, it 

would make it difficult to compare TVs 

with different functions. Also, DOE is 

not aware of any usage data that 

illustrates how consumers use TVs with 

additional functions and DOE believes 

that proposing testing with additional 

functions would require an 

understanding of such usage. 

b. Power Saving Technologies 

The number of TVs that are being sold 

with various power saving technologies 

is continuing to increase, and therefore 

DOE investigated the how these 

technologies affect energy consumption. 

These technologies include, but are not 

limited to, auto-shut-off, presence 

sensor, DPMS, and HDMI–CEC. 

Panasonic, Sony, NRDC, and SHARP 

believe that TVs with power saving 

technologies should not be given an 

energy credit in the current rulemaking 

because many are still being developed. 

Panasonic believes that it would be 

difficult to determine the amount of 

power saved and to obtain data by 

various power saving technologies and 

complex measurement procedures will 

not be useful. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 7) 

Sony stated that it is impossible to know 

the actual savings of energy saving 

functions, so additional studies are 

needed prior to DOE adopting them in 

its test procedure. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 4) 

LG stated that the ENERGY STAR and 

IEC 62087–2008 test procedure, which 

only account for ABC, adequately 

evaluate power saving functions 

available today. (LG, No. 3 at p. 2) CEA 

also stated that not every possible 

energy using feature needs to be 

covered, especially if it is too difficult, 

impractical, costly or speculative. (CEA, 

No. 13 at p. 2) More specifically, NRDC 

and Panasonic do not support giving 

credit for presence sensors; a power 

saving technology that turns the TV off 

if it senses that no consumers are 

viewing it. They believe that the 

technology will likely be disabled by the 

consumer; assuming the TV is shipped 

with presence sensors enabled. (NRDC, 

No. 5 at p. 7; Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 8). 

SHARP also noted that many power 

saving technologies are proprietary and 

should therefore be avoided. 

Specifically, DPMS has intellectual 

property implications. (SHARP, No. 14 

at p. 9) SHARP believes that HDMI–CEC 

can provide some mechanisms for 

power saving. They supported their 

comment by stating that the application 

layer is not well enough defined for 

consistent cross-company 

interoperability, and many HDMI–CEC 

implementations are currently 

proprietary. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 9) 

Many interested parties supported 

DOE research into power saving 

technologies. NRDC urged DOE to 

revisit power savings features, and 

whether credits should be provided for 

power saving features. (NRDC, No. 5 at 

p. 7) CEA also encouraged DOE to 

continue to study and investigate energy 

saving features but be cautious as to not 

promote technology that is restrictive 

and costly. (CEA, No. 13 at p. 8) CERC 

believes that the standard should be 

allowed to evolve with new 

technologies. CERC commented that 

technologies still in early development, 

including automatic shut-off and ABC, 

should be allowed to be developed more 

fully before a standard and test 

procedure are imposed on their 

operation, allowing manufacturers more 

incentive to innovate. (CERC, No. 10 at 

pp. 2–3) PG&E and the California IOUs 

urged DOE to account for new 

technologies in the test procedure to the 

greatest extent possible. (PG&E, No. 12 

at p. 4; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 4) 

Finally, some manufacturers 

commented on specific power saving 

technologies available in products 

today. Sony commented that its TVs 

contain intelligent presence sensors 

with face and motion detectors, light 

sensors, power savings (regardless of 

picture mode), idle TV standby, auto 

shut-off and the energy savings switch 

(completely off). (Sony, No. 8 at p. 4) LG 

commented that their TVs have features 

that place the TV into standby mode if 

no signal is present for 15 minutes. (LG, 

No. 3 at p. 2) SHARP commented that 

the auto-standby feature that is available 

in some manufacturers’ products can 

potentially save energy, but also may 

annoy consumers. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 

9) SHARP also believes that California’s 

requirement that the power button put 

the TV into passive standby, can have 

negative consequences, such as 

terminating a nearly complete program 

guide download. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 

9) 

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36The data indicating a lack of increased power 

consumption associated with connecting the TV to 

the internet, cable or an HDMI input can be found 

on the DOE Web site: Appliance and Commercial 

Equipment Standards: Television Sets. U.S. 

Department of Energy. August 2, 2011. http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/tv_sets.html. 

37 Id. 

Given the interested party feedback, 

DOE is not proposing to test new power 

saving technologies because DOE 

believes more investigation is needed to 

be able to better understand any 

potential benefits from these 

technologies. Although DOE will 

continue to investigate the new 

technologies, DOE believes that the 

market is currently at too early a stage 

of development. In order to continue to 

investigate these new technologies, DOE 

welcomes interest parties submit 

information pertaining to all power 

saving technologies, which would help 

DOE in its investigation present on TVs. 

c. Standby Modes 

i. Standby-Passive Mode 

As stated in section 5 above, DOE is 

proposing a test procedure for standbypassive mode in section 5.6.1 (standbypassive mode test) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. IEC 

62087–2011 defines standby-passive 

mode as the mode in which the 

appliance is connected to a power 

source, produces neither sound nor 

picture but can be switched into another 

mode with the remote control unit or an 

internal signal as referenced in III.C.3.a 

of this NOPR. Testing in this mode 

would require putting the TV into 

standby-passive mode as defined in 

section 2.12 (standby-passive mode) of 

appendix H in subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430, and measuring the power 

consumed according to section 4.3.1 of 

IEC 62301–2011. Standby-passive mode 

would include modes such as when the 

TV is connected to the internet but not 

actively receiving a signal. 

ii. Standby-Active, Low Mode 

The number of TVs that are being sold 

with the capability of accessing the 

internet (either wirelessly or via 

Ethernet) is continuing to increase; 

PG&E and California IOUs stated that by 

2014, internet-enabled TVs are 

estimated to account for 54 percent of 

the total global TV market. They 

supported their statement by 

commenting that in 2010, shipments of 

these TVs rose 125 percent globally 

from 2009. (PG&E, No. 12 at p. 4; 

California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 4) In the 

2010 RFI, DOE requested comments on 

testing TVs with internet connectivity. 

75 FR 54048, 54051. 

Some interested parties commented in 

favor of TVs being connected to the 

internet when measuring standby and 

off mode energy consumption. NRDC 

suggested that the TV should be 

connected to the internet, then turned 

off normally, and the energy 

consumption associated with the TV 

being connected to the internet should 

be measured and reported as part of 

standby power use. (NRDC, No. 5 at p. 

2) PG&E and the California IOUs also 

stated that DOE should incorporate 

internet connectivity and power usage 

associated with this feature in the test 

procedure. They suggested that DOE do 

this by including a network mode, 

consistent with what will be included in 

IEC 62301 Edition 2.0. (PG&E, No. 12 at 

p. 4; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 4) 

Other interested parties commented 

that internet connectivity energy 

consumption should not be included in 

the test procedure. Interested parties 

commented against including a general 

internet measurement as well as 

enabling internet when conducting the 

standby test. Interested parties reasoned 

that internet connectivity has not been 

researched thoroughly, and is still in the 

early development stages. Sony 

commented that their limited data 

suggests that the power consumption of 

TVs equipped with Ethernet ports is 

equivalent to the power consumption in 

the home mode while streaming 

contracted network connects from the 

various service providers. (Sony, No. 8 

at p. 3) Sony also stated that because 

power and usage of internet capable TVs 

is unknown, additional study is needed 

prior to incorporating it into the test 

procedure. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 3) CEA 

similarly stated that internet 

connectivity is still in an early phase of 

development and should therefore not 

be included in the test procedure 

without further research. (CEA, No. 13 

at p. 8) Panasonic recommends using 

the same on mode power measurement 

with the IEC 62087–2008 dynamicbroadcast video signal, regardless of the 

TV’s internet capabilities. (Panasonic, 

No. 6 at p. 8) Panasonic believes that the 

power consumed from an internet 

connection is minimal and complex, 

and will be difficult to reproduce. 

(Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 8) SHARP further 

commented that consumers all use the 

internet differently, so setting a test 

procedure to mirror actual internet use 

would be a daunting task with minimal 

value. (SHARP, No. 14 at p. 8) SHARP 

believes that much more study is 

required before DOE can characterize 

the power consumed from TVs based on 

active internet use. (SHARP, No. 14 at 

p. 8) SHARP believes that due to 

competitive pricing, TVs have limited 

storage capacity, and therefore internet 

communications are limited or nonexistent when the TV is in sleep mode, 

making testing it not relevant. (SHARP, 

No. 14 at p. 8) 

Other interested parties commented 

on specific details pertaining to internet 

connectivity energy consumption. 

NRDC believes that the test procedure 

should have language to ensure that no 

content is being downloaded from the 

internet while the measurement is being 

made. (NRDC, No. 5 at pp. 2–3) LG 

commented that ‘‘currently the HDMI 

input is available to the IEC Standard 

62087 internet source; however it is 

impossible to implement it through the 

current environment LAN Port.’’ (LG, 

No. 3 at p. 2) DOE notes that while IEC 

62087–2011 provides a video signal of 

different Web sites to represent internet 

energy consumption, there is currently 

no standard method for measuring 

actual internet usage when connected to 

the internet via a LAN Port. 

Given the comments received in the 

2010 RFI, DOE researched the energy 

consumption associated with internet, 

HDMI, and cable connectivity. DOE 

completed standby and off mode energy 

testing while the TV was connected to 

the internet (both wirelessly and via 

Ethernet), while connected to a cable 

signal, while connected to a peripheral 

device through a HDMI cable and while 

not connected to input or output 

sources except for power. DOE found 

very little evidence of increased energy 

consumption associated with additional 

connections while the TV was in 

standby and off mode 36. 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

test standby and off mode energy 

consumption without having the TV 

connected to the internet in sections 5.6 

(standby mode tests) and 5.7 (off mode 

test) of appendix H to subpart B of 10 

CFR part 430. As mentioned above, DOE 

also conducted testing when the TV was 

connected to both a cable signal and an 

HDMI input. DOE did not measure a 

significant power increase when the TV 

was connected to the internet, cable or 

an HDMI input while in standby mode 

or off mode 37 DOE believes that 

conducting additional standby testing 

while the TV is connected to an 

internet, cable or HDMI input is unduly 

burdensome due to the lack of 

significant results indicating increased 

energy consumption from DOE’s testing. 

Therefore, DOE is not proposing to 

require that the TV be connected to a 

cable input, HDMI input or to the 

internet when testing standby and off 

mode energy consumption. However, 

DOE welcomes comments by interested 

parties on the energy consumption 

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38CEA Procedure for Download Acquisition 

Mode DAM Testing: For TVs, September 8, 2010. 

<http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/ 

prod_development/revisions/downloads/television/ 

CEA_DAM_Test_Procedure.pdf>. 

associated with internet connectivity in 

standby mode should be included. (See 

Issue 11 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’). 

iii. Standby-Active, High Mode 

IEC defines standby-active, high as 

the mode when the appliance is 

connected to a power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture but can be 

switched into another mode with the 

remote control unit or an internal signal 

and can additionally be switched into 

another mode with an external signal 

and is exchanging/receiving data with/ 

from an external source. DOE believes 

that the TV is in standby-active, high 

mode when the TV is actively 

exchanging/receiving data (likely from 

the internet) as well as while in DAM 

mode. In the 2010 RFI, DOE requested 

feedback as to the possibility of 

including a DAM test. 75 FR 54048, 

54051. 

iv. Download Acquisition Mode 

ENERGY STAR v. 5.3 defines DAM as 

the mode where the product is 

connected to a mains power source, is 

not producing a sound or a picture, and 

is actively downloading data, to include 

but not limited to, channel listing 

information according to a defined 

schedule for use by the electronic 

programming guide, TV setup data, 

channel map updates, TV firmware 

updates, monitoring for emergency 

messaging/communications and/or 

otherwise communicating through a 

network protocol. DOE believes it is 

important to include DAM testing 

because the tested TVs had heightened 

energy consumption while in this mode. 

Several interested parties commented 

that DAM should be tested. PG&E and 

the California IOUs indicated that there 

has been at least one reported instance 

of a TV consuming a significantly 

greater amount of power and spending 

a majority of time in DAM when the TV 

should have been in standby mode. 

Therefore, they urged DOE to account 

for DAM in its test procedure. (PG&E, 

No. 12 at p. 5; California IOUs, No. 9 at 

p. 5) They requested that the test 

programming content, used for testing 

in DAM, should be publically available 

and able to be utilized by nonproprietary technology. (PG&E, No. 12 at 

p. 4; California IOUs, No. 9 at p. 4) 

Many interested parties specifically 

suggested that DOE implement the 

‘‘CEA Test Procedure for Download 

Acquisition Mode Testing’’ 38 (CEA test 

procedure for DAM testing). 

Specifically, Sony, LG, Panasonic and 

CEA recommended that DOE adopt this 

test procedure. (Sony, No. 8 at p. 3; LG, 

No. 3 at p. 2; Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 8; 

CEA, No. 13 at p. 8) Panasonic and Sony 

supported their recommendations by 

noting that ENERGY STAR v. 4.1 

references the CEA test procedure for 

DAM testing. (Panasonic, No. 6 at p. 8; 

CEA, No. 13 at p. 8) 

Alternatively, SHARP commented 

that although the CEA test procedure for 

DAM testing is a good test procedure, it 

should not be incorporated into DOE’s 

test procedure. SHARP supports the 

flexibility of the CEA test procedure for 

DAM testing, but is concerned that it is 

not specific enough to be used by third 

parties. However, SHARP is not aware 

of any test procedure that is specific 

enough to fit these criteria. (SHARP, No. 

14 at pp. 8, 10) 

In the 2010 RFI, DOE noted that 

ENERGY STAR v. 4.1 tests DAM 

according to the Rovi DAM test 

procedure. However, Rovi commented 

that DOE should not incorporate the 

Rovi DAM test procedure into the DOE 

test procedure. (Rovi, No. 4 at p. 2) Rovi 

explained that EPG software maintains 

a local database of programming 

available to the viewer, which is 

periodically downloaded during times 

when the TV is in the standby or off 

mode. Rovi noted that the location, 

previous downloads, data delivery 

method and communication errors are 

among the things that affected power 

consumption, meaning if any of these 

conditions are varied, different results 

will be obtained. (Rovi, No. 4 at p. 1) 

Rovi stated that in the near-future a 

revision to ENERGY STAR v. 4.1 will 

replace the Rovi test procedure with a 

generic system that depends in large 

measure on specific technical 

knowledge of the device under test 

(after the publication of the 2010 RFI, 

ENERGY STAR has revised their test 

procedure and standard to include the 

CEA test procedure for DAM testing). 

(Rovi, No. 4 at p. 1) 

DOE notes that the CEA test 

procedure for DAM testing does not 

identify specific connections to be used 

when conducting testing. CEA only 

states that an appropriate signal source 

for communication should be used but 

does not specify what connection 

should be utilized when more than one 

connection could be used for 

communication with the DAM function. 

DOE believes that a hierarchy of 

network connection types is needed 

when more than one connection is 

capable of communicating with the 

DAM function to produce a more 

repeatable test procedure. DOE is 

proposing the following priority to 

ensure consistency across standbyactive, high mode tests in section 5.6.2.1 

of appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR 

part 430: 

(1) Wi-Fi 

(2) Ethernet. If the UUT supports an 

Energy Efficient Ethernet, then it shall 

be tested using that connection. 

(3) Thunderbolt 

(4) USB 

(5) Firewire 

(6) Other 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing to 

include the DAM energy consumption 

testing under its standby-active, high 

test method as defined in 2.3 (download 

acquisition mode) of appendix H to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430. The 

majority of interested parties including 

CEA, Sony, LG, Panasonic, PG&E, 

California IOUs and NRDC were all in 

favor of requiring a DAM energy 

consumption test. Many, including 

CEA, Sony, LG and Panasonic, 

recommended incorporating the CEA 

test procedure for DAM testing. Given 

the positive input from interested 

parties supporting a DAM test, and 

particularly the CEA test procedure for 

DAM testing, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate by reference the CEA 

Procedure for DAM Testing in section 

5.6.2 (standby-active, high mode test) of 

appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR part 

430. DOE is also aware that TVs can 

communicate and obtain similar 

information via an internet connection. 

Although DOE has developed a network 

connection priority list of preferred 

connections to conduct DAM testing, 

DOE seeks comment on using a priority 

list and the hierarchy that should be 

used. DOE also seeks comments from 

interested parties on the method for 

measuring standby mode energy 

consumption in all standby modes. (See 

Issue 12 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’). 

d. Off Mode 

DOE is proposing to test TVs in the off 

mode if applicable. DOE is defining off 

mode according to the IEC 62087–2011 

definition. Off mode is the mode where 

the appliance is connected to a power 

source, produces neither sound nor 

picture, and cannot be switched into 

any other mode with the remote control 

unit, an external, or internal signal. This 

mode will not pertain to TVs that are 

only able to be switched on or off with 

a remote, rather it will be applicable to 

TVs that have an additional switch or 

method of reaching this mode. In 

today’s NOPR, DOE is proposing that 

the power consumed in off mode be 

tested according to IEC 62301–2011 

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39The Nielsen Company, LLC (2011). 

section 3.5 in section 5.7 (off mode test) 

of appendix H to subpart B of 10 CFR 

part 430. EISA 2007 requires DOE to 

implement an off mode energy 

consumption measurement. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(2)(A)) This particular off mode 

test will meet the EISA 2007 

requirements and allow DOE to capture 

the energy consumption associated with 

the TV while it is turned off. DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on the 

method for measuring off mode energy 

consumption. (See Issue 12 in section 

V.E ‘‘Issues On Which DOE Seeks 

Comment’’). 

6. Energy Efficiency Metric(s) for 

Televisions 

In today’s NOPR, DOE is considering 

two methods for determining the 

metrics of TVs in order to receive 

stakeholder comments. These methods 

include a luminance ratio, on mode 

energy consumption, standby mode 

energy consumption, and off mode 

energy consumption. 

The first method would output four 

separate metrics, including a luminance 

ratio, on mode energy consumption, 

standby mode energy consumption, and 

off mode energy consumption. The test 

procedure yields a ratio of the home 

picture setting luminance to the retail 

picture setting luminance. This number 

would be expressed as a percentage (i.e., 

the luminance ratio). The test procedure 

would also output an on mode energy 

consumption according to the on mode 

test for TVs with ABC enabled by 

default or the on mode test for TVs 

without ABC enabled by default. For the 

standby mode tests, all TVs should be 

tested according to the standby-passive 

mode test. For TVs with DAM, the test 

procedure would also propose requiring 

an average energy consumption reading 

for standby-active, high mode. Finally, 

the test procedure would record the off 

mode energy consumption. 

Alternatively, DOE is also considering 

a single output metric based on 

combining the on, standby, and offmode energy consumption values to 

provide an annual energy use. The 

format of the metric, expressed as 

annual energy consumption (AEC, kWh/ 

year), would be as follows: 

AECmetric = ((Pon * Hon + Pstandby-passive * 

Hstandby-passive + 

P off * Hoff + DECDAM)/1000) * 365 

Where: 

Pm = power measured in a given mode m (in 

Watts) 

Hm = hours per day spent in mode m 

DECDAM = daily energy consumption in 

DAM, if applicable (tested according to 

the CEA DAM test procedure) 

Proposed values for Hm (in hours/day) 

would be as follows: 

Hon = 7 

Hstandby-passive = 17 

Hoff = 0 

To determine Hon, DOE obtained 

Nielsen TV viewing statistics for the 

months June 2010 through May 2011.39

Nielsen collected between 48,791 and 

52,105 samples in each month, from a 

representative cross section of U.S. 

households. DOE separated the data for 

each household to consider the primary 

TV. The mean viewing hours per day for 

primary TVs was determined for each 

month, and then the mean across the 

whole 12 months was taken to provide 

the final value. It was important to 

consider 12 months, not just one, as 

there is significant seasonal variation in 

viewing habits. 

It was assumed that the remainder of 

the time, TVs would be in standbypassive mode (thus, Hstandby-passive = 24 ¥ 

Hon), except for the case of TVs with 

DAM capability, where the average 

hours per day the TV is in DAM would 

also be included in the calculation. 

Therefore, Hoff = 0 is based on the 

assumption that virtually all TVs remain 

in standby mode rather than being 

physically switched off when not in use. 

Note that Pon is itself a weighted 

average of measurements for units with 

automatic brightness control available: 

Pon = P10 * W10 + P50 * W50 + P100 * W100

+ P300 * W300

Where: 

Pi = on mode power measured at room 

illuminance of i lux 

Wi = weighting at room illuminance i, 

expressed in percent. 

Wi are proposed to be equally 

weighted (W10 = W50 = W100 = W300 = 

25 percent). See Section IIIII.E.4.b.i for 

further discussion and explanation. 

The advantage of using a single metric 

is that the approximate annual average 

energy consumption can be calculated 

within the test procedure. Although a 

single metric would require 

manufacturers to represent the 

efficiency of their TVs in a consistent 

manner, this is already being 

accomplished under the FTC Labeling 

Program for TVs as it is currently using 

this method. A single metric would help 

harmonize the different voluntary, 

incentive, and State programs 

applicable to TVs. However, the DOE 

proposed single metric would most 

likely eliminate the current energy 

efficiency standards for TVs established 

by California, since California 

established separate standards for both 

on mode and standby mode. All 

manufacturers would be required to 

make energy representations with the 

final DOE test procedure within 180 

days after publication. After that time, 

manufacturers would not be required to 

provide to California separate results for 

on mode and standby mode in 

accordance with the California standard. 

This single metric would also require a 

change in the ENERGY STAR Program 

for TVs, since ENERGY STAR also has 

separate requirements for on mode, 

standby mode and DAM. The DOE 

proposed single metric would require 

DOE to monitor how the coefficients 

used to calculate the metric change with 

consumer usage and technological 

advancements in the TV market. For 

instance, the average number of primary 

TV viewing hours has increased by 

approximately 0.16 hour per day each 

year from 2007 to 2011, or 10 percent 

over four years. Additionally, the single 

metric considered in this NOPR does 

not distinguish between different usage 

profiles for calculating annual energy 

consumption for types of TVs with 

different features included in our TV 

definition, such as computer monitors 

over 30 inches. Finally, the proposed 

single metric does not capture all 

measurements in the test procedure 

such as power factor and illuminance 

ratio. 

Although DOE is proposing multiple 

output metrics, it seeks comments from 

interested parties on both of the 

methods presented in this NOPR, 

including the use of a single metric for 

calculating annual energy consumption. 

(See Issue 13 in section V.E ‘‘Issues On 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’). 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory 

Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that test procedure 

rulemakings do not constitute 

‘‘significant regulatory actions’’ under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, 

Regulatory Planning and Review, 58 FR 

51735 (Oct. 4, 1993). Accordingly, this 

action was not subject to review under 

the Executive Order by the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). 

B. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation 

of an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IFRA) for any rule that by law 

must be proposed for public comment, 

unless the agency certifies that the rule, 

if promulgated, will not have a 

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40For more information visit: http:// 

www.sba.gov/. The size standards are available at 

<http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/ 

Size_Standards_Table.pdf.>. 

41Hoovers. Web 12 Dec 2011. <http:// 

www.hoovers.com/>. 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. As 

required by Executive Order 13272, 

‘‘Proper Consideration of Small Entities 

in Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 53461 

(August 16, 2002), DOE published 

procedures and policies on February 19, 

2003, to ensure that the potential 

impacts of its rules on small entities are 

properly considered during the DOE 

rulemaking process. 68 FR 7990. DOE 

has made its procedures and policies 

available on the Office of the General 

Counsel’s Web site: www.gc.doe.gov. 

DOE reviewed today’s proposed rule 

under the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act and the policies and 

procedures published on February 19, 

2003. This proposed rule prescribes a 

test procedure to be used to develop and 

implement future energy conservation 

standards for TVs. DOE certifies that 

this proposed rule will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The factual 

basis for this certification is as follows. 

The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) considers an entity to be a small 

business, if, together with its affiliates, 

it employs less than a threshold number 

of workers specified in 13 CFR part 121. 

The thresholds set forth in these 

regulations are based on size standards 

and codes established by the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS).40 TV manufacturers 

are classified under NAICS code 

334220, ‘‘Radio and Television 

Broadcasting and Wireless 

Communications Equipment 

Manufacturing,’’ and are considered 

small entities if they employ 750 

employees or less. 

DOE determined that most 

manufacturers of TVs are large 

multinational corporations. To develop 

a list of domestic manufacturers, DOE 

reviewed the Hoover database 41 and 

other publicly available data, including 

the Energy Star qualified TVs database. 

As a result of its review, DOE 

determined that there were no TV 

manufacturers who would qualify as 

small entities. DOE also notes that 

manufacturers are already required to 

use a test procedure similar to DOE’s 

proposed test procedure to make energy 

representations under the Federal Trade 

Commission’s EnergyGuide labeling 

program. 76 FR 1038. DOE’s proposed 

test procedure can be conducted 

concurrently with FTC testing without 

significant additional burden. 

Based on the above, DOE certifies that 

there would not be a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

and has not prepared an IRFA for this 

rulemaking. DOE transmitted the 

certification and supporting statement 

of factual basis to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA for review under 

5 U.S.C. 605(b). DOE requests comment 

on its conclusion that there are no small 

business manufacturers. 

C. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 

There is currently no information 

collection requirement related to the test 

procedure for TVs. In the event that 

DOE proposes an energy conservation 

standard with which manufacturers 

must demonstrate compliance, DOE will 

seek OMB approval of such information 

collection requirement. 

DOE established regulations for the 

certification and recordkeeping 

requirements for certain covered 

consumer products and commercial 

equipment. 76 FR 12422 (March 7, 

2011). The collection-of-information 

requirement for the certification and 

recordkeeping was subject to review and 

approval by OMB under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). This requirement 

was approved by OMB under OMB 

Control Number 1910–1400. Public 

reporting burden for the certification 

was estimated to average 20 hours per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

As stated above, in the event DOE 

proposes an energy conservation 

standard for TVs with which 

manufacturers must demonstrate 

compliance, DOE will seek OMB 

approval of the associated information 

collection requirement. DOE will seek 

approval either through a proposed 

amendment to the information 

collection requirement approved under 

OMB control number 1910–1400 or as a 

separate proposed information 

collection requirement. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

In this proposed rule, DOE proposes 

a test procedure that it expects will be 

used to develop and implement future 

energy conservation standards for TVs. 

DOE has determined that this rule falls 

into a class of actions that are 

categorically excluded from review 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) and DOE’s implementing 

regulations at 10 CFR part 1021. 

Specifically, this proposed rule 

establishes a new test procedure 

without affecting the amount, quality or 

distribution of energy usage, and, 

therefore, would not result in any 

environmental impacts. Thus, this 

rulemaking is covered by Categorical 

Exclusion A5 under 10 CFR part 1021, 

subpart D, which applies to any 

rulemaking that does not result in any 

environmental impacts. Accordingly, 

neither an environmental assessment 

nor an environmental impact statement 

is required. 

E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’ 

64 FR 43255 (August 4, 1999) imposes 

certain requirements on agencies 

formulating and implementing policies 

or regulations that preempt State law or 

that have Federalism implications. The 

Executive Order requires agencies to 

examine the constitutional and statutory 

authority supporting any action that 

would limit the policymaking discretion 

of the States and to carefully assess the 

necessity for such actions. The 

Executive Order also requires agencies 

to have an accountable process to 

ensure meaningful and timely input by 

State and local officials in the 

development of regulatory policies that 

have Federalism implications. On 

March 14, 2000, DOE published a 

statement of policy describing the 

intergovernmental consultation process 

it will follow in the development of 

such regulations. 65 FR 13735. DOE has 

examined this proposed rule and has 

determined that it would not have a 

substantial direct effect on the States, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. EPCA governs and 

prescribes Federal preemption of State 

regulations as to energy conservation for 

the products that are the subject of 

today’s proposed rule. States can 

petition DOE for exemption from such 

preemption to the extent, and based on 

criteria, set forth in EPCA. (42 U.S.C. 

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6297(d)) No further action is required by 

Executive Order 13132. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

Regarding the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996), 

imposes on Federal agencies the general 

duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; (3) 

provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard; and (4) promote simplification 

and burden reduction. Section 3(b) of 

Executive Order 12988 specifically 

requires that Executive agencies make 

every reasonable effort to ensure that the 

regulation: (1) Clearly specifies the 

preemptive effect, if any; (2) clearly 

specifies any effect on existing Federal 

law or regulation; (3) provides a clear 

legal standard for affected conduct 

while promoting simplification and 

burden reduction; (4) specifies the 

retroactive effect, if any; (5) adequately 

defines key terms; and (6) addresses 

other important issues affecting clarity 

and general draftsmanship under any 

guidelines issued by the Attorney 

General. Section 3(c) of Executive Order 

12988 requires Executive agencies to 

review regulations in light of applicable 

standards in sections 3(a) and 3(b) to 

determine whether they are met or it is 

unreasonable to meet one or more of 

them. DOE has completed the required 

review and determined that, to the 

extent permitted by law, the proposed 

rule meets the relevant standards of 

Executive Order 12988. 

G. Review Under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) requires 

each Federal agency to assess the effects 

of Federal regulatory actions on State, 

local, and Tribal governments and the 

private sector. Public Law 104–4, sec. 

201 (codified at 2 U.S.C. 1531). For a 

proposed regulatory action likely to 

result in a rule that may cause the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector of $100 million or more 

in any one year (adjusted annually for 

inflation), section 202 of UMRA requires 

a Federal agency to publish a written 

statement that estimates the resulting 

costs, benefits, and other effects on the 

national economy. (2 U.S.C. 1532(a), (b)) 

The UMRA also requires a Federal 

agency to develop an effective process 

to permit timely input by elected 

officers of State, local, and Tribal 

governments on a proposed ‘‘significant 

intergovernmental mandate,’’ and 

requires an agency plan for giving notice 

and opportunity for timely input to 

potentially affected small governments 

before establishing any requirements 

that might significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments. On March 18, 

1997, DOE published a statement of 

policy on its process for 

intergovernmental consultation under 

UMRA. 62 FR 12820; also available at 

http://www.gc.doe.gov. DOE examined 

today’s proposed rule according to 

UMRA and its statement of policy and 

determined that the rule contains 

neither an intergovernmental mandate, 

nor a mandate that may result in the 

expenditure of $100 million or more in 

any year, so these requirements do not 

apply. 

H. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105–277) requires 

Federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any rule 

that may affect family well-being. This 

rule would not have any impact on the 

autonomy or integrity of the family as 

an institution. Accordingly, DOE has 

concluded that it is not necessary to 

prepare a Family Policymaking 

Assessment. 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

DOE has determined, under Executive 

Order 12630, ‘‘Governmental Actions 

and Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights’’ 53 FR 8859 

(March 18, 1988) that this regulation 

would not result in any takings that 

might require compensation under the 

Fifth Amendment to the U.S. 

Constitution. 

J. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

Section 515 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516 note) provides 

for agencies to review most 

disseminations of information to the 

public under guidelines established by 

each agency pursuant to general 

guidelines issued by OMB. OMB’s 

guidelines were published at 67 FR 

8452 (Feb. 22, 2002), and DOE’s 

guidelines were published at 67 FR 

62446 (Oct. 7, 2002). DOE has reviewed 

today’s proposed rule under the OMB 

and DOE guidelines and has concluded 

that it is consistent with applicable 

policies in those guidelines. 

K. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211, ‘‘Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use,’’ 66 FR 28355 (May 

22, 2001), requires Federal agencies to 

prepare and submit to OMB, a 

Statement of Energy Effects for any 

proposed significant energy action. A 

‘‘significant energy action’’ is defined as 

any action by an agency that 

promulgated or is expected to lead to 

promulgation of a final rule, and that: 

(1) Is a significant regulatory action 

under Executive Order 12866, or any 

successor order; and (2) is likely to have 

a significant adverse effect on the 

supply, distribution, or use of energy; or 

(3) is designated by the Administrator of 

OIRA as a significant energy action. For 

any proposed significant energy action, 

the agency must give a detailed 

statement of any adverse effects on 

energy supply, distribution, or use 

should the proposal be implemented, 

and of reasonable alternatives to the 

action and their expected benefits on 

energy supply, distribution, and use. 

Today’s regulatory action to establish 

a test procedure for measuring the 

energy efficiency of TVs is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. Moreover, it 

would not have a significant adverse 

effect on the supply, distribution, or use 

of energy, nor has it been designated as 

a significant energy action by the 

Administrator of OIRA. Therefore, it is 

not a significant energy action, and, 

accordingly, DOE has not prepared a 

Statement of Energy Effects. 

L. Review Under Section 32 of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974 

Under section 301 of the Department 

of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95– 

91; 42 U.S.C. 7101), DOE must comply 

with section 32 of the Federal Energy 

Administration Act of 1974, as amended 

by the Federal Energy Administration 

Authorization Act of 1977. (15 U.S.C. 

788; FEAA) Section 32 essentially 

provides in relevant part that, where a 

proposed rule authorizes or requires use 

of commercial standards, the notice of 

proposed rulemaking must inform the 

public of the use and background of 

such standards. In addition, section 

32(c) requires DOE to consult with the 

Attorney General and the Chairman of 

the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

concerning the impact of the 

commercial or industry standards on 

competition. 

The proposed rule incorporates 

testing methods contained in annex C.3 

and section 11.5.5, 11.5.6, and 11.6 of 

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the commercial standard, International 

Electrotechnical Commission 62087 

Edition 2.0 2011, ‘‘Method of 

Measurement for the Power 

Consumption of Audio, Video and 

Related Equipment;’’ section 5.3.1 of the 

commercial standard, International 

Electrotechnical Commission 62301 

Edition 2.0 2011, ‘‘Household electrical 

appliances—Measurement of standby 

power’’ and CEA Procedure for 

Download Acquisition Mode Testing: 

For TVs,’’ Revision 0.3, September 8, 

2010. DOE has evaluated these 

standards and is unable to conclude 

whether they fully comply with the 

requirements of section 32(b) of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act (i.e., 

whether they were developed in a 

manner that fully provides for public 

participation, comment, and review). 

As required by section 32(c) of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974 as amended, DOE will consult 

with the Attorney General and the 

Chairman of the Federal Trade 

Commission about the impact on 

competition of using the methods 

contained in these standards before 

prescribing a final rule. 

V. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 

The time, date, and location of the 

public meeting are listed in the DATES

and ADDRESSES sections at the beginning 

of this document. If you plan to attend 

the public meeting, please notify Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 or 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. As 

explained in the ADDRESSES section, 

foreign nationals visiting DOE 

Headquarters are subject to advance 

security screening procedures. 

In addition, you can attend the public 

meeting via webinar. Webinar 

registration information, participant 

instructions, and information about the 

capabilities available to webinar 

participants will be published on DOE’s 

Web site http://www1.eere.energy.gov/

buildings/appliance_standards/

residential/tv_sets.html. Participants are 

responsible for ensuring their systems 

are compatible with the webinar 

software. 

B. Procedure for Submitting Prepared 

General Statements for Distribution 

Any person who has plans to present 

a prepared general statement may 

request that copies of his or her 

statement be made available at the 

public meeting. Such persons may 

submit requests, along with an advance 

electronic copy of their statement in 

PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file 

format, to the appropriate address 

shown in the ADDRESSES section at the 

beginning of this notice. The request 

and advance copy of statements must be 

received at least one week before the 

public meeting and may be emailed, 

hand-delivered, or sent by mail. DOE 

prefers to receive requests and advance 

copies via email. Please include a 

telephone number to enable DOE staff to 

make a follow-up contact, if needed. 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

DOE will designate a DOE official to 

preside at the public meeting and may 

also use a professional facilitator to aid 

discussion. The meeting will not be a 

judicial or evidentiary-type public 

hearing, but DOE will conduct it in 

accordance with section 336 of EPCA 

(42 U.S.C. 6306). A court reporter will 

be present to record the proceedings and 

prepare a transcript. DOE reserves the 

right to schedule the order of 

presentations and to establish the 

procedures governing the conduct of the 

public meeting. After the public 

meeting, interested parties may submit 

further comments on the proceedings as 

well as on any aspect of the rulemaking 

until the end of the comment period. 

The public meeting will be conducted 

in an informal, conference style. DOE 

will present summaries of comments 

received before the public meeting, 

allow time for prepared general 

statements by participants, and 

encourage all interested parties to share 

their views on issues affecting this 

rulemaking. Each participant will be 

allowed to make a general statement 

(within time limits determined by DOE), 

before the discussion of specific topics. 

DOE will permit, as time permits, other 

participants to comment briefly on any 

general statements. 

At the end of all prepared statements 

on a topic, DOE will permit participants 

to clarify their statements briefly and 

comment on statements made by others. 

Participants should be prepared to 

answer questions by DOE and by other 

participants concerning these issues. 

DOE representatives may also ask 

questions of participants concerning 

other matters relevant to this 

rulemaking. The official conducting the 

public meeting will accept additional 

comments or questions from those 

attending, as time permits. The 

presiding official will announce any 

further procedural rules or modification 

of the above procedures that may be 

needed for the proper conduct of the 

public meeting. 

A transcript of the public meeting will 

be included in the docket, which can be 

viewed as described in the Docket 

section at the beginning of this notice. 

In addition, any person may buy a copy 

of the transcript from the transcribing 

reporter. 

D. Submission of Comments 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

information regarding this proposed 

rule before or after the public meeting, 

but no later than the date provided in 

the DATES section at the beginning of 

this proposed rule. Interested parties 

may submit comments using any of the 

methods described in the ADDRESSES

section at the beginning of this notice. 

Submitting comments via 

regulations.gov. The regulations.gov 

web page will require you to provide 

your name and contact information. 

Your contact information will be 

viewable to DOE Building Technologies 

staff only. Your contact information will 

not be publicly viewable except for your 

first and last names, organization name 

(if any), and submitter representative 

name (if any). If your comment is not 

processed properly because of technical 

difficulties, DOE will use this 

information to contact you. If DOE 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, DOE may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

However, your contact information 

will be publicly viewable if you include 

it in the comment or in any documents 

attached to your comment. Any 

information that you do not want to be 

publicly viewable should not be 

included in your comment, nor in any 

document attached to your comment. 

Persons viewing comments will see only 

first and last names, organization 

names, correspondence containing 

comments, and any documents 

submitted with the comments. 

Do not submit to regulations.gov 

information for which disclosure is 

restricted by statute, such as trade 

secrets and commercial or financial 

information (hereinafter referred to as 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI)). Comments submitted through 

regulations.gov cannot be claimed as 

CBI. Comments received through the 

Web site will waive any CBI claims for 

the information submitted. For 

information on submitting CBI, see the 

Confidential Business Information 

section. 

DOE processes submissions made 

through regulations.gov before posting. 

Normally, comments will be posted 

within a few days of being submitted. 

However, if large volumes of comments 

are being processed simultaneously, 

your comment may not be viewable for 

up to several weeks. Please keep the 

comment tracking number that 

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regulations.gov provides after you have 

successfully uploaded your comment. 

Submitting comments via email, hand 

delivery, or mail. Comments and 

documents submitted via email, hand 

delivery, or mail also will be posted to 

regulations.gov. If you do not want your 

personal contact information to be 

publicly viewable, do not include it in 

your comment or any accompanying 

documents. Instead, provide your 

contact information on a cover letter. 

Include your first and last names, email 

address, telephone number, and 

optional mailing address. The cover 

letter will not be publicly viewable as 

long as it does not include any 

comments 

Include contact information each time 

you submit comments, data, documents, 

and other information to DOE. Email 

submissions are preferred. If you submit 

via mail or hand delivery, please 

provide all items on a CD, if feasible. It 

is not necessary to submit printed 

copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will be 

accepted. 

Comments, data, and other 

information submitted to DOE 

electronically should be provided in 

PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file 

format. Provide documents that are not 

secured, written in English and are free 

of any defects or viruses. Documents 

should not contain special characters or 

any form of encryption and, if possible, 

they should carry the electronic 

signature of the author. 

Campaign form letters. Please submit 

campaign form letters by the originating 

organization in batches of between 50 to 

500 form letters per PDF or as one form 

letter with a list of supporters’ names 

compiled into one or more PDFs. This 

reduces comment processing and 

posting time. 

Confidential Business Information. 

According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 

person submitting information that he 

or she believes to be confidential and 

exempt by law from public disclosure 

should submit via email, postal mail, or 

hand delivery two well-marked copies: 

One copy of the document marked 

confidential including all the 

information believed to be confidential, 

and one copy of the document marked 

non-confidential with the information 

believed to be confidential deleted. 

Submit these documents via email or on 

a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own 

determination about the confidential 

status of the information and treat it 

according to its determination. 

Factors of interest to DOE when 

evaluating requests to treat submitted 

information as confidential include: (1) 

A description of the items; (2) whether 

and why such items are customarily 

treated as confidential within the 

industry; (3) whether the information is 

generally known by or available from 

other sources; (4) whether the 

information has previously been made 

available to others without obligation 

concerning its confidentiality; (5) an 

explanation of the competitive injury to 

the submitting person which would 

result from public disclosure; (6) when 

such information might lose its 

confidential character due to the 

passage of time; and (7) why disclosure 

of the information would be contrary to 

the public interest. 

It is DOE’s policy that all comments 

may be included in the public docket, 

without change and as received, 

including any personal information 

provided in the comments (except 

information deemed to be exempt from 

public disclosure). 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

Although DOE welcomes comments 

on any aspect of this proposal, DOE is 

particularly interested in receiving 

comments and views of interested 

parties concerning the following issues: 

1. Scope of Coverage—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on the 

proposed scope of this rulemaking, as well as 

the definition of TVs. Specifically, DOE 

would like comments on including both TVs 

and displays greater than 15 inches which 

are sold with a TV tuner. (See section III.C) 

2. Light Measurement Devices—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on the 

LMD equipment specifications proposed in 

this NOPR. (See Section III.D.1.c) 

3. Signal Source and Generation—DOE 

seeks comments from interested parties on 

the signal source and generation specified in 

this NOPR. (See section III.D.2.c) 

4. Picture Settings to Test—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on its 

proposal to conduct luminance tests in home 

picture setting and retail picture setting. For 

testing on mode energy consumption, DOE 

seeks comment on its proposal to test in 

home picture setting, along with its 

consideration to test on mode in both the 

highest and lowest energy consuming picture 

settings (or brightest or dimmest), or all 

picture settings. (See section III.E.1) 

5. Luminance Testing—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on its 

proposed method of luminance testing. DOE 

also seeks comments on its proposal to 

include a luminance ratio. (See section 

III.E.3.b) 

6. Warm-up and Stabilization—DOE seeks 

comments on the proposed method of taking 

the luminance measurement immediately 

after displaying the three bar video signal. 

(See section III.E.3.a) 

7. Video signal for Luminance Testing— 

DOE seeks comments from interested parties 

on its proposal to use the three bar video 

signal for luminance testing. DOE further 

seeks comments on any of the additional 

video signals that it considered. (See section 

III.E.3.c) 

8. Room Illuminance Levels for Television 

Sets Shipped with Automatic Brightness 

Control Enabled—DOE seeks comments from 

interested parties on whether there should be 

a limit to the reduction in display luminance 

achieved from ABC, and how a minimally 

acceptable display luminance value should 

be established. DOE also seeks comment from 

interested parties on its proposal to test TVs 

shipped with ABC enabled at room 

illuminance levels of 10, 50, 100, and 300 lux 

and their respected tolerances. DOE 

additionally welcomes comments on how 

these outputs should be weighted and 

combined. (See section III.E.4.b.i) 

9. Method for Creating Illuminance Levels 

for Television Sets Shipped with Automatic 

Brightness Control Enabled—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on the 

method for creating room illuminance levels 

including both the direct light method that it 

proposed in this NOPR and the diffused light 

method considered in this NOPR. DOE also 

seeks comments from interested parties on 

setting a color temperature range and a 

potential warm up period associated with 

other light sources in that range. (See section 

III.E.4.b.ii) 

10. Three Dimensional Display Testing— 

DOE seeks comments from interested parties 

on 3D testing. DOE specifically seeks 

comment on its two methods under 

consideration for a future rulemaking which 

include converting the 2D IEC dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal to 3D using a 

real time converting Blu-ray player or 

creating a 3D version of the IEC dynamic 

broadcast-content video signal. DOE also 

seeks comments on how it can best work 

with the IEC and interested parties to 

promote the development of a 3D test 

procedure. (See section III.E.4.d) 

11. Internet Connectivity—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on its 

consideration of testing the Internet as part 

of on mode; standby-active, high mode; and 

standby-active, low mode. (See section III.E.4 

for on mode and section III.E.5.c.ii for 

standby-active) 

12. Standby and Off Modes—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on testing 

standby and off mode of TVs according to the 

procedure outlined, above. (See sections 

III.E.5.c and III.E.5.d) 

13. Single Metrics—DOE seeks comments 

from interested parties on the alternative 

approach of using a single metric for 

calculating annual energy consumption. DOE 

also seeks comment on its preliminary 

decision not to take into account the 

possibility that consumers may switch 

between preset picture settings. (See section 

III.E.6) 

14. Input Format Hierarchy—DOE seeks 

comments from interested parties on the 

hierarchy of input formats required to 

connect the TV to a video source. (See 

section III.D.2.c) 

VI. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this proposed rule. 

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2864 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Energy conservation, 

Household appliances, Imports, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Small 

businesses. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

20, 2011. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DOE is proposing to amend 

part 430 of Chapter II of Title 10, Code 

of Federal Regulations as set forth 

below: 

PART 430—ENERGY CONSERVATION 

PROGRAM FOR CONSUMER 

PRODUCTS 

1. The authority citation for part 430 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291–6309; 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note. 

2. Section 430.2 is amended by: 

a. Removing the definitions ‘‘Color 

television set’’ and ‘‘Monochrome 

television set’’; and 

b. Revising the definition for 

‘‘Television set’’ to read as follows: 

§ 430.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Television set (also referred to as 

‘‘TV’’): A product designed to be 

powered primarily by mains power 

having a diagonal screen size of fifteen 

inches or larger that is manufactured 

with a TV tuner, and that is capable of 

displaying dynamic visual information 

from wired or wireless sources 

including but not limited to: 

(1) Broadcast and similar services for 

terrestrial, cable, satellite, and/or 

broadband transmission of analog and/ 

or digital signals; and/or 

(2) Display-specific data connections, 

such as VGA, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 

used typically for a computer or 

workstation that is not physically 

attached to the display; and/or 

(3) Media storage devices such as a 

USB flash drive, memory card, or a 

DVD; and/or 

(4) Network connections, usually 

using Internet Protocol, typically carried 

over Ethernet or WiFi. 

A TV may contain, but is not limited 

to, one of the following display 

technologies: liquid crystal display 

(LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), 

cathode-ray tube (CRT), and plasma 

display panel (PDP). TV also includes 

TV Combination units that DOE has 

further defined in appendix H to 

subpart B of this part. 

* * * * * 

3. Section 430.3 is amended by: 

a. Redesignating paragraphs (h) 

through (o) as (i) through (p); 

b. Adding a new paragraph (h); 

c. Adding a new paragraph (j)(6); and 

d. Adding new paragraphs (l)(3), (l)(4) 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 430.3 Materials incorporated by 

reference. 

* * * * * 

(h) CEA. Consumer Electronics 

Association, 1919 South Eads Street 

Arlington, VA 22202, (866) 858–1555, or 

go to http://www.ce.org. 

(1) CEA Procedure for DAM Testing: 

For TVs, Revision 0.3 (8 September 

2010), IBR approved for appendix H to 

subpart B. 

(2) Reserved. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(6) ENERGY STAR Program 

Requirements for Televisions, Versions 

5.3, approved August 2010, Section 6.2, 

IBR approved for Appendix H to 

Subpart B. 

* * * * * 

(l) * * * 

(3) International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC) Standard 62087, 

(‘‘IEC 62087–2011’’), Methods of 

measurement of the power consumption 

of audio, video, and related equipment 

(Edition 3.0, 2011–05), Section 11.5.5, 

11.5.6, and 11.6 and annex c.3, IBR 

approved for appendix H to subpart B. 

(4) International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC) Standard 62031, 

(‘‘IEC 62031–2011’’), Household 

electrical appliances—Measurement of 

standby power (Edition 2.0, 2011–01), 

Section 5.3.1, IBR approved for 

appendix H to subpart B. 

* * * * * 

4. Section 430.23 is amended by 

revising paragraph (h) to read as 

follows: 

§ 430.23 Test procedures for the 

measurement of energy and water 

consumption. 

* * * * * 

(h) Television Sets. (1) The energy 

consumption of a television set, 

including on mode, standby mode and 

off mode energy consumption levels 

expressed in watts, shall be measured in 

accordance with section 4 of appendix 

H of this subpart. 

* * * * * 

5. Appendix H to subpart B of part 

430 is added to read as follows. 

Appendix H to Subpart B of Part 430— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Television Sets 

1. Scope 

This appendix covers the test requirements 

used to measure the energy consumption of 

Television Sets. 

2. Definitions and Symbols 

2.1. Additional functions are functions that 

are not required for the basic operation of the 

device. Additional functions include, but are 

not limited to a VCR unit, a DVD unit, a HDD 

unit, a FM-radio unit, a memory card-reader 

unit, or an ambient lighting unit. 

2.2. CEA Procedure for Download 

Acquisition Mode Testing means the test 

standard published by the Consumer 

Electronics Association, entitled ‘‘CEA 

Procedure for Download Acquisition Mode 

Testing: For TVs,’’ Revision 0.3, September 8, 

2010 (incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

2.3. Download acquisition mode is the 

power mode in which the product is 

connected to a mains power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture, and is actively 

downloading data. Data downloads may 

include channel listing information for use 

by an electronic programming guide, TV 

setup data, channel map updates, firmware 

updates, monitoring for emergency 

messaging/communications or other network 

communications. 

2.4. Home picture setting (or default 

picture setting) is the picture setting which 

is recommended by the manufacturer from 

the initial set up menu or the mode that the 

television comes shipped in if no setting is 

recommended. 

2.5. IEC 62087–2011 means the test 

standard published by the International 

Electrotechnical Commission, entitled 

‘‘Methods of measurement of the power 

consumption of audio, video, and related 

equipment,’’ IEC 62087–2011 (incorporated 

by reference, see § 430.3). 

2.6. IEC 62087–2011 Blu-Ray Dynamic 

Broadcast-Content Video Signal means the 

test clip published by the International 

Electrotechnical Commission, entitled ‘‘IEC 

62087–2011, video content_BD, video 

content for IEC 62087–2011 on Blu-ray Disc,’’ 

IEC 62087–2011(incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3). 

2.7. IEC 62301–2011 means the test 

standard published by the International 

Electrotechnical Commission, entitled 

‘‘Household electrical appliances— 

Measurement of standby power,’’ IEC 62301– 

2011 (incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

2.8. Luminance is the photometric measure 

of the luminous intensity per unit area of 

light traveling in a given direction, expressed 

in units of candelas per square meter (cd/ 

m∧2). 

2.9. Off mode is the mode where the TV 

is connected to a power source, produces 

neither sound nor picture and cannot be 

switched into any other mode with the 

remote control unit, an external or internal 

signal. 

2.10. On mode is the power mode in which 

the TV is connected to a mains power source, 

has been activated, and is providing one or 

more of its principal functions. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2865 

2.11. Retail picture setting is the preset 

picture setting in which the TV produces the 

highest luminance during the on mode 

conditions. 

2.12. Standby-passive mode is the mode in 

which the TV is connected to a power source, 

produces neither sound nor picture but can 

be switched into another mode with the 

remote control unit or an internal signal. 

2.13. Standby-active, high mode is the 

mode in which the TV is connected to a 

power source, produces neither sound nor 

picture but can be switched into another 

mode with the remote control unit or an 

internal signal, and with an external signal, 

and is exchanging/receiving data with/from 

an external source. 

2.14. Standby-active, low mode is the mode 

in which the TV is connected to a power 

source, produces neither sound nor picture 

but can be switched into another mode with 

the remote control unit or an internal signal 

and can additionally be switched into 

another mode with an external signal. 

2.15. Symbol usage. The following identity 

relationships are provided to help clarify the 

symbols used throughout this test procedure. 

ABC—Automatic Brightness Control 

DAM—Download Acquisition Mode 

DVD—Digital Video Disc 

DVI—Digital Visual Interface 

HDD—Hard Disk Drive 

HDMI—High-Definition Multimedia Interface 

Lretail—Luminance of TV in retail picture 

setting 

Lhome—Luminance of TV in home picture 

setting 

L—Ratio of Lhome to Lretail

LMD—Luminance Measurement Device 

Pon—Power consumed for on mode with ABC 

disabled 

P10 = Power consumed for on mode, ABC 

enabled, 10 lux, with a direct light source 

P50 = Power consumed for on mode, ABC 

enabled, 50 lux, with a direct light source 

P100 = Power consumed for on mode, ABC 

enabled, 100 lux, with a direct light source 

P300 = Power consumed for on mode, ABC 

enabled, 300 lux, with a direct light source 

Pstandby-passive—Power consumption for 

standby-passive mode 

Pstandby-active, high—Power consumption for 

standby-active, high 

Poff—Power consumption for off mode 

THD—Total Harmonic Distortion 

TV—Television Set 

USB—Universal Serial Bus 

VCR—Videocassette Recorder 

VGA—Video Graphics Array 

W10—Percent Weighting for on mode, ABC 

enabled, while the Room Illuminance is 10 

lux 

W50—Percent Weighting for on mode, ABC 

enabled, while the Room Illuminance is 50 

lux 

W100—Percent Weighting for on mode, ABC 

enabled, while the Room Illuminance is 

100 lux 

W300—Percent Weighting for on mode, ABC 

enabled, while the Room Illuminance is 

300 lux 

2.16. TV combination unit is a TV in which 

the TV and one or more additional devices 

(e.g., DVD player, Blu-ray Disc player, Hard 

Disk Drive) are combined into a single 

enclosure, and which meets the following 

criteria: (a) It is not possible to measure the 

power of the individual components without 

removing the product housing; and (b) the 

product connects to a wall outlet via a single 

power cord. 

2. Accuracy and Precision of Measurement 

Equipment. 

3.1. Electrical Energy Supply. 

3.1.1. Power Supply. Carry out 

measurements using a power supply 

providing voltage of 115 V at 60 Hz. 

The fluctuation of the voltage supplied 

during the tests shall not exceed ±1 percent. 

The frequency fluctuation and the harmonic 

components of the supplied power shall not 

exceed ±1 percent and 5 percent respectively. 

3.1.2. Power Meter. The measurement shall 

be carried out directly by means of a 

wattmeter, a wattmeter with averaging 

function, or a watt-hour meter, by dividing 

the reading by the measuring time. For TVs 

for which the input video signal varies over 

time, use a wattmeter with an averaging 

function to carry out the measurement. 

3.1.2.1. The sampling rate of the watt-hour 

meter or wattmeter with averaging function 

should be one measurement per second or 

more frequent. 

3.1.2.2. The power measurement 

instrument used shall measure the power 

factor and the real power consumed 

regardless of the power factor of the device 

under test. 

3.1.2.3. Power measurements of 0.5 W or 

greater shall be made with an uncertainty of 

less than or equal to 2 percent (at the 95 

percent confidence level). Measurements of 

power of less than 0.5 W shall be made with 

an uncertainty of less than or equal to 0.01 

W (at the 95 percent confidence level). The 

power measurement instrument shall have a 

resolution of: 

0.01 W or better for power measurements 

of 10 W or less; 

0.1 W or better for power measurements of 

greater than 10 W up to 100 W; 

1 W or better for power measurements of 

greater than 100 W. 

3.1.3. Light Measurement Device. All LMDs 

shall have an accuracy of ±2 percent ±2 digits 

of the digitally displayed value and 

repeatability within 0.4 percent ±2 digits of 

displayed value. LMDs must also have an 

acceptance angle of 3 degrees or less. 

4. Test Room and Set-Up Criteria. 

4.1. Installation. Install the TV in 

accordance with manufacturer’s instructions. 

4.2. Dark Room Conditions. All luminance 

testing (with a non-contact meter) and on 

mode testing (with ABC enable by default) 

shall be performed in dark room conditions, 

meaning the display screen illuminance 

measurement in off mode must be less than 

or equal to 1.0 lux. 

4.3. Ambient Temperature Conditions. For 

all testing, maintain ambient temperature 

conditions between 23 °C ±5 °C. 

4.4. Ambient Relative Humidity 

Conditions. For all testing, maintain the 

ambient relative humidity between 10 and 80 

percent. 

4.5. Input Cable. Testing shall be 

performed using an HDMI input cable. If the 

TV does not have an HDMI input, the 

following inputs shall be used, in the 

following order: HDMI/DVI, VGA, 

component, S-Video, and composite. 

4.6. 2D Testing Signal Source. The signal 

source shall be able to generate a Blu-ray 

signal. 

5. Test Measurements. 

5.1. For on mode and luminance testing, 

connect the signal source generator to the TV 

via the input cable. 

5.2. Warm-up. TVs shall be warmed-up 

prior to testing using the IEC 62087–2011 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3) 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal for at 

least one hour, found in annex C.3 of IEC 

62087–2011. If the TV has not reached a 

stable state with respect to power within the 

one hour time period, the warm-up shall last 

until the TV reaches a stable state. For the 

purposes of this rulemaking, the TV is 

considered to be in a stable state if the 

average power consumption over two 

consecutive plays of IEC 62087–2011 

dynamic broadcast-content video signal does 

not vary by more than 2 percent. 

5.3. Luminance Test. 

5.3.1. Luminance Test. The luminance test 

shall be performed immediately following 

the warm-up period. The luminance test 

shall first be performed with the TV in the 

retail picture setting, followed by the TV in 

home picture setting. The ABC sensor must 

be disabled during this test. 

5.3.1.1. LMD Setup. Align the LMD 

perpendicular to the center of the display 

screen. If a distance meter is being used for 

testing, the LMD shall be at a distance 

capable of achieving the desired 

specifications outlined in section 3.1.3. 

5.3.1.2. Three Bar Video Signal 

Measurement. The TV shall be measured in 

both the home and retail picture settings 

using IEC 62087–2011 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) three bar video signal 

found in section 11.5.5 of IEC 62087–2011. 

Record the luminance immediately after the 

three bar video signal is displayed in the 

retail picture setting first, as Lretail, followed 

by the home picture setting as Lhome.

5.4. On Mode Test for TVs without ABC 

Enabled By Default. 

5.4.1. On mode testing shall be performed 

with the TV in home mode, while displaying 

the full 10-minute duration of IEC 62087– 

2011 Blu-ray dynamic-broadcast video signal 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

Measure the energy consumption and record 

the value as Pon.

5.5. On Mode Test for TVs with ABC 

Enabled By Default. The following test shall 

be performed if the TV is shipped with ABC 

enabled by default: 

5.5.1. On mode testing shall be performed 

with the TV in home mode, while displaying 

IEC 62087–2011 Blu-ray dynamic-broadcast 

video signal for 10 minutes (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) with l0 lux (±1 lux) 

entering the ambient light sensor. Measure 

the energy consumption and record the value 

as P10. Repeat the measurements with 50 lux 

(±2 lux), 100 lux (±5 lux), and 300 lux (±9 

lux) entering the ambient light sensor and 

record the values as P50, P100, and P300

respectively. 

5.5.2. To create the ambient lighting, a 

halogen incandescent light must be 

positioned in front of the ABC sensor so that 

the light may be focused directly into the 

sensor. The light source must be able to 

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2866 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

achieve a range between 10–300 lux at the 

ABC sensor. The room illuminance shall be 

measured at the sensor in the direction of the 

light source while the TV is on and 

displaying the main menu of IEC 62087– 

2011. 

5.6. Standby Mode Tests. 

5.6.1. Standby-Passive Mode Test. The 

standby-passive test shall be performed 

according to section 5.3.1 of IEC 62301–2011 

standby test (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.3). Measure the energy consumption 

and record the value as Pstandby-passive. 

5.6.2. Standby-Active, High Mode Test. The 

standby-active, high test shall be performed 

according to the CEA Test Procedure for 

Download Acquisition Mode Testing 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

Measure the energy consumption and record 

the value as Pstandby-active, high. 

5.6.2.1. The standby-active, high test shall 

be performed using the following inputs, in 

the following order: Wi-Fi, Ethernet. 

Ethernet. If the UUT supports an Energy 

Efficient Ethernet, then it shall be tested 

using that connection., Thunderbolt, USB, 

Firewire, and other when more than one 

connection can be used to conduct testing. 

5.7. Off Mode Test. 

5.7.1. The off mode test shall be performed 

according to section 5.3.1 of the IEC 62301– 

2011 off mode test (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3). Measure the energy 

consumption and record the value as Poff. 

6. Calculations. 

6.1. Calculate the Luminance ratio, L, as 

the ratio of Lhome to Lretail. 

[FR Doc. 2012–687 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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