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The following is a U.S. Department of Energy interpretive rule, which sets out the Department’s 

views on the application of the clothes washer testing procedure described in 10 CFR § 430 

Appendix J1. 

This interpretive rule represents the Department’s interpretation of its existing regulations and is 

exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. See 5 

U.S.C. § 553(b)(A). Nevertheless, we solicited feedback from the public on the draft guidance 

and considered the three comments received in issuing the final guidance. Two of the comments 

generally supported the draft guidance, and the Department determined that the third comment 

did not warrant changes to the draft; as a result, the Department issues its draft interpretive rule 

as a final document without change. 

Additional Guidance Regarding Application of Current Procedures for Testing Energy 

Consumption of Clothes Washers with Warm Rinse Cycles 

Issued: September 21, 2010 

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA or the Act), as amended, 

requires the Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) to prescribe standardized test 

procedures to measure the energy consumption of certain consumer products. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 

6293, 6295(r). The Department’s current test procedure for residential clothes washers is set 

forth at 10 C.F.R. Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix J1, Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Automatic and Semi-Automatic Clothes Washers. DOE issues this 

guidance to resolve any confusion regarding the application of the current test procedure to 

washers that offer a warm rinse option that is not included in the recommended cycle for 

washing cotton or linen clothes. 

The clothes washer testing procedure described in Appendix J1 requires that energy test 

cycles accurately reflect consumer use. 10 C.F.R. § 430, Appendix J1. Section 1.7 of the 

products test procedure provides: 

“Energy test cycle for a basic model means (A) the cycle recommended by the 

manufacturer for washing cotton or linen clothes, and includes all wash/rinse 

temperature selections and water levels offered in that cycle, and (B) for each 

other wash/rinse temperature selection or water level available on that basic 

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model, the portion(s) of other cycle(s) with that temperature selection or water 

level that, when tested pursuant to these test procedures, will contribute to an 

accurate representation of the energy consumption of the basic model as used by 

consumers.” 

DOE adopted this definition of energy test cycle in its 1997 final rule. In so doing, the 

Department expanded the definition of the cycle used during testing, which had previously been 

limited to the cycle recommended for washing cotton and linen clothes. This change was made, 

in part, to respond to the Department’s concerns about machines that only offered certain 

temperature selections, such as a warm rinse option, on cycles other than the normal cycle. As 

the rule explained, this was of “significant concern to the Department,” because “absence of 

temperature selections from the energy test cycle of a clothes washer may mean that cycle is not 

representative and may lead to manufacturer representations that do not reflect true energy 

consumption.” 62 Fed. Reg. 45,496. To address this, the Department adopted part B of section 

1.7, which requires that the energy test cycle include temperature selections available on cycles 

other than the recommended cotton/linen cycle that, when tested pursuant to the test procedure, 

will contribute to an accurate representation of energy consumption. 

Under the test procedure, temperature selections are pro-rated during testing to reflect 

consumer use patterns. The current test procedure requires that results reflect use of the warm 

rinse selection 27% of the time. 10 C.F.R. § 430, Appendix J1, Table 4.1.1 – Temperature Use 

Factors (1997).

 The Department chose this percentage based on consumer use data provided to the record 

by industry partners. During the 1997 rulemaking comment period, industry partners submitted 

consumer survey data describing temperature use patterns in the field. Based on a range of use 

patterns described by industry, the Department selected a 27% warm rinse use factor. 62 Fed. 

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Reg. 45,493-45,494. Based on the record in that proceeding, the temperature use factor for warm 

rinse reflected industry consensus regarding consumer use patterns at the time. 

 We understand some manufacturers may be confused about how this test procedure 

should be applied to washers that offer warm rinse only on cycles other than the cycle 

recommended for cotton and linen clothes. As discussed, section 1.7 expressly provides that the 

energy test cycle should include all temperature selections that “will contribute to an accurate 

representation of the energy consumption of the basic model as used by consumers.” We 

understand that some manufacturers may have been relying on proprietary data about consumers’ 

use of the warm rinse option when applying section 1.7(B) of the existing test procedure to 

determine the energy consumption of such models. The Department’s test procedure, however, 

cannot turn on proprietary data to which only the manufacturer has access. The procedure must 

be standardized, administrable, and enforceable. 

Thus, we wish to make clear the Department’s view that, to implement section 1.7(B)’s 

requirement that the test cycle include “portions(s) of other cycle(s) with that temperature 

selection...that...will contribute to an accurate representation of the energy consumption of the 

basic model as used by consumers”, the energy test cycle should include the warm rinse of the 

cycle most comparable to the cottons and linens cycle if warm rinse is not available on the 

cottons and linens cycle. The test procedure itself states, based on data used to support the 1997 

rulemaking, that warm rinse is used by consumers 27 % of the time. In addition, the history of 

the rulemaking suggests that the Department adopted 1.7(B) precisely to address the issue of 

machines that “locked out” the warm rinse from the normal cycle, thereby excluding 

representative energy use from the test procedure measurement. Selecting this temperature use 

factor, and explicitly including it in the testing procedure, allowed the Department to develop a 

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testing standard that was clear, administrable, and standardized across all manufacturers and 

models. 

The Department is currently engaged in a rulemaking to revise the residential clothes 

washer test procedure. The rulemaking will seek comment on the latest information, and on 

1997 data, about when and how consumers utilize warm rinse cycles, and whether their use 

habits have changed. These changes will ensure accurate and up-to-date temperature use factors 

are applied industry-wide. In the interim, this guidance document seeks to clarify our existing 

test procedure and testing expectations. 

We understand that due to confusion about the Department’s view, manufacturers may 

have made design and production decisions based on a different interpretation of the test 

procedure. In recognition of this, the Department will allow manufacturers to rely on their 

interpretation of the testing procedure based on their proprietary consumer survey data until 180 

days from the issuance of the Department’s final guidance. After that date, all manufacturers 

must test products according to the test procedure as clarified by that guidance. Failure to do so 

will result in enforcement action, as appropriate. 

The Department has been testing, and will continue to test, clothes washers according to 

the test procedure as clarified by this draft guidance, using the 27 % temperature use factor for 

warm rinse. However, until 180 days from the issuance of final guidance, manufacturers will 

have an opportunity to demonstrate to the Department that a model’s energy use rating was 

based on an interpretation of the test procedure that relied on proprietary, model-specific 

consumer use data with respect to consumers’ use of the warm rinse option. 

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This guidance represents the Department’s interpretation of existing regulations and 

announcement of the agency’s general policy with respect exercising its existing enforcement 

authority. It is not intended to create or remove any rights or duties, nor is it intended to affect 

any other aspect of EPCA or DOE regulations. 

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