CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT ................................................................................. 1-1 

1.2 OVERVIEW OF COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT STANDARDS ................................. 1-1 

1.3 OVERVIEW OF BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE STANDARDS ........................ 1-2 

1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENT............................................................................ 1-6 

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1.3.1 Beverage Vending Machine Analyses ..................................................................... 1-4 

1-i 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT 

This technical support document (TSD) is a stand-alone report that documents the 

technical analyses and results in support of the information presented in the final rule for 

establishing energy conservation standards for beverage vending machines. 

1.2 OVERVIEW OF COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT STANDARDS 

Title III of EPCA sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy 

efficiency. Part A of Title III (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) provides for the Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles. The amendments to EPCA contained 

in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), Pub. L. 109-58, include new or amended 

energy conservation standards and test procedures for some of these products, and direct DOE to 

undertake rulemakings to promulgate such requirements. In particular, section 135(c)(4) of 

EPACT 2005 amends EPCA to direct DOE to prescribe energy conservation standards for 

beverage vending machines. (42 U.S.C. 6295(v)) 

Because of its placement in Part A of Title III of EPCA, the rulemaking for beverage 

vending machine energy conservation standards is bound by the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 6295. 

However, since beverage vending machines are commercial equipment, DOE intends to place 

the new requirements for beverage vending machines in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR), Part 431 (“Energy Efficiency Program for Certain Commercial and 

Industrial Equipment”), which is consistent with DOE’s previous action to incorporate the 

EPACT 2005 requirements for commercial equipment. The location of the provisions within the 

CFR does not affect either their substance or applicable procedure, so DOE is placing them in 

the appropriate CFR part based on their nature or type and will refer to beverage vending 

machines as “equipment” throughout the rulemaking. Because of their placement into 10 CFR 

431, beverage vending machines will be referred to as “equipment” throughout this rulemaking. 

The test procedures for beverage vending machines appear at Title 10 CFR sections 431.293 and 

431.294. 

EPCA provides criteria for prescribing new or amended standards for covered equipment. 

As indicated above, any new or amended standard for beverage vending machines must be 

designed to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that is technologically 

feasible and economically justified. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(A) and (v)) However, EPCA 

precludes DOE from adopting any standard that would not result in significant conservation of 

energy. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(3) and (v)) Moreover, DOE may not prescribe a standard for certain 

equipment if no test procedure has been established for that equipment. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(3) 

and (v)) EPCA also provides that, in deciding whether a standard is economically justified, DOE 

must determine whether the benefits of the standard exceed its burdens after receiving comments 

on the proposed standard. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(B)(i) and (v)) To the greatest extent practicable, 

DOE must consider the following seven factors: 

1. The economic impact of the standard on manufacturers and consumers of the equipment 

subject to the standard; 

1-1 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

2. The savings in operating costs throughout the estimated average life of the covered 

equipment in the type (or class) compared to any increase in the price, or in the initial 

charges for or maintenance expenses of the equipment likely to result from the imposition 

of the standard; 

3. The total projected amount of energy savings likely to result directly from the imposition 

of the standard; 

4. Any lessening of the utility or the performance of the covered equipment likely to result 

from the imposition of the standard; 

5. The impact of any lessening of competition, as determined in writing by the Attorney 

General likely to result from the imposition of the standard; 

6. The need for national energy conservation; and 

7. Other factors the Secretary considers relevant. 

DOE considers stakeholder participation to be a very important part of the process for 

setting energy conservation standards. Therefore, before DOE determines whether to adopt an 

energy conservation standard, it must first solicit comments on the proposed standard. Since any 

new or amended standard must be designed to achieve significant additional conservation of 

energy and be technologically feasible and economically justified, DOE must review comments 

on the proposal and determine that the benefits of the standard exceed its burdens to the greatest 

extent practicable, weighing the seven factors listed above. 

Subsequent to the publication of the framework document, the standards rulemaking 

process involves three additional public notices, which are published in the Federal Register. 

The first of the rulemaking notices is an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR), 

which is designed to publicly vet the models and tools used in the rulemaking and to facilitate 

public participation before the proposed rule stage. The second notice is a NOPR, which presents 

a discussion of comments received in response to the ANOPR; analysis of the impacts of the 

energy conservation standard on customers, manufacturers, and the Nation; DOE’s weighing of 

the impacts; and the proposed standards. The third notice is the final rule, which presents a 

discussion of comments received in response to the NOPR; the revised analysis of the impacts of 

standards; DOE’s weighing of the impacts; the standards adopted by DOE; and the effective 

dates of the standards. 

1.3 OVERVIEW OF BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINE STANDARDS 

As mentioned above, EPACT 2005 amends section 325 of EPCA by adding subsections 

that direct the Secretary to issue energy conservation standards for refrigerated bottled or canned 

beverage vending machines. Such standards shall apply to beverage vending machines 

manufactured three years after the date of publication of a final rule that establishes energy 

conservation standards for that equipment. 

Additionally, section 135(b) of EPACT 2005 amends section 323 of EPCA by adding, in 

part, new subsections 323(b)(15) (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(15)) and 323(f) (42 U.S.C. 6293(f)), which, 

respectively, state that the test procedure for refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending 

machines shall be based on American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, 

1-2 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

 

Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 32.1-2004, “Methods of Testing for 

Rating Vending Machines for Bottled, Canned or Other Sealed Beverages,” and that the 

Secretary has until August 8, 2007, to prescribe that new test procedure. 

Section 135(a)(3) of EPACT 2005 amends section 321 of EPCA by adding, in part, new 

subsection 321(40) (42 U.S.C. 6291(40)), which establishes the following definition: 

The term “refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machine” means a 

commercial refrigerator that cools bottled or canned beverages and dispenses the 

bottled or canned beverages on payment. 

In addition, section 136(a)(3) of EPACT 2005 amends section 340 of EPCA by replacing 

subsection 340(9) (42 U.S.C 6311(9)) with, in part, definitions for the following terms relating to 

commercial refrigeration equipment that are relevant to beverage vending machines: 

“(9)(A) The term ‘commercial refrigerator, freezer, and refrigerator-freezer’ 

means refrigeration equipment that— 

“(i) is not a consumer product (as defined in section 321); 

“(ii) is not designed and marketed exclusively for medical, scientific, or research 

purposes; 

“(iii) operates at a chilled, frozen, combination chilled and frozen, or variable 

temperature; 

“(iv) displays or stores merchandise and other perishable materials horizontally, 

semivertically, or vertically; 

“(v) has transparent or solid doors, sliding or hinged doors, a combination of 

hinged, sliding, transparent, or solid doors, or no doors; 

“(vi) is designed for pull-down temperature applications or holding temperature 

applications; and 

“(vii) is connected to a self-contained condensing unit or to a remote condensing 

unit. 

“(B) The term ‘holding temperature application’ means a use of commercial 

refrigeration equipment other than a pull-down temperature application, except a 

blast chiller or freezer. 

* * * 

“(D) The term ‘pull-down temperature application’ means a commercial 

refrigerator with doors that, when fully loaded with 12 ounce beverage cans at 90 

degrees F, can cool those beverages to an average stable temperature of 38 

degrees F in 12 hours or less. 

1-3 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“(E) The term ‘remote condensing unit’ means a factory-made assembly of 

refrigerating components designed to compress and liquefy a specific refrigerant 

that is remotely located from the refrigerated equipment and consists of one or 

more refrigerant compressors, refrigerant condensers, condenser fans and motors, 

and factory supplied accessories. 

“(F) The term ‘self-contained condensing unit’ means a factory-made assembly 

of refrigerating components designed to compress and liquefy a specific 

refrigerant that is an integral part of the refrigerated equipment and consists of 

one or more refrigerant compressors, refrigerant condensers, condenser fans and 

motors, and factory supplied accessories.” 

In June 2006, DOE published a Rulemaking Framework for Refrigerated Bottled or 

Canned Beverage Vending Machines describing the procedural and analytical approaches DOE 

anticipated using to evaluate the establishment of energy conservation standards for beverage 

vending machines. This document is available at 

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/commercial/pdfs/vending_machines_frame 

work.pdf. 

DOE held a public meeting on July 11, 2006, to discuss procedural and analytical 

approaches to the rulemaking and to facilitate stakeholder involvement in the rulemaking 

process. The analytical framework presented at the public meeting described different analyses, 

such as the engineering analysis and the life-cycle cost (LCC) and payback period (PBP) 

analyses, the methods proposed for conducting them, and the relationships among the various 

analyses. See Table 1.3.1 for all the analyses discussed at the public meeting to be undertaken in 

each of the formal public rulemaking documents. 

Table 1.3.1 Beverage Vending Machine Analyses 

ANOPR NOPR Final Rule* 

Market and technology assessment 

Screening analysis 

Engineering analysis 

Energy use characterization 

Markups to determine equipment price 

Life-cycle cost and payback period analyses 

Shipments analysis 

National impact analysis 

Preliminary manufacturer impact analysis

Revised ANOPR analyses 

Life-cycle cost sub-group analysis 

Manufacturer impact analysis 

Utility impact analysis 

Employment impact analysis 

Environmental assessment 

Regulatory impact analysis 

Revised NOPR analyses 

*

 During the Final Rule phase, DOE considers the comments submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice in the 

NOPR phase concerning the impact of any lessening of competition that is likely to result from the imposition of the 

standard. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(2)(B)(v)) 

During the July 11, 2006, public meeting, interested parties discussed their concerns 

regarding the beverage vending machine rulemaking. Stakeholder comments submitted during 

the framework document comment period elaborated upon the issues raised at the public 

meeting. DOE worked with its contractors to address these issues in the analyses. 

As part of the information gathering and sharing process, DOE organized and held 

interviews with beverage vending machine manufacturers. DOE had four objectives for these 

1-4 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

interviews: (1) solicit feedback on the draft engineering analysis (including methodology, 

production costs, manufacturing processes, and findings); (2) solicit feedback on topics related to 

the preliminary manufacturer impact analysis; (3) provide an early opportunity to express 

specific concerns to DOE; and (4) foster cooperation between the manufacturers and DOE. 

During the initial manufacturer interviews, six main topics related to the manufacturer 

impact analysis were discussed: (1) general key issues; (2) beverage vending machine shipment 

projections, (3) capital conversion costs; (4) product mix and profitability; (5) market shares and 

industry consolidation; and (6) cumulative regulatory burden. DOE incorporated the information 

gathered at the meetings into its engineering analysis (chapter 5 of the TSD) and the 

manufacturer impact analysis (chapter 12 of the TSD). 

Following the publication of the ANOPR, DOE scheduled additional interviews with 

manufacturers. These interviews contained follow-up questions on the ANOPR analyses and also 

contained topics related to the potential impact of energy conservation standards on 

manufacturers. Appendix J contains the questions used to conducted the manufacturer interviews 

that took place following the publication of the ANOPR. Following the publication of the NOPR 

and the NOPR public meeting, DOE intends to continue to solicit comments from manufacturers 

and other interested parties. 

DOE conducted the LCC and PBP analyses based on an approach that establishes an 

annual energy expense using electric utility tariffs. Under this approach, LCC results are based 

on the assumption that manufacturing plants and commercial building customers in the future 

will face electricity rates similar to those in today’s electricity markets. 

DOE developed spreadsheets for the LCC, PBP, and national impact analyses. A 

spreadsheet tool that demonstrates the calculation of annual energy expenses based on 

commercial and industrial electric utility tariffs accompanies the LCC spreadsheet. DOE 

developed a national impact analysis spreadsheet that calculates the national energy savings 

(NES) and national net present values (NPVs) at various energy-efficiency levels. This 

spreadsheet includes a model that forecasts the impacts of energy conservation standards at 

various levels of beverage vending machine shipments. 

DOE reviewed the recommendations made on April 21, 1998 by the Advisory Committee 

on Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards (Advisory Committee, No. 96), which refers to the 

recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Energy Efficiency Standards and is available 

for inspection at the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1J-018 (Resource 

Room of the Building Technologies Program) in the file under “Energy Conservation Program 

for Consumer Products: Procedures for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation 

Standards for Consumer Products,” RIN [1904–AA83], as document number 96. These 

recommendations related to (1) using the full range of consumer marginal energy rates (CMERs) 

in the LCC analysis (replacing the use of national average energy prices); (2) defining a range of 

energy price futures for each fuel used in the economic analyses; and (3) defining a range of 

primary energy conversion factors and associated emission reductions based on the generation of 

energy and emissions that would be displaced by energy conservation standards for each 

rulemaking. As discussed above, DOE conducted the LCC analysis with electricity prices based 

on electric utility tariffs to capture the full range of CMERs. Thus, DOE incorporated the use of 

1-5 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

consumer marginal energy rates into the analysis. Also, DOE incorporated a range of future 

energy prices in the analysis. 

1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE DOCUMENT 

This final rule TSD outlines the analytical approaches used in this rulemaking. The TSD 

consists of 14 chapters, an environmental assessment, a regulatory impact analysis, and 

appendices. 

Chapter 1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the appliance and equipment standards 

program and how it applies to the beverage vending machine rulemaking and 

outlines the structure of the document. 

Chapter 2 Analytical Framework: Describes the rulemaking process step by step. 

Chapter 3 Market and Technology Assessment: Characterizes the beverage vending 

machine market and the technologies available for increasing equipment 

efficiency. 

Chapter 4 Screening Analysis: Determines which technology design options are viable 

for consideration in the engineering analysis. 

Chapter 5 Engineering Analysis: Discusses the methods used for developing the 

relationship between increased manufacturer selling prices and increased 

efficiency. 

Chapter 6 Markups to Determine Equipment Price: Discusses methods used for 

establishing markups for converting manufacturer prices to customer 

equipment prices. 

Chapter 7 Energy Use Characterization: Discusses the process used for generating 

energy use estimates of beverage vending machines for a variety of equipment 

classes, climate locations, and standard levels. 

Chapter 8 Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period Analyses: Discusses the effects of energy 

conservation standards on individual customers and users of the equipment 

and compares the LCC and PBP of equipment with and without higher energy 

conservation standards. 

Chapter 9 Trial Standard Levels: Discusses the trial standard levels and methods used to 

derive the energy consumption equations corresponding to the final energy 

conservation standards. 

Chapter 10 Shipments Analysis: Discusses the methods used for forecasting shipments 

with and without higher energy conservation standards, including how 

equipment purchase decisions are economically influenced and modeled with 

econometric equations. 

1-6 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

Chapter 11 National Impact Analysis: Discusses the methods used for forecasting national 

energy consumption and national economic impacts based on estimates of 

future equipment efficiency distributions and annual equipment shipments in 

the absence and presence of higher energy conservation standards. 

Chapter 12 Life-Cycle Cost Sub-Group Analysis: Discusses the effects of energy 

conservation standards on a subgroup of beverage vending machine customers 

and compares the LCC and PBP of equipment with and without higher energy 

conservation standards for these customers. 

Chapter 13 Manufacturer Impact Analysis: Discusses the effects of energy conservation 

standards on the finances and profitability of equipment manufacturers. 

Chapter 14 Utility Impact Analysis: Discusses the effects of energy conservation 

standards on the installed generation capacity of electric utilities. 

Chapter 15 Employment Impact Analysis: Discusses the effects of energy conservation 

standards on national employment. 

Chapter 16 Environmental Assessment for Beverage Vending Machines: Discusses the 

effects of energy conservation standards on airborne emissions of electric 

utilities. 

Chapter 17 Regulatory Impact Analysis: Discusses the impact of the present regulatory 

actions and of non-regulatory alternatives to setting energy conservation 

standards. 

Appendix A Instructions for Using the Engineering Analysis Spreadsheet: Accompanies 

chapter 5, Engineering Analysis. 

Appendix B Engineering Data: Accompanies chapter 5, Engineering Analysis. 

Appendix C Detailed Data for Equipment Price Markups: Accompanies chapter 6, 

Markups for Equipment Price Determination. 

Appendix D Methodology for developing the weighting factors for beverage vending 

machines; accompanies chapter 7, Energy Use Characterization. 

Appendix E User Instructions for Life-Cycle Cost Spreadsheet: Accompanies chapter 8, 

Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period Analyses. 

Appendix F Detailed Life-Cycle Cost Output: Accompanies chapter 8, Life-Cycle Cost 

and Payback Period Analyses. 

Appendix G User Instructions for National Energy Savings and Net Present Value 

Spreadsheet: Accompanies chapter 10, National Impact Analysis. 

1-7
 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74
 

Appendix H Detailed National Energy Savings and National Net Present Value Output: 

Accompanies chapter 10, National Impact Analysis. 

Appendix I Site-to-source Conversion: Accompanies chapter 11, National Impact 

Analysis. 

Appendix J Manufacturer Impact Analysis Interview Guides and Government Regulatory 

Impact Model: Accompanies chapter 13, Manufacturer Impact Analysis. 

Appendix K Utility Impacts: Accompanies chapter 14, Utilities Impact Analysis. 

1-8 

BVM_FINAL_FR_TSD_Chapter1_08-14-09.doc 

EERE-2006-STD-0125 COMMENT 74