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This final document represents the definitive view of the agency on the questions addressed and may be

relied upon by the regulated industry and members of the public.

This and other guidance documents are accessible on the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency

& Renewable Energy web site at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/guidance/default.aspx?pid=2&spid=1.

Guidance Type:  Definitions and Scope of Coverage, Test Procedures

Category: Residential Products

Product:  Refrigerators and Freezers

Product Sub‐type:  All

Guidance Version:  FINAL

Issued:  February 10, 2011

Q:  What types of refrigerated wine storage products and/or hybrid wine storage products (i.e., products

combining wine storage, fresh food, and/or freezer compartments) are covered under DOE’s

regulations?

A:  For the purpose of this guidance, a wine storage compartment is a compartment that is not designed

to be capable of storage temperature less than 39  ̊F. At this time, wine storage products, defined for

these purposes as refrigeration products comprised exclusively of wine storage compartments, are not

covered under DOE’s regulations. See 75 FR 78810 (December 16, 2010). DOE has received several

inquiries about the applicability of DOE’s definitions to hybrid products that combine wine storage

compartments with fresh food and/or freezer compartments. Consequently, DOE is clarifying through

this guidance that such hybrid products may fall within the current definitions of electric refrigerator1

and electric refrigerator‐freezer2.  

A wine storage compartment of any size added to what would otherwise be an electric refrigerator does

not change the product’s status as an electric refrigerator and does not exempt it from coverage. The

same outcome applies for any electric refrigerator‐freezer ‐‐ i.e. adding a wine cooler compartment to

an electric refrigerator‐freezer would not exempt that product’s coverage as an electric refrigerator‐

freezer.  

                                                            

1 Electric refrigerator means a cabinet designed for the refrigerated storage of food, designed to be capable of

achieving storage temperatures above 32 °F (0 °C) and below 39 °F (3.9 °C), and having a source of refrigeration

requiring single phase, alternating current electric energy input only. An electric refrigerator may include a

compartment for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 32°F (0 °C), but does not provide a

separate low temperature compartment designed for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 8 °F

(‐13.3 °C). 10 CFR 430.2.

2 Electric refrigerator‐freezer means a cabinet which consists of two or more compartments with at least one of

the compartments designed for the refrigerated storage of food and designed to be capable of achieving storage

temperatures above 32 °F (0 °C) and below 39 °F (3.9 °C), and with at least one of the compartments designed for

the freezing and storage of food at temperatures below 8 °F (‐13.3 °C) which may be adjusted by the user to a

temperature of 0 °F (‐17.8 °C) or below. The source of refrigeration requires single phase, alternating current

electric energy input only. 10 CFR 430.2.
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However, products that include a wine storage compartment but are otherwise freezers do not meet

the freezer3 definition if the wine storage compartment comprises a majority of the total storage volume

of that product. As an example, the product addressed by the Liebherr waiver that recently terminated,

which had over 50% of its volume dedicated as a wine cooler, is not a freezer under the current

regulatory definition. See 75 FR 78810, 78817 (Dec. 16, 2010).  

DOE recognizes the potential disparity in treatment among these hybrid products. As DOE indicated

earlier during its related rulemaking activities for refrigeration products, the Department plans to

engage in a future rulemaking to more comprehensively address these types of products. See 75 FR

29824, 29827 (May 27, 2010).  

DOE notes that there are many different groups of wine storage, fresh food, and freezer compartments

that could be combined in a given refrigeration product. The different types of compartments

distinguished by the standards include the following:  

 Freezer (“long‐term”): a freezer compartment capable of 0  ̊F storage temperature. These

compartments are typically found in refrigerator‐freezers or freezers.  

 Freezer (“short‐term”): a freezer compartment larger than 0.5 cubic feet in volume capable of

storage temperatures less than 32  ̊F but normally not less than 8  ̊F. These compartments are

generally found in refrigerators other than all‐refrigerators.  

 Freezer (“ice only”): a freezer compartment of 0.5 cubic feet capacity or less capable of storage

temperatures less than 32  ̊F but normally not less than 8  ̊F. These compartments may be found

in all‐refrigerators.  

 Fresh food compartment: a compartment capable of storage temperatures less than 39  ̊F,

generally not controllable to temperatures less than 32  ̊F.  

 “Wine storage” compartment: a compartment not capable of 39  ̊F storage temperature that

provides warmer temperatures than 39  ̊F. Generally such compartments are designed for

storage of wine.  

While DOE has not defined all of these terms in its regulations, DOE understands they are commonly

used within the refrigeration industry (see, for example, product definitions for basic refrigerator and

all‐refrigerator in AHAM HRF‐1‐2008, sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2) and is using them to provide additional

clarity in this guidance document. In particular, these terms are helpful when mapping the basic models

on the market today to DOE’s regulatory definitions and product classes for determining scope of

coverage.  

Table 1 below shows several possible combinations of compartments that could be present in a

refrigerated product. The table identifies the product definitions that apply to each distinct combination

of compartments. For example, a product incorporating a “short term” freezer compartment and a fresh

                                                            

3 Freezer means a cabinet designed as a unit for the freezing and storage of food at temperatures of 0 °F. or below,

and having a source of refrigeration requiring single phase, alternating current electric energy input only. 10 CFR

430.2.
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food compartment (the fifth compartment combination identified below) is a refrigerator other than an

all‐refrigerator.

Table 1: Product Definitions Applicable to Different Compartment Combinations in a Product

    Compartment Types

    Freezer

(“long

term”)

Freezer

(“short

term”)

Freezer

(“ice only”)

Fresh Food “Wine

Storage”

Product Types

COVERED PRODUCT COMBINATIONS

All‐Refrigerator

       

     

        

      

Refrigerator other

than an All‐

Refrigerator

       

     

Refrigerator‐Freezer

        

      

Freezer        

EXAMPLES OF CURRENTLY UNCOVERED PRODUCT COMBINATIONS

Wine Storage only      

Wine Storage with

“long‐term” freezer

       

Wine Storage with

“short term” freezer

     

Note: All‐refrigerators with “ice‐only” freezer compartments may have just one such compartment. DOE

is not aware of the existence of such products with more than one “ice‐only” freezer compartment and

has not made a determination of the product type definition applicable for such a combination.  

Some of the compartment combinations listed do not represent products that are covered under the

regulatory definitions for refrigeration products. Three examples are set forth in the table above;

namely, a product that has one or more wine storage compartments and two products that have only

wine storage and freezer compartments.  

DOE emphasizes that the “wine storage” compartment description as discussed herein applies only to

compartments that are not “designed to be capable of achieving storage temperatures below 39 °F (3.9

°C)”. 10 CFR Part 430.2. Hence, a compartment configured for wine storage or identified as a wine

storage compartment in marketing literature that achieves temperatures below 39 °F (3.9 °C) is a fresh

food compartment for the purposes of identifying the applicable product definition and determining

scope of coverage with DOE’s regulations. In addition, a compartment that is designed to be a fresh food

compartment, but does not reach 39 °F (3.9 °C) or lower in an energy test in a 90  ̊F ambient

temperature with controls set to the coldest position is still a fresh food compartment.  
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These FAQs may also be of interest:  FAQ document on testing of hybrid and wine storage products,  

FAQ document on product classes of hybrid and wine storage products.