48054 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2008–BT–TP–0004] 

RIN 1904–AB75 

Energy Conservation Program: Test 

Procedures for Battery Chargers and 

External Power Supplies (Standby 

Mode and Off Mode) and for MultipleVoltage External Power Supplies 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) proposes to amend its test 

procedures for battery chargers and 

external power supplies to include 

provisions for measuring standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption, as 

directed by the Energy Independence 

and Security Act of 2007. DOE also 

proposes to add a test procedure for 

measuring the energy consumption of 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. In addition, DOE proposes to 

make revisions to the single-voltage 

external power supply test procedure. 

DOE also proposes to extend the current 

certification reporting requirements to 

the Class A external power supplies for 

which Congress established energy 

efficiency standards in the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007. 

Finally, DOE announces a public 

meeting to receive comment on this 

proposal and the issues presented in 

this notice. 

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting 

in Washington, DC, on Friday, 

September 12, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. to discuss the test procedure 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR). 

DOE must receive requests to speak at 

this public meeting no later than 4 p.m., 

Friday, August 29, 2008. DOE must 

receive a signed original and an 

electronic copy of statements to be given 

at the public meeting no later than 4 

p.m., Friday, September 5, 2008. 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

information regarding the NOPR 

(proposed rule) until October 29, 2008. 

See section IV, ‘‘Public Participation,’’ 

of this proposed rule for details. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 1E–245, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. (Please 

note that foreign nationals participating 

in the public meeting are subject to 

advance security screening procedures 

which may take up to 30 days. If a 

foreign national wishes to participate in 

the workshop, please inform DOE as 

soon as possible by contacting Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 so 

that the necessary procedures can be 

completed.) 

Any comments submitted must 

identify the NOPR on Test Procedures 

for Battery Chargers and External Power 

Supplies, and provide the docket 

number EERE–2008–BT–TP–0004 and/ 

or Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 

1904–AB75. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

BC&EPS_Test_Proc@ee.doe.gov. Include 

the docket number EERE–2008–BT–TP– 

0004 and/or RIN 1904–AB75 in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Postal Mail: Mrs. Brenda Edwards, 

U.S. Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please 

submit one signed paper original. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Mrs. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 6th 

Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. Please submit one 

signed paper original. 

For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

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

this document. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, visit the U.S. 

Department of Energy, 6th Floor, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 

20024, (202) 586–2945, between 9 a.m. 

and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. Please call Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 for 

additional information about visiting 

the Resource Room. 

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) 586–4549. E-mail: 

Victor.Petrolati@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Francine Pinto or Mr. Michael 

Kido, U.S. Department of Energy, Office 

of the General Counsel, GC–72, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: 

(202) 586–9507. E-mail: 

Francine.Pinto@hq.doe.gov or 

Michael.Kido@hq.doe.gov. 

For information on how to submit or 

review public comments and on how to 

participate in the public meeting, 

contact Ms. Brenda Edwards, 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) 586–2945. E-mail: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Legal Authority 

II. Summary of the Proposal 

A. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

B. Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supplies 

C. External Power Supply Definitions 

D. Single-Voltage External Power Supply 

Test Procedure Amendments 

E. Switch-Selectable Single-Voltage 

External Power Supplies 

F. Submission of Certification Test Data to 

DOE 

III. Discussion 

A. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

1. Battery Chargers 

i. Definitions 

ii. Test Method 

2. External Power Supplies 

i. Definitions 

ii. Test Method 

B. Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supplies 

1. Test Apparatus and General Instructions 

i. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

ii. AC Source Voltage Requirement 

iii. AC Source Distortion Requirement 

iv. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

2. Test Measurement 

i. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirement 

ii. Loading Conditions 

iii. Proportional Allocation 

iv. Minimum Output Current Requirement 

v. No-Load Mode Testing 

C. External Power Supply Test Procedure 

Definitions 

1. Revisions to Existing Definitions 

2. New Definitions 

D. Single-Voltage External Power Supply 

Test Procedure Amendments 

1. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

2. AC Source Voltage Requirement 

3. AC Source Distortion Requirement 

4. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

5. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirement 

E. Switch-Selectable Voltage External 

Power Supplies 

F. Submission of Certification Test Data to 

DOE 

1. Background 

i. Definition of ‘‘Basic Model’’ 

ii. Definition of ‘‘Covered Product’’ 

iii. Sampling Plan 

iv. Test Procedures 

v. Enforcement Provisions 

2. Alternative Reporting Methodology 

Under Consideration 

IV. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 48055 

1The terms ‘‘AC’’ and ‘‘DC’’ refer to the polarity 

(i.e., direction) and amplitude of current and 

voltage associated with electrical power. For 

example, mains power, that which is found in a 

household wall socket, is alternating current, or 

‘‘AC’’, and it varies in amplitude and reverses 

polarity. In contrast, the power supplied by a 

battery or solar cell is direct current, or ‘‘DC,’’

which is constant in both amplitude and polarity. 

2The full EISA definition of a class A external 

power supply includes a device that ‘‘(I) is designed 

to convert line voltage AC input into lower voltage 

AC or DC output; (II) is able to convert to only 1 

AC or DC output voltage at a time; (III) is sold with, 

or intended to be used with, a separate end-use 

product that constitutes the primary load; (IV) is 

contained in a separate physical enclosure from the 

end-use product; (V) is connected to the end-use 

product via a removable or hard-wired male/female 

electrical connection, cable, cord, or other wiring; 

and (VI) has nameplate output power that is less 

than or equal to 250 watts.’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6291(36)(C)(i)) 

B. Procedure for Submitting Requests to 

Speak 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

D. Submission of Comments 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

1. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

2. Definitions in the Test Procedures 

3. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

4. AC Source Voltage Requirements 

5. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

6. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirements 

7. Loading Conditions for Multiple-Voltage 

External Power Supplies 

8. Single-Voltage External Power Supply 

Test Procedure 

9. Switch-Selectable Single-Voltage 

External Power Supplies 

10. Submission of Certification Test Data to 

DOE 

V. 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 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

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 the 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 

VI. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Background and Legal Authority 

Title III of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act (EPCA) (42 U.S.C. 

6291, et seq.) sets forth a variety of 

provisions designed to improve energy 

efficiency. Part A of Title III (42 U.S.C. 

6291–6309) establishes the ‘‘Energy 

Conservation Program for Consumer 

Products Other Than Automobiles.’’ The 

consumer and commercial products 

currently subject to this program 

(hereinafter referred to as ‘‘covered 

products’’) include battery chargers and 

external power supplies (collectively 

referred to as ‘‘BCEPS’’). Manufacturers 

of covered products are required to use 

the relevant DOE test procedures to 

certify compliance with the energy 

conservation standards adopted under 

EPCA. The statutory provisions of 

particular relevance to today’s notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NOPR) are 

discussed immediately below. 

Section 323(b) of EPCA authorizes 

DOE to amend or establish new test 

procedures as appropriate for each of 

the covered products. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)) This section provides that 

‘‘[a]ny test procedures prescribed or 

amended under this section shall be 

reasonably designed to produce test 

results which measure energy 

efficiency, energy use, water use (in the 

case of showerheads, faucets, water 

closets and urinals), or estimated annual 

operating cost of a covered product 

during a representative average use 

cycle or period of use, as determined by 

the Secretary [of Energy], and shall not 

be unduly burdensome to conduct.’’ (42 

U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)) In addition, EPCA 

states that DOE ‘‘shall determine, in the 

rulemaking carried out with respect to 

prescribing such procedure, to what 

extent, if any, the proposed test 

procedure would alter the measured 

energy efficiency, measured energy use, 

or measured water use of any covered 

product as determined under the 

existing test procedure.’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6293(e)(1)) 

Of particular relevance to the present 

rulemaking, section 135 of the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), Public Law 

109–58, amended sections 321 and 325 

of EPCA by providing definitions for 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies and directing the Secretary to 

prescribe ‘‘definitions and test 

procedures for the power use of battery 

chargers and external power supplies.’’

(42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(A)) DOE complied 

with this requirement by publishing the 

test procedure final rule, 71 FR 71340, 

on December 8, 2006, which included 

definitions and test procedures for 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies. DOE codified a test procedure 

for battery chargers in Appendix Y to 

subpart B of part 430 in Title 10 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

(‘‘Uniform Test Method for Measuring 

the Energy Consumption of Battery 

Chargers’’) (hereinafter referred to as 

‘‘Appendix Y’’) and a test procedure for 

external power supplies in Appendix Z 

to subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 

(‘‘Uniform Test Method for Measuring 

the Energy Consumption of External 

Power Supplies’’) (hereinafter referred 

to as ‘‘Appendix Z’’). 

DOE published a subsequent notice of 

public meeting and availability of 

documentation for public review on 

December 29, 2006. 71 FR 78389. This 

public meeting was called a ‘‘Scoping 

Workshop’’ and focused on DOE’s plans 

for developing energy conservation 

standards for battery chargers and 

external power supplies. The Scoping 

Workshop was held at DOE’s Forrestal 

Building in Washington, DC, on January 

24, 2007. Information pertaining to the 

Scoping Workshop is available at 

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

appliance_standards/residential/ 

battery_external.html . 

On December 19, 2007, the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007 

(EISA), Public Law 110–140, amended 

sections 321, 323, and 325 of EPCA with 

regard to external power supplies and 

battery chargers. Section 301 of EISA 

amended section 321 of EPCA, by 

modifying some of the definitions 

pertaining to external power supplies. 

EPACT had amended EPCA to define an 

external power supply as ‘‘an external 

power supply circuit that is used to 

convert household electric current into 

DC current or lower-voltage AC current 

to operate a consumer product’’ 1 (42 

U.S.C. 6291(36)(A)) but section 301 of 

EISA further amended this definition by 

creating a subset of external power 

supplies called Class A External Power 

Supplies. EISA defined this subset as 

those external power supplies that, in 

addition to meeting several other 

requirements common to all external 

power supplies,2 are ‘‘able to convert to 

only 1 AC or DC output voltage at a 

time’’ and that have ‘‘nameplate output 

power that is less than or equal to 250 

watts.’’ (42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(C)(i)) 

Section 301 also amended EPCA to 

establish minimum standards for these 

products, effective July 1, 2008, see 42 

U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(A), and directed DOE 

to publish a final rule by July 1, 2011 

to determine whether these energy 

conservation standards for external 

power supplies should be amended. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(D)) 

Further, section 309 of EISA amended 

EPCA by directing DOE to issue a final 

rule by July 1, 2011 that prescribes 

energy conservation standards for 

battery chargers or classes of battery 

chargers or determine that no energy 

conservation standard is technologically 

feasible and economically justified for 

battery chargers. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(II)) DOE plans to bundle 

this battery charger rulemaking 

proceeding with the requirement to 

evaluate amendments to the energy 

conservation standards for external 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS
48056 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

3The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

previously approved the collection of this 

information on September 27, 2007. See Notice of 

Office of Management and Budget Action, OMB 

Control No. 1910–1400, available at http:// 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. The 

supporting statement accompanying DOE’s request 

for an extension of its clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act to collect this 

information identifies the potential inclusion of 

additional respondents as a result of changes 

introduced by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. See 

DOE Supporting Statement for Paperwork 

Reduction Act Submission, OMB Control Number 

1910–1400 (May 31, 2007). Battery charger and 

external power supply manufacturers were part of 

this new group of potential respondents. 

power supplies mentioned above, since 

both must be completed by July 1, 2011. 

See EISA, section 301(c). 

In addition, section 309 of EISA 

amended section 325(u)(1)(E) of EPCA, 

instructing DOE to issue ‘‘a final rule 

that determines whether energy 

conservation standards shall be issued 

for external power supplies or classes of 

external power supplies.’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(I)) DOE, however, 

cannot conduct a determination analysis 

on whether it should issue conservation 

standards for a product for which 

standards have already been set by 

Congress in section 301(c) of EISA (i.e., 

Class A external power supplies). 

Furthermore, section 325(u)(1)(E) of 

EPCA, as amended by EISA, directs 

DOE to complete this determination 

analysis ‘‘No later than 2 years after the 

date of enactment of this subsection.’’

(42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(I)) This 

subsection, however, is a result of 

EPACT, which was signed into law on 

August 8, 2005. Interpreting this 

subsection strictly as amended by EISA 

would place the determination analysis 

final rule issue date on August 8, 2007, 

almost four months prior to the passage 

of EISA. 

To resolve these inconsistencies, DOE 

interprets the ‘‘date of enactment of this 

subsection’’ (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(I)) 

as the date of passage of EISA, namely 

December 19, 2007. In this context, DOE 

interprets sections 301 and 309 of EISA 

jointly as a requirement to determine, by 

December 19, 2009, whether energy 

conservation standards shall be issued 

for non-Class A external power 

supplies. Examples of non-Class A 

external power supplies include those 

with a nameplate output power rating 

greater than 250 watts (W) and those 

able to convert to more than one AC or 

DC output voltage at the same time (i.e., 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies). These non-Class A external 

power supplies appear to constitute a 

significant group of products, powering 

applications such as radio transceivers, 

video game consoles, and printers. 

Although the current DOE external 

power supply test procedure (Appendix 

Z) can test high-power external power 

supplies, it cannot accommodate 

external power supplies that convert to 

more than one output voltage 

simultaneously. Therefore, in today’s 

notice, DOE proposes to amend its test 

procedure to allow for the testing of 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. 

EISA also amended section 325 of 

EPCA to establish definitions for active 

mode, standby mode, and off mode and 

directs DOE to amend its existing test 

procedures by December 31, 2008 for 

both battery chargers and external 

power supplies to measure the energy 

consumed in standby mode and off 

mode. See EISA, section 310. It also 

authorizes the Department to amend, by 

rule, any of the definitions for active, 

standby, and off mode so long as the 

Department takes into consideration the 

most current versions of Standards 

62301 (‘‘Household Electrical 

Appliances—Measurement of Standby 

Power’’) and 62087 (‘‘Methods of 

Measurement for the Power 

Consumption of Audio, Video and 

Related Equipment’’) of the 

International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC). (See EPCA Sec. 

325(gg)(2)(A) and 42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(2)(A)). Consistent with this 

authority, today’s NOPR proposes 

amended definitions for these terms that 

take into consideration IEC Standards 

62031 and 62087 and adapt the 

definitions to how consumers use 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies. 

Finally, in light of Congress’s 

establishment of energy efficiency 

standards for Class A external power 

supplies, DOE proposes to extend the 

certification reporting requirements of 

42 U.S.C. 6296, which are promulgated 

at 10 CFR 430.62, to cover these 

products. This extension is consistent 

with current requirements for 

manufacturers of covered products and 

would continue to use the existing 

requirements and form found in 10 CFR 

part 430, subpart F, appendix A.3

DOE plans to publish a final rule by 

December 31, 2008, the statutory 

deadline for a final rule amending the 

test procedure, to measure energy 

consumption in off mode and standby 

mode for battery chargers and external 

power supplies. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(2)(B)) Because of this deadline, 

the sections of this proposal concerning 

standby mode and off mode are of 

highest priority. If commenters clearly 

indicate that further evaluation of the 

other issues presented in this NOPR is 

needed, these issues will be addressed 

in a separate rulemaking. This approach 

would avoid delaying the standby mode 

and off mode test procedure final rule. 

For each of the various items 

discussed below, DOE invites 

stakeholder comments on these 

proposed amendments to the 

Department’s test procedures. 

II. Summary of the Proposal 

In this NOPR, DOE proposes to 

modify the current test procedures for 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies to achieve the following 

objectives: 

(1) Address the statutory requirement 

to expand test procedures to incorporate 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption; 

(2) Expand the external power supply 

test procedure to accommodate certain 

non-Class A external power supplies 

that DOE will evaluate in the 

determination analysis; 

(3) Revise and adopt definitions 

pertaining to testing of external power 

supplies for increased clarity; 

(4) Incorporate certain technical 

changes and clarifications to the test 

procedure for single-voltage external 

power supplies to improve the accuracy 

and practicability of the test procedure; 

and 

(5) Incorporate requirements for the 

submission of certification test data 

pertaining to external power supplies 

subject to minimum efficiency 

standards effective July 1, 2008. 

Table 1 lists the sections of 10 CFR 

part 430 affected by the amendments 

proposed in this NOPR. The left column 

in Table 1 cites the locations in the CFR 

where DOE proposes changes, which are 

listed in the right column. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF CHANGES PROPOSED IN THIS NOPR AND AFFECTED SECTIONS OF 10 CFR PART 430 

Existing section in 10 CFR part 430 Summary of proposed modifications 

Section 430.22 of subpart B—Reference Sources .................................. • Inserts new technical references. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 48057 

4 IEC 62301 ‘‘Household Electrical Appliances—

Measurement of Standby Power,’’ International 

Electrotechnical Commission, First edition, June 

2005. 

5 ‘‘Test Methodology for Determining the Energy 

Performance of Battery Charging Systems,’’

Environmental Protection Agency, December 2005. 

6 ‘‘Test Method for Calculating the Energy 

Efficiency of Single-Voltage External Ac-Dc and AcAc Power Supplies,’’ California Energy Commission 

Public Interest Energy Research Program, August 

11, 2004. 

7 ‘‘Proposed Test Protocol for Calculating the 

Energy Efficiency of Internal Ac-Dc Power 

Supplies,’’ Revision 6.2, California Energy 

Continued 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF CHANGES PROPOSED IN THIS NOPR AND AFFECTED SECTIONS OF 10 CFR PART 430—

Continued 

Existing section in 10 CFR part 430 Summary of proposed modifications 

Section 430.23 of subpart B—Test procedures for the measurement of 

energy and water consumption.

• Modifies ‘(aa) battery charger’ and ‘(bb) external power supply’ to include energy consumption in standby mode and off mode. 

Appendix Y to subpart B of part 430—Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Battery Chargers: 

1. Scope ............................................................................................ • No change. 

2. Definitions ...................................................................................... • Modifies the definition for standby mode. 

3. Test Apparatus and General Instructions ..................................... • Inserts a definition for off mode. 

4. Test Measurement ........................................................................ • No change. 

• Inserts procedures to measure energy consumption in standby mode 

and off mode. 

Appendix Z to subpart B of part 430—Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of External Power Supplies: 

1. Scope ............................................................................................ • Modifies scope to encompass all types of energy consumption of external power supplies. 

2. Definitions ...................................................................................... • Modifies existing definitions for: 

Æ Active mode. 

Æ Active mode efficiency. 

Æ No-load mode. 

Æ Total harmonic distortion. 

Æ True power factor. 

• Inserts new definitions for: 

Æ Active power. 

Æ Ambient temperature. 

Æ Apparent power. 

Æ Instantaneous power. 

Æ Minimum output current. 

Æ Multiple-voltage external power supply. 

Æ Nameplate input frequency. 

Æ Nameplate input voltage. 

Æ Nameplate output current. 

Æ Nameplate output power. 

Æ Nameplate output voltage. 

Æ Off mode. 

Æ Output bus. 

Æ Standby mode. 

Æ Switch-selectable single-voltage external power supply. 

Æ Unit under test. 

3. Test Apparatus and General Instructions ..................................... • Divides section 3 into 3(a) for single-voltage EPSs and 3(b) for multiple-voltage EPSs. 

• Maintains the existing test procedure for single-voltage EPSs in 3(a). 

Æ Considers adopting slightly revised requirements in 3(a), to be consistent with proposal in 3(b). 

• Inserts 3(b) for multiple-voltage external power supplies with requirements based on other established test procedures. 

4. Test Measurement ........................................................................ • Demarcates 4(a) for single-voltage external power supplies. 

Æ Maintains existing procedure for active mode and standby mode 

measurements. 

Æ Inserts new procedure for measuring off mode. 

• Inserts 4(b) for multiple-voltage external power supplies. 

Æ Inserts new procedures for measuring active mode, standby mode, 

and off mode. 

Section 430.62 of subpart F—Submission of Data .................................. • Inserts submission requirement for active mode efficiency and noload power consumption data for Class A external power supplies. 

In developing today’s proposed test 

procedure amendments, DOE examined 

IEC Standard 62301 4 and the ENERGY 

STAR test procedures for battery 

charging systems,5 external power supplies,6 and internal power supplies.7


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48058 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Commission Public Interest Energy Research 

Program, November 2007. 

8 IEEE 1515–2000. ‘‘IEEE Recommended Practice 

for Electronic Power Subsystems: Parameter 

Definitions, Test Conditions, and Test Methods,’’

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 

March 2000. 

9 IEEE 100. ‘‘The IEEE Standard Dictionary of 

Electrical and Electronics Terms’’ Institute of 

These industry references were either 

statutorily mandated (as in the case of 

IEC Standard 62301), or were developed 

in a publicly-consultative process and 

adopted by the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) for the purpose 

of testing performance characteristics of 

these same products to determine their 

qualification for the ENERGY STAR 

program. Consistent with EISA’s 

requirements, DOE also considered the 

requirements of IEC Standard 62087, 

which addresses the methods to 

measure the power consumption of 

audio, video and related equipment. 

Since this IEC Standard focuses only on 

audio, video, and related equipment 

that tends to incorporate internal power 

supplies, DOE found the scope of IEC 

Standard 62087 to be too narrow for the 

purposes of evaluating standby mode 

and off mode test procedures for battery 

chargers and external power supplies, 

which are used with a large variety of 

products beyond audio and video 

equipment, such as telecommunications 

devices and computers. DOE therefore 

concludes that this standard’s 

provisions are not germane in assisting 

the Department with developing 

standby mode and off mode test 

procedures for the products covered in 

today’s NOPR. As to Standard 62301 

and the ENERGY STAR test procedures, 

DOE considered the impact of each 

proposed change to ensure that these 

revisions would not result in test 

procedures that are unduly burdensome 

to conduct. 

DOE also examined whether the 

proposed amendments to its test 

procedures would significantly change 

the measured power consumption or 

efficiency of the battery charger or 

external power supply. This issue is 

particularly important for external 

power supplies because EISA amended 

section 325 of EPCA to establish 

minimum efficiency standards for 

external power supplies that took effect 

on July 1, 2008. As explained in greater 

detail later, DOE believes that today’s 

proposed amendments neither alter the 

measured energy efficiency of the tested 

products nor do they add any additional 

burden on the industry to implement 

because the proposed changes only 

provide additional clarifications to the 

test procedures for devices that have an 

on-off switch. Thus, DOE proposes to 

amend its test procedures in the manner 

discussed in the following sections. 

DOE welcomes comments on all 

aspects of this proposal. 

A. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

Section 310 of EISA amended section 

325(gg) of EPCA by directing DOE to 

amend its test procedures to incorporate 

a measure of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption if feasible. 

(42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)) Section 310 also 

inserted definitions for off mode and 

standby mode, which affected EPCA 

sections 325(gg)(1)(A)(ii) and (iii). These 

definitions, however, as fully explained 

in the later discussion, do not apply 

appropriately to all battery chargers and 

external power supplies. For instance, 

under the definition for standby mode 

for battery chargers, it is unclear 

whether a battery charger is in standby 

mode when a thermal sensor triggers a 

cooling fan. Consequently, these 

definitions would create confusion in 

how certain features contained in these 

products should be treated during 

testing. 

In today’s notice, DOE proposes to (1) 

adapt the definitions of standby mode 

and off mode that would more 

appropriately apply to battery chargers 

and external power supplies, and (2) 

revise the test procedures for battery 

chargers and external power supplies to 

measure standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption. 

For battery chargers, DOE proposes to 

define standby mode as the condition in 

which the charger is connected to the 

main electricity supply and no battery is 

installed in the charger. For external 

power supplies, DOE proposes to define 

standby mode as the condition in which 

the power supply is connected to the 

main electricity supply and the output 

is not connected to any consumer 

product. Additionally, if the battery 

charger or external power supply has 

any on-off switches, DOE proposes that 

all switches be turned on during the 

measurement of energy consumption in 

standby mode. 

For off mode, DOE proposes that this 

condition apply only to battery chargers 

and external power supplies equipped 

with on-off switches. For these 

products, DOE proposes that off mode 

power consumption be measured as the 

power consumed while all switches are 

turned off. A detailed discussion of the 

proposed definitions and test 

procedures for standby and off mode 

follows in section III.A, below. 

B. Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supplies 

Section 309 of EISA amended section 

325 of EPCA to direct DOE to conduct 

a determination analysis for external 

power supplies not subject to the Class 

A external power supply standard. This 

broad group includes external power 

supplies with multiple simultaneous 

outputs at more than one voltage. DOE 

is not aware of any existing test 

procedure developed specifically to 

measure the efficiency or energy 

consumption of multiple-voltage 

external power supplies. To help in 

developing such a procedure, DOE 

reviewed related test procedures 

currently in use. As a result, today’s 

proposed rule is based on two California 

Energy Commission (CEC) test 

procedures, the ‘‘Test Method for 

Calculating the Energy Efficiency of 

Single-Voltage External Ac-Dc and AcAc Power Supplies,’’ August 11, 2004 

(hereinafter called the ‘‘CEC EPS Test 

Procedure’’), and the ‘‘Proposed Test 

Protocol for Calculating the Energy 

Efficiency of Internal Ac-Dc Power 

Supplies, Revision 6.2,’’ November 2007 

(hereinafter called the ‘‘CEC IPS Test 

Procedure’’). 

DOE’s proposed amendment follows 

the structure of the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure but incorporates language 

addressing test methods from both CEC 

test procedures. As part of this 

amendment, DOE is also proposing new 

language necessary for testing multiplevoltage external power supplies and 

certain test method changes to improve 

the overall accuracy and practicability 

of the procedure. Incorporating this 

amendment into the external power 

supply test procedure would enable 

DOE to evaluate power consumption for 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies in all modes of operation: 

Active mode, no-load mode (i.e., 

‘‘standby mode’’), and off mode. A 

detailed discussion of DOE’s proposed 

test procedure for multiple-voltage 

external power supplies can be found in 

section III.B, below. 

C. External Power Supply Definitions 

In light of the EISA amendments to 

EPCA, DOE reviewed the relevant 

portions of 10 CFR part 430 and 

determined that amending some of the 

definitions in part 430 would help 

improve the clarity of the external 

power supply test procedure. To 

achieve this goal, DOE proposes to 

update certain definitions in Appendix 

Z based on CEC’s test procedures for 

external and internal power supplies, 

IEC Standard 62301, Institute of 

Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

(IEEE) Standard 1515–2000,8 and IEEE 

Standard 100.9 More specifically, DOE 


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Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Sixth Edition, 

1999. 

10 DOE is not aware of any other countries that 

specifically address the testing of switch-selectable 

external power supplies. 

proposes modifications to the current 

definitions of ‘‘active mode,’’ ‘‘active 

mode efficiency,’’ ‘‘no-load mode,’’

‘‘total harmonic distortion,’’ and ‘‘true 

power factor.’’ In addition, today’s 

notice proposes to add definitions for 

‘‘active power,’’ ‘‘ambient temperature,’’

‘‘apparent power,’’ ‘‘instantaneous 

power,’’ ‘‘minimum output current,’’

‘‘multiple-voltage external power 

supply,’’ ‘‘nameplate input frequency,’’

‘‘nameplate input voltage,’’ ‘‘nameplate 

output current,’’ ‘‘nameplate output 

power,’’ ‘‘nameplate output voltage,’’

‘‘off mode,’’ ‘‘output bus,’’ ‘‘switchselectable single-voltage external power 

supply,’’ ‘‘standby mode,’’ and ‘‘unit 

under test.’’ A detailed discussion of 

these proposed modified and new 

definitions follows in section III.C, 

below. 

D. Single-Voltage External Power 

Supply Test Procedure Amendments 

DOE is also considering making 

limited changes to the test procedure for 

single-voltage external power supplies. 

Specifically, DOE would revise the test 

conditions (section 3 of Appendix Z) to 

account for the limitations of test 

equipment and laboratory conditions. 

DOE believes that these changes would 

reduce the testing burden and would 

not negatively affect the accuracy or 

repeatability of measurement results. 

DOE is also considering making a 

revision to the test measurement 

procedure (section 4 of Appendix Z) to 

amend the test measurements to require 

increased stability before conducting 

power measurements. Increased 

stability before conducting power 

measurements will enhance the 

accuracy and repeatability of the 

measurements. Specific descriptions of 

the changes under consideration, as 

well as additional discussion, can be 

found in section III.D, below. 

E. Switch-Selectable Single-Voltage 

External Power Supplies 

Finally, DOE proposes to clarify in 

today’s notice the method by which 

single-voltage external power supplies 

that incorporate a switch-selectable 

output voltage should be tested because 

the scope of the current test procedure 

includes switch-selectable EPSs, but the 

test procedure does not sufficiently 

specify how to test them. For these 

external power supplies, DOE proposes 

that testing be conducted twice: First 

with the output voltage set to the 

minimum voltage and second with the 

output voltage set to the maximum 

voltage. Under DOE’s proposed 

procedure, an external power supply 

with a switch-selectable output voltage 

would be considered in compliance 

with an energy efficiency standard 

when it meets or exceeds the minimum 

requirements at both its lowest and 

highest selectable output voltages. 

DOE proposes this approach for two 

reasons. First, the efficiency of a switchselectable external power supply is 

highest at the highest output voltage 

setting and lowest at the lowest setting. 

Measuring the efficiency at the two 

voltage extremes bounds the range of 

possible efficiencies of the device such 

that the efficiency at any other voltage 

setting would fall between these two 

measurements. Second, this proposal is 

consistent with how other countries, 

including New Zealand and Australia,10

are considering requiring the testing of 

switch-selectable single-voltage external 

power supplies. 

F. Submission of Certification Test Data 

to DOE 

As part of the overall national 

regulatory program, manufacturers of 

covered and regulated products must 

report to DOE that the products they 

manufacture are in compliance with the 

applicable energy conservation 

standards. EISA established standards 

for Class A external power supplies that 

took effect on July 1, 2008. Given that 

development, DOE must now establish 

the certification and enforcement 

procedures that manufacturers of these 

covered products would follow. 

DOE proposed certification and 

enforcement procedures for battery 

chargers and external power supplies on 

July 25, 2006. 71 FR 42178. While some 

of the provisions from that proposal 

remain pending, DOE finalized two 

aspects of that NOPR on December 8, 

2006: (1) Definitions in 10 CFR 430.2 of 

‘‘basic model’’ and ‘‘covered product’’

as they apply to battery chargers and 

external power supplies and (2) test 

procedures for measuring the energy 

efficiency of battery chargers (Appendix 

Y) and external power supplies 

(Appendix Z). 71 FR 71340. 

Also in the July 25, 2006 notice, DOE 

proposed a sampling plan for battery 

chargers and external power supplies to 

be codified under 10 CFR 430.24, ‘‘Units 

to be tested.’’ 71 FR at 42204. The 

sampling plan would provide 

manufacturers with guidance on 

selecting units from their production 

run of covered products, to test those 

samples and demonstrate compliance 

with the new standard. 

EISA amended section 325(u) of 

EPCA by establishing minimum 

efficiency standards for ‘‘Class A’’

external power supplies. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(u)(6)) Previously, DOE had no 

reporting requirements for either battery 

chargers or external power supplies 

since there was no Federal standard in 

place for either product because 

EPACT’s amendments (Pub. L. 109–58, 

section 135(c)(4)) to EPCA directed DOE 

only to determine whether to adopt 

energy conservation standards for 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies. Consistent with the EISA 

amendment and the requirements 

already contained in 10 CFR part 430, 

DOE proposes that manufacturers of 

Class A external power supplies report 

the active mode efficiency (as a 

percentage) and the no-load mode 

power consumption (in watts) of these 

products to DOE. This proposal is 

discussed further in section III.F. 

III. Discussion 

As noted above, Congressional 

directives and the need to incorporate 

definitions used in test procedures to 

improve the current test procedures 

employed by DOE serve as the primary 

reasons for this NOPR. Each element 

that DOE proposes to modify in today’s 

notice to satisfy the new statutory 

requirements from EISA is discussed in 

detail below. 

A. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

DOE developed today’s proposed 

amendments to the battery charger and 

external power supply test procedures 

to satisfy the standby mode and off 

mode requirements in EPCA, as 

amended by EISA. Section 310(3) of 

EISA amended section 325 of EPCA by 

inserting new subsection (gg) (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)) to require that DOE amend its 

test procedures for battery chargers and 

external power supplies to include 

measurements of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption. Congress 

authorized DOE to amend these 

definitions so long as the Department 

took into consideration the most current 

versions of IEC standards 62301 and 

62087 when amending the definitions. 

DOE test procedures are based on CEC 

and ENERGY STAR test procedures, 

both of which reference IEC 62301. 

Thus, in addition to directly considering 

IEC 62301, DOE also considered the 

standard indirectly, as parts of it were 

used in other test procedures. Section 

310(3) also provided definitions of off 

mode and standby mode that modified 

EPCA sections 325(gg)(1)(A)(ii) and (iii). 

As is explained later below, these 

definitions, however, are not 

appropriate when applied to battery 


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11 IEC Standard 62301 defines standby power as 

the ‘‘lowest power consumption mode which 

cannot be switched off (influenced) by the user and 

that may persist for an indefinite time when an 

appliance is connected to the main electricity 

supply and used in accordance with the 

manufacturer’s instructions.’’ IEC Standard 62301, 

section 3.1. 

chargers and external power supplies 

because of potential confusion in how to 

treat particular features that may be 

contained in these products. 

Under EISA, DOE is required to 

amend its test procedures to measure 

standby mode and off mode for both 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies by December 31, 2008. 

Consequently, consistent with the 

authority granted by Congress, DOE is 

modifying the definitions for these 

terms and the proposed amendments in 

this notice would (1) adopt appropriate 

definitions of standby mode and off 

mode that provide a better fit for these 

products, and (2) revise the test methods 

for measuring energy consumption in 

these two modes as needed to 

incorporate them into DOE’s test 

procedures. These proposed revisions to 

the test procedures would apply to both 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies and are discussed below. 

1. Battery Chargers 

DOE adopted a test procedure for 

battery chargers (Appendix Y) in a final 

rule published on December 8, 2006. 71 

FR at 71368. DOE’s test procedure 

measures the energy consumed by 

battery chargers in battery maintenance 

mode and standby mode (also called noload mode) and combines these two 

measured quantities into a single energy 

ratio. Although both the current DOE 

test procedure and EISA define the term 

‘‘standby mode’’ in the context of 

battery chargers, as discussed below, the 

definitions are different. Furthermore, 

applying the definition of ‘‘off mode’’

contained in EISA to battery chargers 

requires modification to ensure that all 

modes of battery charger use are tested 

by DOE’s test procedure. The revisions 

proposed in today’s notice would help 

ensure that DOE’s test procedures 

sufficiently cover the appropriate 

elements of both modes of use. 

Accordingly, DOE proposes to revise the 

definitions of standby mode and off 

mode as applied to battery chargers. 

i. Definitions 

Standby Mode 

In its 2006 final rule, DOE defined 

‘‘standby mode’’ as ‘‘the mode of 

operation when the battery charger is 

connected to the main electricity supply 

and the battery is not connected to the 

charger.’’ 71 FR at 71368. In layman’s 

terms, standby mode is the state of an 

appliance when it is not performing its 

primary function—in the case of battery 

chargers, that function would be 

maintaining a fully charged battery or 

recharging a discharged battery. This 

definition was adapted from the 

December 2005 ENERGY STAR 

Eligibility Criteria for Products with 

Battery Charging Systems, which 

defines standby mode, in part, as ‘‘the 

condition in which no battery is present 

in the charger, or where the battery is 

integral to a product, the product is not 

attached to the charger, but the charger 

is plugged in and drawing power.’’ The 

ENERGY STAR definition also notes 

that standby mode ‘‘represents the 

lowest power consumption mode which 

cannot be switched off (influenced) by 

the user and that may persist for an 

indefinite time when an appliance is 

connected to the main electricity supply 

and used in accordance with the 

manufacturer’s instructions.’’ This part 

of the definition is derived from the 

definition of standby power found in 

IEC Standard 62301.11

In contrast, section 310(3) of EISA 

defined ‘‘standby mode’’ as 

the condition in which an energy-using 

product—(I) is connected to a main power 

source; and (II) offers 1 or more of the 

following user-oriented or protective 

functions: (aa) To facilitate the activation or 

deactivation of other functions (including 

active mode) by remote switch (including 

remote control), internal sensor, or timer. (bb) 

Continuous functions, including information 

or status displays (including clocks) or 

sensor-based functions. 

DOE believes that Congress drafted 

this definition to be applicable to a 

diverse population of energy-using 

appliances and equipment, including 

clothes washers and microwave ovens, 

as well as battery chargers and external 

power supplies. 

However, after carefully examining 

this definition and considering its 

impact with respect to battery chargers, 

DOE believes that applying this 

definition without modification to these 

products would be problematic because 

it would create confusion in how certain 

features contained in these products 

should be treated during testing. For 

instance, under this definition, it is 

unclear whether a battery indicator light 

would constitute a user-oriented 

function or a status display. Similarly, 

the definition provides no guidance as 

to whether a cooling fan would 

constitute a protective function or a 

sensor-based function if triggered by a 

thermal sensor. Such ambiguities would 

create confusion among the public, 

including manufacturers, in 

understanding the scope of coverage of 

these definitions and in determining 

which product designs would be 

affected by these definitions. 

Because of the vagueness of this 

definition, DOE is concerned about 

problems that both the public and the 

industry would likely encounter if the 

EISA definition of standby mode were 

adopted verbatim for battery chargers. 

Therefore, DOE is exercising its 

authority under section 325 of EPCA, as 

amended by section 310(3) of EISA, to 

amend the definitions of the modes, as 

they apply to this particular product, by 

rule. (EPCA 325(gg)(1)(B); 42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(1)(B)) In so doing, DOE has 

considered IEC Standard 62301 in 

revising the definition of standby mode 

by reviewing the standard and 

incorporating appropriate parts of IEC 

62301 into the proposed amendments. 

In today’s notice, DOE proposes 

inserting the following definition of 

‘‘standby mode’’ for battery chargers 

into Appendix Y, section 2.j: ‘‘the 

condition in which (1) the battery 

charger is connected to the main 

electricity supply; (2) the battery is not 

connected to the charger; and (3) for 

battery chargers with manual on-off 

switches, all switches are turned on.’’

DOE believes this definition is 

appropriate because it provides clarity 

of application to test technicians and is 

consistent with the IEC Standard 62301 

and ENERGY STAR definitions of 

standby mode. 

In proposing a procedure to 

incorporate standby mode, which 

section 310 of EISA directed DOE to 

include in its energy efficiency 

evaluation, DOE examined its current 

procedure, which is based on the 

ENERGY STAR test procedure. The 

ENERGY STAR test procedure focuses 

on measuring the energy used during 

standby mode and battery maintenance 

mode, which means that DOE’s current 

battery charger procedure already 

accounts for energy consumption in 

standby mode and satisfies section 310 

of EISA. As a result, today’s proposal 

satisfies the conditions set by Congress 

that permit the Secretary to modify this 

definition to make it applicable to 

battery chargers. DOE’s proposal also 

clarifies how to measure energy 

consumption for battery chargers that 

incorporate on-off switches and is 

consistent with the IEC Standard 62301 

and ENERGY STAR definitions of 

standby mode for this product. 

DOE understands that there are at 

least three types of battery-charged 

consumer products: (1) Those that are 

stand-alone chargers which operate with 

removable batteries such as professional 

power tools and certain digital cameras; 


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12Battery maintenance mode is defined as ‘‘the 

mode of operation when the battery charger is 

connected to the main electricity supply and the 

battery is fully charged, but is still connected to the 

charger.’’ Appendix Y to Subpart B of Part 430, 

Section 2(e). 

(2) those that have the battery affixed 

into the product so that it is not 

removed for charging such as an electric 

toothbrush or hand-held vacuum 

cleaner; and (3) those that incorporate 

all the charging circuitry and battery 

into the product and have only a 

detachable power cord. For a product 

with a non-detachable battery (category 

2, above) to be placed into standby 

mode according to the above proposed 

definition, the product itself must be 

disconnected from the portion of the 

charger apparatus connected to the main 

electricity supply (i.e., the wall socket) 

to ensure that the battery is 

disconnected from the charger. For 

example, to place a cordless telephone 

in standby mode, one would remove the 

handset (which contains the battery) 

from its charging cradle while keeping 

the cradle connected to the main 

electricity supply. This example of 

standby mode for this product would 

still be appropriate even if some of the 

battery charging circuitry resided in the 

telephone handset (instead of the 

cradle), because that standby mode 

would represent a typical use scenario 

for a consumer. The end user would 

continue to operate the device in the 

same manner, regardless of whether the 

charging circuit is located in the 

product or its charging cradle. 

In instances where all of the charging 

and power conversion circuitry resides 

in the product (category 3, above), the 

product is connected to the main 

electricity supply by a detachable AC 

power cord. During standby mode, the 

AC power cord is the only part of this 

battery charging system that would 

remain connected to the main electricity 

supply. By itself, the cord consumes no 

power; therefore, the standby mode 

power consumption for this category of 

products would be zero watts. In the 

case of consumer products for which all 

of the charging and power conversion 

circuitry resides in the product, and 

where the AC power cord is not 

detachable, no component of the 

product remains connected to the main 

electricity supply during standby mode. 

Thus, standby mode power 

consumption is undefined or 

inapplicable to this group of products. 

However, DOE is not concerned about 

this exclusion of permanently corded 

non-removable battery operated 

products from any standby mode power 

consumption standard, because it 

believes very few or no current products 

feature both a non-detachable battery 

and non-detachable AC power cord. 

Further, DOE believes that this category 

will not grow in the future because a 

non-detachable AC power cord 

decreases the portability of a consumer 

product by adding bulk and weight, 

which makes it unlikely that this 

product category will be accepted by 

consumers. 

Off Mode 

Section 310 of EISA defines ‘‘off 

mode’’ as ‘‘the condition in which an 

energy-using product—(I) is connected 

to a main power source; and (II) is not 

providing any standby or active 

function.’’ DOE has not previously 

defined ‘‘off mode’’ for battery chargers, 

but today’s notice proposes an 

alternative definition for this term as it 

applies to battery chargers. As 

previously noted, DOE is proposing to 

amend the definitions contained in 

section 325 of EPCA, as amended by 

section 310(3) of EISA (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(1)(B)) under the authority 

granted to DOE by Congress. 

DOE’s current test procedure for 

battery chargers measures inactive 

energy consumption when there is no 

battery inserted into the charger and the 

charger is still connected to the main 

electricity supply. DOE understands 

that some chargers incorporate manual 

on-off switches (i.e., those activated by 

the user) and can thereby achieve an 

even lower state of inactive energy 

consumption. For these products, the 

switches may conflict with the ENERGY 

STAR and IEC Standard 62301 

definitions of standby mode, which both 

state that standby mode is the lowestpower consumption mode. This is 

because in some cases, the switches will 

reduce the power consumption to zero, 

but in other cases, there may still be 

some power consumption, depending 

on how the switches are incorporated 

into the circuit of the battery charger. 

For this reason, DOE proposes to 

interpret ‘‘off mode’’ as applicable only 

to battery chargers with switches that 

are in the off position. Thus, in today’s 

notice, DOE proposes inserting the 

following definition of ‘‘off mode’’ for 

battery chargers into Appendix Y, 

section 2.i: 

Off mode means the condition, applicable 

only to units having manual on-off switches, 

in which the battery charger is (1) connected 

to the main electricity supply, (2) is not 

connected to the battery, and (3) all switches 

are turned off. 

DOE believes that this definition is 

appropriate because it satisfies the 

requirements of EISA that DOE measure 

energy consumption in inactive modes 

(in this case, off mode), provides clarity 

of application to laboratory technicians, 

and is consistent with the ‘‘standby 

mode’’ definition used by IEC Standard 

62301 and ENERGY STAR. 

As discussed earlier, DOE 

understands that there are at least three 

types of battery-charged consumer 

products: (1) Those that are stand-alone 

chargers which operate with removable 

batteries; (2) those that have the battery 

affixed into the product so that it is not 

removed for charging; and (3) those that 

incorporate all the charging circuitry 

and battery into the product and have 

only a detachable power cord. For those 

products that incorporate a nondetachable battery and those that 

incorporate a non-detachable battery 

and non-detachable AC power cord, 

DOE proposes that the off mode 

definition not apply to any of these 

battery chargers that incorporate an onoff switch because the battery cannot be 

disconnected from the charger. DOE is 

not concerned that the exclusion of 

these devices will constitute a loophole 

in the regulation because consumer 

products with non-detachable batteries 

and AC power cords (e.g., certain 

uninterruptible power supplies) spend 

most of their time in battery 

maintenance mode.12 Also, DOE’s 

battery charger test procedure already 

measures the power consumption in 

battery maintenance mode. 

ii. Test Method 

As discussed above, DOE previously 

codified a test procedure based on 

ENERGY STAR’s procedure for 

measuring the standby mode and 

battery-maintenance mode energy 

consumption of battery chargers. 71 FR 

at 71368. Section 323 of EPCA, as 

amended by section 310 of EISA, directs 

DOE to develop test procedures for the 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption for battery 

chargers by December 31, 2008. DOE 

believes that its existing test procedure 

already incorporates a method under 

which standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption can be measured 

and proposes minor revisions in today’s 

notice to improve the clarity and 

applicability of this test procedure to 

standby mode and off mode. Section 3 

of Appendix Y, which covers test 

apparatus and general instructions, does 

not require modification, since no 

changes are necessary to the required 

test apparatus. 

In section 4 of Appendix Y, DOE 

proposes to add a new subsection ‘‘(c) 

Standby-Mode and Off-Mode Power 

Consumption Measurement.’’ This 

subsection would describe the manner 


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in which to measure standby mode and 

off mode energy consumption 

separately. To measure standby mode, 

DOE proposes that users ‘‘conduct a 

measurement of standby power 

consumption while the battery charger 

is connected to the power source.’’

Specifically, the proposed subsection (c) 

would require the user to 

[r]emove the battery from the charger and 

record the power (i.e., watts) consumed as 

the time series integral of the power 

consumed over a one-hour test period, 

divided by the period of measurement. If the 

battery charger has manual switches, all must 

be turned on for the duration of the standby 

mode test. 

This language is based largely on the 

test measurement language incorporated 

by reference in section 4 of Appendix Y 

for Inactive Mode Energy Consumption, 

which refers to section 5, ‘‘Determining 

BCS Energy Ratio,’’ of the EPA’s Test 

Methodology for Determining the Energy 

Performance of Battery Charging 

Systems (December 2005). Section 5 of 

the EPA battery charger test procedure, 

subsection 5.1, step 3, provides 

guidance to users for measuring power 

consumed when the battery is removed 

from the charger. In that step, EPA’s 

procedure instructs the user to remove 

the battery from the charger while 

continuing to measure standby power. 

The procedure provides two options in 

this regard—a full test for 12 hours or 

an abbreviated test for 1 hour. 

In today’s notice, DOE proposes 

language for the measurement of 

standby mode energy consumption 

based on the abbreviated test, which 

directs technicians as follows: ‘‘Measure 

energy used for a period of not less than 

1 hour. Energy use may be measured as 

a time series integral of power. * * * ’’

In other words, technicians would 

measure the cumulative energy 

consumed in standby mode over a 

defined period of time: E = ∫P · dt, where 

E is energy, P is power, and t is time. 

DOE believes that the abbreviated test, 

which gathers data for one hour, would 

provide sufficiently accurate results for 

determining the power consumption of 

battery chargers without a battery 

installed because the time period is 

sufficient enough to permit the vast 

majority of battery chargers to stabilize 

and any power consumption in standby 

mode to be easily measured. DOE 

recognizes, however, the possibility that 

measurements conducted over a one 

hour period of battery chargers with 

low-frequency, pulsed operation in 

standby mode may not be representative 

of the energy consumption of these 

types of commonly used devices. 

Because of this potential limitation, 

DOE is particularly interested in 

comments that address increased 

required testing times beyond one hour 

up to a maximum of 12 hours. 

For off mode, DOE proposes virtually 

identical test procedure language, 

changing only the requirement that if 

the battery charger has any switches, 

that those switches should be turned off. 

For this test procedure as well, DOE 

invites comment on the required 

duration of 1 hour of data collection, 

and other appropriate durations, 

including those between 1 hour and 12 

hours. 

For both modes, DOE proposes to 

include language based on the ENERGY 

STAR test procedure that clarifies the 

testing conditions for measuring the nobattery mode. Similar to the discussion 

in section III.A.1.i above, DOE’s 

proposal would rely on an approach for 

standby and off mode similar to the one 

proposed above for battery chargers. 

As discussed above, standby mode 

and off mode may also apply to 

products with non-detachable batteries. 

If the product uses a cradle and/or 

adapter for power conversion and 

charging, then only that part of the 

system will remain connected to the 

main electricity supply, and standby 

and off mode power consumption will 

equal that of the cradle and/or adapter. 

If the product contains integrated power 

conversion and charging circuitry but is 

powered through a detachable AC 

power cord, then only the cord will 

remain connected to mains AC power 

supply, and standby and off mode 

power consumption will equal that of 

the AC power cord (i.e., zero watts). If 

the product contains integrated power 

conversion and charging circuitry but is 

powered through a non-detachable AC 

power cord, then no part of the system 

will remain connected to mains, and 

standby and off mode power 

consumption are not applicable. 

2. External Power Supplies 

DOE adopted a test procedure for 

external power supplies (Appendix Z) 

in a final rule published on December 

8, 2006. 71 FR at 71368. DOE’s test 

procedure measures the energy 

consumed by external power supplies in 

both active mode and no-load mode. 

However, the test procedure does not 

define the terms ‘‘standby mode’’ or ‘‘off 

mode,’’ although it does define ‘‘no-load 

mode’’ as ‘‘the mode of operation when 

the external power supply is connected 

to the main electricity supply and the 

output is not connected to a load.’’ 10 

CFR 430, subpart B, Appendix Z, 2.c. 

i. Definitions 

DOE reviewed the definitions for 

standby mode and off mode in section 

325 of EPCA, as amended by section 310 

of EISA and found that the broad 

language used in the definitions might 

make these terms confusing or result in 

misapplication of the test procedure 

when measuring the energy consumed 

in these two modes. Furthermore, the 

statute provides no guidance on how to 

handle external power supplies that 

incorporate on-off switches. Therefore, 

DOE proposes to revise the definitions 

of standby mode and off mode as they 

apply to external power supplies to help 

clarify their application and provide 

this necessary guidance (i.e., some 

external power supplies are sold today 

with on-off switches). DOE also 

proposes a method by which 

manufacturers can measure the energy 

consumed in these two modes that is 

based on the approach already followed 

for measuring no-load-mode energy 

consumption in the EPS Test Procedure. 

Standby Mode, No-Load Mode 

Because of the broad coverage of 

section 325 of EPCA, as amended by 

section 310(3) of EISA, and for the 

reasons cited in the battery chargers 

discussion above, DOE is concerned 

about problems that might arise if it 

were to adopt the language of the EISA 

definition of standby mode verbatim 

and apply it to external power supplies. 

In light of this situation, and consistent 

with Congressional directives to the 

Department, DOE is exercising its 

authority under section 325 of EPCA, as 

amended by EISA, to amend the 

definitions of the modes as they apply 

to this product, by rule, while 

considering IEC 62301. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(1)(B) (as amended by EISA)) 

Additionally, since DOE does not 

currently have a definition of standby 

mode for external power supplies, DOE 

is proposing to incorporate a definition 

for this term into DOE’s regulations in 

Appendix Z, section 2.s. The definition 

would provide that standby mode 

would mean ‘‘the condition in which 

the external power supply is in no-load 

mode and, for external power supplies 

with on-off switches, all switches are 

turned on.’’ DOE is also proposing to 

modify the definition of the term ‘‘noload mode’’ to take into account 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. DOE’s proposed definition for 

no-load mode in Appendix Z, section 

2.n is ‘‘the mode of operation when an 

external power supply is connected to 

the main electricity supply and the 

output is (or ‘all outputs are’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power supply) 

not connected to a load (or ‘loads’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power 

supply).’’ This definition is based on the 

no-load mode definition in the CEC EPS 


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Test Procedure, which references IEC 

62301. Thus, DOE’s proposed definition 

reflects its consideration of IEC 62301. 

These definitions satisfy sections 321 

and 325 of EPCA, as amended by 

sections 301 and 310 of EISA, provide 

clarity on testing external power 

supplies (including those with 

switches), and are consistent with IEC 

62301’s and ENERGY STAR’s definition 

of standby mode. 

The external power supply test 

procedure that DOE adopted in the 

December 2006 final rule, which is 

based on the ENERGY STAR test 

procedure, incorporated a measurement 

of no-load mode. DOE’s current test 

procedure already accounts for the 

energy consumption in one of the 

inactive modes that the Secretary is 

directed to consider under section 325 

of EPCA, as amended by section 310 of 

EISA. DOE’s proposed definition of 

standby mode is consistent with the 

existing no-load mode definition in the 

CFR and the definition of standby mode 

in EPCA, while also providing clarity on 

the measurement of standby mode 

energy consumption for external power 

supplies that incorporate on-off 

switches. DOE’s proposed definition is 

also consistent with the ENERGY STAR 

definition of no-load mode (and, by 

extension, standby mode) for this 

product. 

Off Mode 

As discussed in section III.A.1.i of 

this notice on battery chargers, section 

310(3) of EISA amended EPCA to define 

‘‘off mode’’ as ‘‘the condition in which 

an energy-using product—(I) is 

connected to a main power source; and 

(II) is not providing any standby or 

active mode function.’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(1)(A)(ii)) DOE has not 

previously defined ‘‘off mode’’ for 

external power supplies, and is unaware 

of any definitions or test procedures that 

measure off mode for external power 

supplies. Furthermore, similar to battery 

chargers, the definition Congress 

included in EISA, lacks specificity and 

instruction on the measurement of 

energy consumption in off mode for 

external power supplies. To address this 

issue, under the authority Congress 

granted to the Department under EISA, 

DOE is proposing a definition for off 

mode as applied to external power 

supplies. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(1)(B)) 

As with battery chargers, external 

power supplies can also incorporate onoff switches and may achieve a lower 

state of energy consumption than in 

standby mode. After considering IEC 

62301, DOE believes that this lower 

state of energy consumption could 

conflict with the IEC Standard 62301 

definition of ‘‘standby mode,’’ which 

states that standby mode is ‘‘the lowest 

power consumption mode.’’ See IEC 

Standard 62301 at section 3.2. The 

conflict could arise depending on where 

the on-off switch is placed in the EPS 

circuit: when the switch is set to the 

‘‘off’’ position the EPS may or may not 

continue to consume power. For 

instance, if the switch interrupts the 

output on the secondary side of the EPS, 

then the EPS would continue to 

consume power when attached to mains 

and switched off. For this reason, DOE 

proposes to treat external power 

supplies with on-off switches turned off 

as being in off mode. Thus, in today’s 

NOPR, DOE proposes to define ‘‘off 

mode’’ for external power supplies in 

Appendix Z, Section 2.o as: 

the condition, applicable only to units having 

on-off switches, in which the external power 

supply is (1) connected to the main 

electricity supply, (2) the output is not 

connected to any load, and (3) all switches 

are turned off. 

As with DOE’s proposed battery 

charger definition for off mode, DOE 

believes this proposed definition 

satisfies Congress’s directives that DOE 

provide a means to measure energy 

consumption in inactive modes and is 

consistent with the IEC Standard 62301 

definition of standby mode. 

ii. Test Method 

Prior to the enactment of EISA, DOE 

promulgated a test procedure regulation 

addressing sections 3 and 4 of Appendix 

Z for external power supplies that relied 

on the CEC EPS test procedures, which 

in turn, incorporated a means to 

measure the no-load energy mode. See 

71 FR at 71368. Section 310 of EISA 

directs DOE to develop additional test 

procedures to cover standby mode and 

off mode energy consumption for 

external power supplies by December 

31, 2008. See EPCA Section 325(gg). 

DOE reviewed its existing test 

procedure, and believes that Appendix 

Z already incorporates an appropriate 

method under which standby mode and 

off mode energy consumption can be 

measured. Consequently, a new test 

procedure is not required to comply 

with section 325(gg) of EPCA. However, 

DOE is making minor revisions to 

improve the clarity and applicability of 

this test procedure to the standby and 

off modes. 

Section 3 of Appendix Z (‘‘Test 

Apparatus and General Instructions’’) 

requires no modification, because the 

external power supply test set-up does 

not need changing to comply with the 

amended requirements provided by 

EISA. 

To section 4 of Appendix Z (‘‘Test 

Measurement’’), DOE proposes several 

modifications. In addition to testing 

requirements for standby mode and off 

mode, the proposed amendments 

require the Department to accommodate 

testing of multiple-voltage external 

power supplies and switch-selectable 

single-voltage external power supplies. 

To avoid confusion, DOE proposes to 

create separate standby mode and off 

mode test methods for single-voltage 

versus multiple-voltage external power 

supplies within two new subsections in 

section 4, with one addressing singlevoltage testing requirements and the 

other addressing multiple-voltage 

testing requirements. 

For single-voltage external power 

supplies, DOE proposes to specify in 

Appendix Z that standby mode 

measurements ‘‘shall conform to the 

requirements specified in section 5, 

‘Measurement Approach’ of the CEC’s 

‘Test Method for Calculating the Energy 

Efficiency of Single-Voltage External 

AC–DC and AC–AC Power Supplies,’

August 11, 2004, (Incorporated by 

reference, see 10 CFR Part 430.22).’’ The 

only difference between the proposed 

amended test method and the one DOE 

previously adopted is the definition of 

standby mode, which, under the 

proposal, would require measurement 

with all on-off switches turned on. 

For off mode measurement of singlevoltage external power supplies, DOE 

also proposes test procedure language 

that is virtually identical to language 

DOE adopted in the December 2006 

final rule specifying the no-load mode 

measurement. DOE’s proposed 

regulatory text for Appendix Z, section 

4(a)(ii) provides that during off mode, 

all on-off switches on the external 

power supply must be switched off and 

the technician need only measure 

Loading Condition 5 (no-load mode). 

For standby mode and off mode 

measurements of multiple-voltage 

external power supplies, DOE proposes 

to incorporate a no-load mode 

measurement in the multiple-voltage 

external power supply section. This 

proposal parallels the approach DOE is 

proposing for single-voltage power 

supplies. Manufacturers would be 

required to conduct a power 

consumption measurement with all onoff switches turned on and attribute the 

power consumption to standby mode. 

Manufacturers would then conduct the 

no-load mode measurement again with 

all switches turned off and attribute that 

power consumption to off mode. DOE 

believes that this approach is 

reasonable, not excessively burdensome 

to manufacturers, and will result in 

accurate, repeatable results. 


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13 80 PLUS is a program funded by utility 

companies that is designed to integrate more 

energy-efficient power supplies into desktop 

computers and servers. Among its various activities, 

the program assigns labels to distinguish between 

different levels of efficiency achieved by products. 

For more information on this program, please see 

http://www.80plus.org. 

B. Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supplies 

Section 325 of EPCA, as amended by 

section 309 of EISA, directs DOE to 

promulgate by December 19, 2009 a 

final rule determining whether energy 

conservation standards shall be issued 

for external power supplies or classes of 

them. Currently, these classes consist of 

Class A and non-Class A external power 

supplies. Under Section 301 of EISA, 

Congress required that Class A power 

supplies meet specifically prescribed 

standards that became effective on July 

1, 2008. The Department is examining 

the possibility of developing standards 

for the remaining non-Class A external 

power supplies that are not covered by 

these statutorily-mandated standards. 

Multiple-voltage external power 

supplies (i.e., external power supplies 

that provide more than one output 

voltage simultaneously) have the 

highest shipments and widest range of 

consumer product applications of the 

external power supplies that fall outside 

of Class A. Because it must develop test 

procedures prior to developing a 

particular efficiency standard for a 

product, DOE reviewed numerous test 

procedures to help develop a 

standardized test procedure to apply to 

these products. Currently, DOE is 

unaware of any test procedure 

developed for measuring the efficiency 

of multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. However, DOE did identify 

two test procedures, the components of 

which may serve as a basis for a new 

test procedure. These procedures are the 

EPS and IPS test procedures developed 

by the CEC. 

These test procedures meet many of 

the needs of a multiple-voltage external 

power supply test procedure. For 

example, the CEC IPS Test Procedure 

prescribes methods for safely dividing 

the test load between the multiple 

simultaneous outputs of a multiplevoltage power converter, while the CEC 

EPS Test Procedure contains loading 

conditions that more appropriately 

represent the various products powered 

by multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. The CEC EPS Test Procedure 

also contains measurement conditions 

for standby mode and warm-up times 

that DOE believes to be appropriate for 

testing multiple-voltage external power 

supplies because of their similarity to 

single-voltage external power supplies 

with respect to loads and construction, 

which result in similar standby mode 

conditions and warm-up times, 

respectively. 

Furthermore, the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure already forms the basis for 

the DOE (single-voltage) external power 

supply test procedure and both the CEC 

EPS and IPS test procedures have been 

adopted by ENERGY STAR programs for 

external power supplies and personal 

computers, respectively. More broadly, 

industry uses the CEC IPS Test 

Procedure to test compliance with the 

80 Plus voluntary efficiency 

guidelines 13 for internal power 

supplies, while the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure is widely recognized and 

forms the basis for voluntary and 

mandatory external power supply 

regulations in Australia, Canada, China, 

the European Union, Israel, Korea, and 

New Zealand. 

Multiple-voltage external power 

supplies share features of both singlevoltage external power supplies and 

multiple-voltage internal power 

supplies, and the CEC EPS and IPS Test 

Procedures complement each other in 

matters regarding the testing of 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. Because of their widespread 

use and acceptance, as well as their 

applicability to multiple-voltage 

external power supplies, DOE is 

proposing to incorporate sections from 

both the CEC EPS and IPS Test 

Procedures into its new multiple-voltage 

test procedure. 

The multiple-voltage external power 

supply test procedure DOE is proposing 

in today’s NOPR generally follows the 

structure of the CEC EPS Test Procedure 

and maintains the order in which the 

test set-up requirements and test 

method are presented. As the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure (incorporated by 

reference into Appendix Z) explains, the 

tested unit is placed in a standard test 

room and connected to calibrated 

metering equipment with a certain 

measurement uncertainty and 

resolution. The unit is then supplied 

with power from a regulated AC source, 

and all of its output busses are loaded 

so that the unit is delivering its 

nameplate output power. Following setup of the test apparatus, the unit is 

allowed to warm up and stabilize, and 

its input and total output power are 

measured. The load conditions are then 

adjusted and the measurements 

repeated. 

Even though the test set-up and 

measurement are based on the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure, the particulars are 

supplemented by details from the CEC 

IPS Test Procedure, as necessary. In 

sections where neither test procedure 

had appropriate language or instruction, 

DOE proposes its own language to 

provide guidance and clarity, and to 

ensure that consistent test results are 

obtained without excessive test burden. 

Some of the details in this proposed test 

procedure represent what DOE believes 

are improvements over the test 

conditions and apparatus set-up 

instructions in the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure. These changes seek to 

maintain (or improve) measurement 

accuracy and repeatability while 

avoiding excessive testing burdens and 

acknowledging the limitations of 

commercially available test equipment. 

While the changes proposed in this 

section apply to the multiple-voltage 

external power supply test procedure, 

DOE is also considering similar 

amendments to the single-voltage 

external power supply test procedure. 

These include changes to (1) the 

measurement resolution and uncertainty 

requirement, (2) the AC source voltage 

requirement, (3) the AC source 

distortion requirement, (4) test-lead loss 

measurement, and (5) the power 

measurement stability requirement. 

DOE considers these test condition 

modifications, incorporated into today’s 

proposed amendment for multiplevoltage external power supplies, to be 

improvements over the particular test 

conditions used in the current (singlevoltage) test procedure. DOE is therefore 

also considering adopting these changes 

to the single-voltage external power 

supply test procedure. This means that 

DOE could adopt the same revised test 

conditions for both single- and multiplevoltage external power supplies. These 

modifications are discussed in greater 

detail in section III.D below in the 

context of single-voltage external power 

supply testing. 

1. Test Apparatus and General 

Instructions 

Although the proposed multiplevoltage test procedure is based in large 

part on the CEC EPS Test Procedure, 

DOE proposes to make changes to 

several aspects of the test setup in order 

to reduce testing burden and/or improve 

testing accuracy. These changes consist 

primarily of the elements outlined 

below. 

i. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

The first test condition change 

incorporated into the proposed 

amendment concerns powermeasurement accuracy. The CEC EPS 

Test Procedure requires powermeasurement equipment to have a 

resolution greater than or equal to 0.01 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 48065 

14ANSI/NCSL Z540.1. ‘‘Calibration Laboratories 

and Measuring and Test Equipment—General 

Requirements,’’ American National Standards 

Institute. 1994. 

15 ISO/IEC 17025. ‘‘General Requirements for the 

Competence of Testing and Calibration 

Laboratories.’’ International Electrotechnical 

Commission. May 2005. 

watts (W) for active power 

measurements (CEC EPS Test Procedure 

section 4.b), while the CEC IPS Test 

Procedure allows for lower resolution 

when measuring higher power levels 

(CEC IPS Test Procedure section 5.5). 

The resolution for power-measurement 

equipment in the CEC IPS Test 

Procedures has three ranges, depending 

on the magnitude of the wattage being 

measured. This approach is identical to 

that used in IEC Standard 62301,which 

serves as the industry reference 

document for standby power 

measurements. 

According to DOE calculations, this 

three-tiered power-measurement 

equipment resolution requirement 

would result in, at most, a 0.5 percent 

error over the range of power 

measurements where the two resolution 

requirements differ, namely above 10 W. 

Because this error is significantly less 

than the 2 percent error due to 

measurement uncertainty permitted by 

the proposed amendment, discussed in 

detail below, DOE does not believe the 

proposed requirement will impact 

efficiency measurement. It will, 

however, significantly decrease the 

burden on testing laboratories, as they 

would no longer require equipment 

with 0.01 W resolution at power levels 

greater than 100 W, to comply with the 

requirements of the test procedure. In 

turn, this permits the use of cheaper and 

more readily available equipment for 

testing. DOE therefore proposes to adopt 

the three-tier power-measurement 

equipment resolution requirements, 

namely: (1) 0.01 W or better for 

measurements of 10 W or less; (2) 0.1 W 

or better for measurements of greater 

than 10 W up to 100 W; and (3) 1 W or 

better for measurements of greater than 

100 W. 

The proposed amendment would 

impose uncertainty requirements on the 

power measurement, which have also 

been drawn from section 5.5 of the CEC 

IPS Test Procedure, which requires that 

‘‘[m]easurements of power 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,’’ while ‘‘[m]easurements 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.’’ These uncertainty requirements 

are equivalent to those in the current 

DOE test procedure, with the addition of 

an explicit confidence qualifier. This 

qualifier, which is necessary when 

expressing uncertainty in measurement, 

is the 95 percent confidence level 

customarily employed in experimental 

work, which accounts for errors that fall 

within two standard deviations of the 

mean of a normal distribution. The 

proposed uncertainty requirements are 

also equivalent to those used in the IEC 

Standard 62301 test method and their 

adoption would complete the test 

procedure and make it consistent with 

standard engineering practice. 

Furthermore, unlike the CEC test 

procedures, the proposed amendment is 

explicit regarding the calibration 

required of the instruments used to 

measure the power. The proposed 

amendment requires the instruments to 

be calibrated in accordance with either 

American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) and National Conference of 

Standards Laboratories (NCSL) Standard 

Z540.1 14 or International Standards 

Organization (ISO) and IEC Standard 

17025,15 two standards in wide use by 

calibration laboratories. Although there 

are differences in scope and stringency 

between the two standards, both address 

calibration laboratory competency and 

traceability of calibration measurements 

to national standards. Finally, the 

proposed amendment requires the 

instrument to be within its calibration 

period, as specified on a dated label or 

certificate of calibration. 

ii. AC Source Voltage Requirement 

The second test condition change 

DOE is proposing would apply to the 

input voltage source. The CEC EPS Test 

Procedure requires that ‘‘[t]he input 

voltage source * * * be capable of 

delivering at least 10 times the 

nameplate input power of the unit 

under test (as is specified in IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000).’’ (CEC EPS Test 

Procedure section 4.e) The IEEE 

standard does not require the input 

voltage source to be capable of 

delivering 10 times the nameplate input 

power of the unit under test, but rather 

recommends it ‘‘[a]s a rule of thumb.’’

(IEEE Standard 1515–2000 section 

B.2.1) Furthermore, a requirement of 10 

times greater output power may be 

difficult to meet when testing highwattage power supplies. For example, 

testing a 250 W external power supply 

would require a 2.5 kilowatt source, 

capable of delivering 21.7 amperes at 

115 V. A current this high exceeds the 

20 amperes typically provided by 

commercial distribution wiring and 

would require non-standard circuit 

breakers, wires, and outlets, which 

would reduce the practicability of 

testing without an appreciable benefit in 

measuring energy efficiency. Finally, 

despite its stringency in regard to output 

power, this requirement may not ensure 

an ideal voltage source for units under 

test that have a low power factor (i.e., 

units that draw significant reactive 

power in addition to their (active) 

nameplate input power). As a result, 

DOE proposes to adopt CEC IPS Test 

Procedure, section 5.2, by 

recommending an AC source output 

power that is 10 times greater where 

practicable and specifying that the AC 

source voltage remain within 1 percent 

of 115 volts. This latter voltage 

requirement can be achieved by using 

an AC voltage regulator, even if the line 

voltage varies by more than 10 percent. 

iii. AC Source Distortion Requirement 

In addition to the amplitude of the AC 

source voltage waveform, AC voltage 

regulators can also control its distortion, 

which describes how closely the 

waveform approaches the ideal (i.e., a 

sine wave). AC source voltage distortion 

is caused by the nonlinear current 

waveform the power supply under test, 

as well as other loads connected to 

mains, impose on the impedance of the 

source. The interaction between the two 

can result in a decrease in the peak AC 

source voltage due to heavier load on 

the AC source near the waveform peaks, 

which is observable as ‘‘flat-topping’’ of 

the AC voltage waveform. This 

lengthens the time that the rectifier 

diodes are conducting and consequently 

reduces the peak current during 

conduction. The net effect is a slight 

decrease in losses in the input filter, 

rectifier diodes, and bulk capacitor. 

While these components are minor 

contributors to the total losses, severe 

flat-topping will slightly improve the 

supply’s overall efficiency. Existing 

power supply test procedures therefore 

limit the permitted AC source distortion 

to ensure consistent measurement 

results. 

The specifications of commercially 

available AC voltage regulators that DOE 

has examined can, at best, ensure a total 

harmonic distortion (THD) of the AC 

source voltage waveform below 3 

percent. DOE is concerned about this 

issue because the existing DOE external 

power supply test procedure in 

Appendix Z, as well as the CEC EPS and 

IPS Test Procedures and IEC Standard 

62301, all require an AC source voltage 

with a THD below 2 percent. 

One method of achieving an AC 

source-voltage THD below 2 percent is 

using an uninterruptible power supply 

(UPS) that generates its own AC voltage 

and current waveforms from batteries. 

DOE is concerned that UPS equipment 


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16 DOE is also proposing to amend the singlevoltage test procedure to include this stricter 

requirement on power supply stability, as discussed 

in section III.D.5 of this notice. 

is not intended for this purpose and is 

therefore not commonly found in testing 

laboratories. After carefully considering 

this issue, DOE does not believe that 

relaxing the upper limit of the THD 

requirement from 2 to 3 percent will 

noticeably affect the measurement 

accuracy of no-load power or activemode efficiency. Therefore, to decrease 

the testing burden, DOE proposes to 

require 3 percent THD in the multiplevoltage external power supply test 

procedure. DOE is also, however, 

considering the adoption of the more 

stringent, and more difficult to meet, 2 

percent requirement in the final rule for 

this test procedure, for harmonization 

with the CEC EPS and IPS test 

procedures. The Department is 

particularly interested in commenter 

views regarding the proposed THD 

requirements. Commenters should 

present the Department with an 

explanation and data supporting 

whichever option they believe should 

apply. 

iv. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

Although errors in measurement can 

occur due to the resistance of the test 

leads (i.e., wires) used to connect the 

unit under test to the measurement 

equipment, these errors can be 

minimized by adhering to correct 

laboratory practice. Nonetheless, section 

5.4 of the CEC IPS Test Procedure 

requires that testing laboratories 

explicitly account for test-lead losses. In 

today’s notice, DOE proposes to adopt 

this same requirement to quantify losses 

in test leads. DOE also proposes to 

require testing laboratories to follow 

Table B.2 in Appendix B of IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000 when selecting the 

wire gauge of the test leads. Whereas the 

previous requirement seeks to account 

and correct for measurement errors due 

to test lead losses, this proposed 

requirement is preventative because it 

seeks to minimize these losses by 

requiring the selection of appropriate 

gauge wire. 

DOE believes that these requirements 

will not significantly add to the testing 

burden, since testing laboratories 

routinely calculate test lead losses. The 

only additional burden would be 

documenting test lead losses, which 

would involve a calculation of, and a 

correction for, voltage drops across the 

test leads. These requirements are 

consistent with the CEC IPS Test 

Procedure and would result in more 

accurate and repeatable efficiency 

measurements. In addition to comments 

on this particular proposal, DOE is 

interested in alternate testing 

approaches that would ensure that lead 

losses are insignificant or otherwise 

accounted. 

2. Test Measurement 

The test measurement method for 

external power supplies and battery 

chargers in today’s proposed rule is 

based on the requirements presented in 

the CEC EPS and IPS Test Procedures. 

In preparing DOE’s proposed test 

measurement method, departures from 

the two CEC-developed test procedures 

were sometimes necessary because of 

the particular requirements of multiplevoltage external power supplies. These 

departures are mostly superficial and 

the proposed test measurement method 

otherwise remains consistent with the 

requirements of the CEC EPS and IPS 

Test Procedures. The specific elements 

of DOE’s proposal are discussed below. 

i. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirement 

Before measuring the energy 

consumption of the external power 

supply in active and standby mode, 

both the CEC EPS and IPS Test 

Procedures require that the unit under 

test warm up and its input AC power 

stabilize. These test procedures conflict, 

however, regarding the time required for 

initial warm-up, the time for the power 

supply to stabilize following a change 

from one loading condition to another, 

and the stability criterion for accurate 

measurement. Each of these differences 

is explained below. 

Initial Warm-up 

Because the operation of electronic 

components varies with temperature, 

power supplies must be allowed to 

operate under full load for a period of 

time long enough such that all their 

components reach a steady temperature. 

Until this happens, a power supply will 

exhibit variation in its input and output 

conditions (also known as ‘‘thermal 

transients’’), even as the load remains 

constant. 

The CEC EPS Test Procedure requires 

30 minutes for initial warm-up, whereas 

the CEC IPS Test Procedure requires 15 

minutes. Although the time the thermal 

transients need to settle will vary from 

one unit under test to the next, the 

warm-up times of external power 

supplies will generally be longer than 

those of internal power supplies, 

because external power supplies do not 

have a cooling fan or vents in the 

enclosure that promote convection like 

internal power supplies do. Because of 

these differences, DOE is proposing to 

use a 30-minute warm-up time for 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies but with no specific settling 

time when changing between loading 

conditions. 

Stabilizing Time 

Because an EPS unit under test will 

dissipate varying amounts of power at 

each loading condition, its internal 

components will change temperature 

when transitioning from one load 

condition to the next. Since these 

temperature changes lead to thermal 

transients that affect efficiency, both the 

CEC EPS and IPS Test Procedures 

require a period of temperature 

stabilization before taking a 

measurement. However, DOE believes 

that the 15-minute period recommended 

by the CEC IPS Test Procedure may 

impose an unnecessary burden on the 

testing laboratory, since, typically, the 

inputs and outputs of external power 

supply that DOE tested tended to 

stabilize within 5 minutes. In light of 

this concern, DOE is proposing to follow 

the CEC EPS Test Procedure by 

permitting measurement as soon as the 

AC input power drawn by the unit 

under test stabilizes. 

Stability Criterion 

However, the CEC EPS and IPS Test 

Procedures use different stability 

criteria. The CEC EPS Test Procedure 

requires a change in the AC input power 

of less than 5 percent over 5 minutes, 

whereas the CEC IPS Test Procedure 

requires a change of less than 1 percent. 

DOE believes that permitting a 5-percent 

variation in the AC input power might 

compromise the quality of the efficiency 

measurement, given that the proposal 

limits uncertainty in power 

measurements to 2 percent (at the 95 

percent confidence level) in paragraph 

III.B.1.i, above. However, this same 

uncertainty limit may make stability to 

within 1 percent difficult to achieve. 

Consequently, DOE is proposing that if 

1-percent stability cannot be achieved, 

the testing laboratory may calculate 

average power over a 5-minute period 

through mathematical integration, 

which is consistent with IEC Standard 

62301.16

ii. Loading Conditions 

Using elements of the CEC EPS and 

IPS procedures, DOE proposes a hybrid 

loading condition that would be used to 

measure the energy efficiency of 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. Because the efficiency of a 

power supply is a function of load 

current, a test procedure must specify 

loading conditions to make the results 


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comparable and representative of actual 

usage. Section 4.3 of the CEC IPS Test 

Procedure requires that the unit under 

test be tested at 100, 50, 20 percent, and, 

in some cases, 10 percent of full load. 

The 100, 50, and 20 percent loading 

represent the current draw of a 

computer operating at full, medium, and 

light load, respectively, while the 10- 

percent loading condition represents the 

scenario where the internal power 

supply operates redundantly as part of 

a pair of power supplies in a server 

application. 

The CEC IPS loading conditions 

presented above represent specific 

operating modes of a computer, and 

may not reflect the typical loads 

presented by the wider range of 

applications powered by multiplevoltage external power supplies. 

Because of these differences, DOE 

proposes instead that multiple-voltage 

external power supply loading 

conditions be based on the same ones 

used in DOE’s current (single-voltage) 

external power supply test procedure, 

which is based on the CEC EPS test 

procedure. Specifically, the loads DOE 

proposes to use are 100, 75, 50, and 25 

percent of full load. These loading 

conditions are accepted by industry as 

representative of the loads presented by 

the wider range of consumer products 

beyond computers. Like the current 

single-voltage test procedure, the 

proposed amendment also requires the 

reported efficiency to equal the simple 

average of the four efficiencies 

measured at each loading point (i.e., 

100, 75, 50, and 25 percent of full load). 

iii. Proportional Allocation 

DOE investigated several approaches 

to loading the outputs of a multiplevoltage external power supply. For 

example, DOE considered the 

possibility of testing each output bus 

independently of the others, by loading 

each bus sequentially to 100, 75, 50, and 

25 percent of its nameplate output 

current while leaving the others 

unloaded. However, this approach is 

unacceptable for two reasons. First, 

even when an output bus is loaded to 

100 percent of its nameplate output 

current, the output power (output 

current multiplied by voltage) delivered 

by the bus will be much smaller than 

the nameplate output power of the 

power supply as a whole. Because 

certain components in the power supply 

will not be operating near their 

maximum rated power, they are likely 

to remain cool, so any losses in 

efficiency caused by internal heating 

will not be captured by this approach. 

Second, many multiple-output power 

supplies place restrictions on the 

minimum output current, which can 

prevent one output from operating 

while others remain unloaded, possibly 

invalidating the measurement. 

Comparing the differences between 

single and multiple-voltage external 

power supplies helps to highlight the 

practical considerations DOE is 

weighing in its proposal. For this 

discussion, the DC output of a singlevoltage external power supply can be 

fully characterized by three parameters: 

Output voltage, output current, and 

their product, output power. Because 

each parameter can be calculated from 

the other two, only two are typically 

listed on the power supply nameplate: 

voltage and current, or voltage and 

power. 

Loading a single-voltage power 

supply for measuring efficiency begins 

with reading the output current listed 

on the nameplate, or if not listed, 

calculating it by dividing the nameplate 

output power by the output voltage. A 

test load connected to the output of the 

power supply is then adjusted such that 

the power supply produces an output of 

100, 75, 50, and 25 percent of this 

nameplate current. At each loading 

condition, the output power into the 

load is divided by the input power into 

the external power supply to calculate 

the efficiency. 

By comparison, loading multiplevoltage power supplies is more 

complicated because they feature 

multiple outputs capable of delivering 

power to a load (termed ‘‘output busses’’

to distinguish them from non-power 

outputs used in some systems for 

communication between the power 

supply and the load). In addition to the 

nameplate output power of the power 

supply, the test method must take into 

account the parameters that characterize 

each output bus: Nameplate output 

voltage and current or power. To load a 

multiple-voltage external power supply 

to 100, 75, 50, and 25 percent of full 

load while operating within the 

specifications of the output busses and 

the power supply as a whole, DOE 

proposes to use a loading method 

termed ‘‘proportional allocation.’’

The ‘‘proportional allocation’’

method, which is found in section 6.1.1 

of the CEC IPS Test Procedure, requires 

all output busses to be simultaneously 

loaded to, in sequence, 100, 75, 50, and 

25 percent of their individual nameplate 

output currents. These loads are scaled 

(or ‘‘derated’’) so as not to exceed the 

nameplate output power of the power 

supply as a whole. The derating process 

is explained below. 

As mentioned previously, each output 

bus of a multiple-voltage power supply 

is characterized by a nameplate output 

voltage and current, which, when 

multiplied together, result in the 

nameplate output power of the bus. 

Additionally, the power supply as a 

whole has its own nameplate output 

power, which may differ from the sum 

of the bus nameplate output powers. If 

the nameplate output power were 

smaller than the sum, and each output 

bus were loaded to 100 percent of its 

nameplate output currents, the busses’

combined output power would exceed 

the supply’s nameplate output power, 

forcing the integrated safety circuitry to 

shut the device down, rendering any 

efficiency measurement invalid. The 

proportional allocation method in the 

proposed amendment would require the 

testing technician to derate the load 

currents for each bus so that the sum of 

their output powers does not exceed the 

nameplate output power of the power 

supply. This method would permit a 

valid measurement to be conducted 

even in the above case where the sum 

of the output bus nameplate output 

powers exceeds the nameplate output 

power of the supply. 

Prior to loading the output busses and 

conducting measurements, a derating 

factor is calculated by dividing the 

nameplate output power of the supply 

by the sum of the bus nameplate output 

powers. If the derating factor is greater 

than or equal to 1, the sum of the bus 

nameplate output powers is smaller 

than the nameplate output power of the 

supply. The power output by the busses 

at 100 percent of their nameplate output 

current will not exceed the nameplate 

output power of the supply, so no 

derating is necessary. Efficiency testing 

is conducted while simultaneously 

loading all the busses sequentially to 

100, 75, 50, and 25 percent of their 

nameplate output currents. If, on the 

other hand, the derating factor is less 

than 1, the sum of the bus nameplate 

output powers is greater than the 

nameplate output power of the supply. 

The power output by the busses at 100 

percent of their nameplate output 

current will exceed the nameplate 

output power of the power supply. To 

prevent the power supply from shutting 

down during testing, due to excessive 

output power, derating is necessary. 

Efficiency testing would be conducted 

while simultaneously loading all the 

busses sequentially to 100, 75, 50, and 

25 percent of their nameplate output 

currents, multiplied by the derating 

factor. 

iv. Minimum Output Current 

Requirement 

DOE is aware of many multiplevoltage external power supply 

specifications that require a certain 


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minimum output current on one or 

more of the output busses. In a few of 

the external power supplies DOE 

examined, the minimum output current 

for one bus is greater than the 25 

percent of nameplate current required 

for testing under proposed Loading 

Condition 1 (i.e., 100 percent of derated 

nameplate output current). Although the 

power supply may still operate, it may 

not be able to regulate the output 

voltage of the affected bus, which would 

cause the output voltage to fall outside 

of the nameplate value. 

Although it is possible to conduct 

measurements disregarding output 

voltage, DOE does not believe that this 

will result in a meaningful measurement 

of efficiency, since a power supply in 

typical usage is unlikely to operate 

outside its specified current range. 

Therefore, to address this situation, DOE 

proposes to include in its test procedure 

for multiple-voltage external power 

supplies procedures that are consistent 

with section 4.3 of the IPS Test 

Procedure. Specifically, DOE’s proposed 

procedure would require the laboratory 

technician to continue increasing the 

load current for each affected output 

until it equals the minimum output 

current and to measure the input and 

output power only when the external 

power supply is operating within its 

specifications. 

v. No-Load Mode Testing 

In addition to requiring measurements 

under the four active mode loading 

conditions, the proposed amendment 

also requires measurement at 0 percent 

load, i.e., the standby or no-load mode. 

The proposed amendment follows the 

current DOE test procedure rather than 

the standby mode definition and 

measurement method of the CEC IPS 

Test Procedure, which involves placing 

the power supply into a low-power 

mode by using an external control 

signal. While the CEC IPS approach may 

work for some multiple-voltage external 

power supplies, most of the multiplevoltage external power supplies DOE 

examined do not have any control 

inputs or explicit low-power modes. 

The proposed amendment therefore 

would require standby mode energy 

consumption testing under the same 

conditions as the existing DOE singlevoltage external power supply test 

procedure, which would make the noload condition applicable to all 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. 

C. External Power Supply Test 

Procedure Definitions 

In reviewing Appendix Z, DOE found 

that some of its existing test procedure 

definitions differ slightly from the ones 

stakeholders currently use, while other 

terms were undefined and may have 

caused confusion. To address the 

problem, today’s notice proposes 

modifications to the definitions of 

‘‘active mode,’’ ‘‘active-mode 

efficiency,’’ ‘‘no-load mode,’’ ‘‘total 

harmonic distortion,’’ and ‘‘true power 

factor.’’ In addition, DOE proposes new 

definitions for the terms ‘‘active power,’’

‘‘ambient temperature,’’ ‘‘apparent 

power,’’ ‘‘instantaneous power,’’

‘‘minimum output current,’’ ‘‘multiplevoltage external power supply,’’

‘‘nameplate input frequency,’’

‘‘nameplate input voltage,’’ ‘‘nameplate 

output current,’’ ‘‘nameplate output 

power,’’ ‘‘nameplate output voltage,’’

‘‘off mode,’’ ‘‘output bus,’’ ‘‘standby 

mode,’’ ‘‘switch-selectable singlevoltage external power supply,’’ and 

‘‘unit under test.’’ By amending these 

definitions and incorporating new ones, 

DOE aims to improve the clarity and 

utility of its test procedure for external 

power supplies. The new definitions of 

‘‘standby mode’’ and ‘‘off mode’’ are 

discussed above in section III.A.2.i. 

While DOE is not proposing changes to 

the definitions for ‘‘single-voltage AC–

AC power supply’’ and ‘‘single-voltage 

AC–DC power supply’’, they are 

included with the proposed 

amendments to Section 2 of Appendix 

Z because their numbering would 

change within the section. 

1. Revisions to Existing Definitions 

In December 2006, DOE codified 

definitions for technical terms used in 

the test procedure for external power 

supplies. 71 FR at 71368. In a recent 

review of the definitions of these same 

terms in IEEE Standard 1515–2000, IEEE 

Standard 100, and the CEC EPS and IPS 

Test Procedures, DOE found differences 

between its definitions and those used 

in these technical documents. If DOE’s 

proposed test procedure for multiplevoltage external power supplies is 

adopted in the final rule, some of DOE’s 

terms will require modification or 

additions to permit testing of multiplevoltage units. 

To address these issues, DOE 

proposes to make the following changes 

to the Appendix Z definitions: (1) 

Modify the definition of ‘‘active mode’’

to encompass multiple-voltage external 

power supplies; (2) add a citation to 

IEEE Standard 1515–2000 to the ‘‘activemode efficiency’’ definition; (3) modify 

the definition of ‘‘no-load mode’’ to 

apply to multiple-voltage external 

power supplies; and (4) revise the 

definitions of ‘‘total harmonic 

distortion’’ and ‘‘true power factor’’ to 

be consistent with IEEE Standard 1515–

2000. 

Within the proposed change to 

‘‘active mode’’ described above, DOE 

also proposes a minor revision to the 

definition to make it consistent with the 

definition of ‘‘active mode’’ contained 

in section 321 of EPCA, as amended by 

section 301(a)(1)(B) of EISA. This 

definition reads: ‘‘The term ‘active 

mode’ means the mode of operation 

when an external power supply is 

connected to the main electricity supply 

and the output is connected to a load.’’

Except for the use of the verb ‘‘is’’ rather 

than ‘‘means’’ immediately following 

the words ‘‘active mode’’, this definition 

is identical to the definition DOE 

codified in its December 2006 final rule. 

In today’s notice, DOE proposes to 

replace ‘‘is’’ with ‘‘means’’ to conform 

the proposed definition to the EISA 

amendments. DOE also proposes to 

insert two parenthetical statements to 

make the definition of ‘‘active mode’’

applicable to multiple-voltage external 

power supplies, which have more than 

one output. This proposed change is 

necessitated by DOE’s desire to provide 

adequate test procedures covering 

multiple-voltage power supplies. The 

proposed definition for ‘‘active mode 

efficiency’’ to be inserted in Appendix 

Z to Subpart B of Part 430, Section 2.a. 

would read as follows: 

Active mode means the mode of operation 

when the external power supply is connected 

to the main electricity supply and the output 

is (or ‘‘all outputs are’’ for a multiple-voltage 

external power supply) connected to a load 

(or ‘‘loads’’ for a multiple-voltage external 

power supply). 

DOE also proposes amending the 

definition of ‘‘active mode efficiency’’ in 

Section 2.b of Appendix Z to include a 

reference to section 4.3.1.1 of IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000, which the CEC 

EPS Test Procedure references. DOE 

believes it appropriate to reference IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000 because it provides 

a formula for calculating the efficiency 

that applies to external power supplies 

with one or more outputs. DOE’s 

proposed revised definition of ‘‘active 

mode efficiency’’ would make it more 

consistent with the CEC EPS definition. 

The only difference remaining between 

the definitions of ‘‘active mode 

efficiency’’ used in the DOE external 

power supply and the CEC EPS test 

procedures is that the CEC definition 

states that output power is AC or DC 

and input power is AC. DOE is not 

proposing to include this statement 

about the type of input or output power 

in its definition because DOE does not 

consider it to be crucial to the 

definition. 


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DOE also proposes to revise the 

definition of ‘‘no-load mode’’ to make it 

applicable to multiple-voltage external 

power supplies by inserting 

parenthetical statements that change 

specific statements in the definition 

from singular to plural to account for 

the fact that multiple-voltage external 

power supplies have more than one 

output. Notwithstanding these 

revisions, the language of the ‘‘no-load 

mode’’ definition is the same as the 

language DOE codified in its December 

2006 final rule (71 FR at 71368) and 

contained in section 321 of EPCA, as 

amended by section 301(a)(1)(A) of 

EISA. Section III.A.2.i above discusses 

the definition as it relates to ‘‘no-load 

mode.’’

Additionally, DOE proposes revising 

the definition of ‘‘total harmonic 

distortion’’ to make it consistent with 

the definitions of total harmonic 

distortion contained in the IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000 and the CEC IPS 

Test Procedure. DOE’s current 

definition, also codified in the 

December 2006 test procedure final rule 

(71 FR at 71368), describes total 

harmonic distortion in general terms but 

does not include a mathematical 

equation, which would enhance the 

clarity of the definition. DOE found in 

its recent review of definitions used by 

IEEE Standard 1515–2000 and the CEC 

EPS and IPS Test Procedures all include 

an equation in helping to define total 

harmonic distortion. Therefore, to 

ensure consistency and uniformity with 

these other definitions, DOE proposes to 

add an equation to the definition of total 

harmonic distortion. 

Further, the proposed DOE definition 

for total harmonic distortion includes 

all harmonic components up to and 

including the nth harmonic, which is 

consistent with IEEE Standard 1515–

2000 and the CEC IPS Test Procedure. 

However, in practice, the measurement 

of total harmonic distortion is limited to 

harmonics up to and including the 13th 

harmonic. This limitation is due to the 

CEC EPS Test Procedure referenced in 

section 3 of Appendix Z that the ‘‘THD 

of the supply voltage * * * shall not 

exceed 2%, up to and including the 

13th harmonic.’’ Thus, although the 

proposed DOE definition is more 

expansive than the definition contained 

in the CEC EPS Test Procedure, barring 

any other variables, the proposed test 

method incorporates limits that would 

yield the same measured results as the 

IEEE and IPS test methods. Accordingly, 

DOE believes that this revision will 

improve the clarity of the definition and 

align it with the industry’s definitions of 

total harmonic distortion. DOE’s 

proposed definition for THD would be 

inserted in Appendix Z, Section 2.u. 

and read as follows: 

Total harmonic distortion, expressed as a 

percent, is the RMS value of an AC signal 

after the fundamental component is removed 

and interharmonic components are ignored, 

divided by the RMS value of the fundamental 

component. THD of current is defined as: 

THD

IIII I

I I

n = 2 ++++ 2

3

2

4

2

5

2 2

1

......

where In is the RMS value of the nth 

harmonic of the current signal. 

Finally, DOE proposes revising the 

definition of ‘‘true power factor’’ in 10 

CFR Part 430 by adding a statement to 

incorporate the effects of distortion and 

displacement. This statement clarifies 

that ‘‘true power factor’’ should account 

for both components of power factordistortion and displacement. Distortion 

refers to harmonic components that 

prevent the current waveform from 

being a perfect sine wave; displacement 

refers to a phase shift between the 

current and voltage waveforms. DOE 

believes that adding this statement to 

the definition of true power factor 

would remove any ambiguity of its 

interpretation. This proposed change 

would also allow DOE to align its 

definition with the definitions in the 

EPS Test Procedure, IEEE Standard 

1515–2000, and IEEE Standard 100, all 

of which include this statement. The 

revised definition, which incorporates 

the effects of both distortion and 

displacement, would if adopted, be 

inserted into Appendix Z, Section 2.v. 

and read as follows: 

True power factor (PF) is the ratio of the 

active power (P) consumed in watts to the 

apparent power (S), drawn in volt-amperes. 

PF P

S =

2. New Definitions 

Although the December 2006 final 

rule included numerous definitions 

related to battery charger and external 

power supply energy efficiency ratings, 

it did not define some terms that were 

omitted from the external power supply 

test procedure or common electrical 

engineering terms. DOE is concerned, 

however, that not clarifying these terms 

could lead to confusion or inconsistency 

in how the test procedure is applied. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate these new terms and 

definitions in section 2—

‘‘Definitions’’—of Appendix Z. 

Specifically, DOE proposes to define 

separately ‘‘active power’’ and 

‘‘apparent power,’’ which were 

previously defined within the definition 

of ‘‘true power factor.’’ DOE is also 

proposing definitions for ‘‘ambient 

temperature’’ and ‘‘unit under test’’ that 

are consistent with IEEE Standard 1515–

2000. The Department is also proposing 

to define the terms ‘‘minimum output 

current,’’ ‘‘multiple-voltage external 

power supply,’’ and ‘‘output bus,’’

which are used in the context of the 

multiple-voltage external power supply 

test procedure. Additionally, DOE is 

proposing definitions of ‘‘instantaneous 

power,’’ ‘‘nameplate input frequency,’’

‘‘nameplate input voltage,’’ ‘‘nameplate 

output current,’’ ‘‘nameplate output 

power,’’ and ‘‘nameplate output 

voltage’’ that are consistent with 

definitions in the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure. Finally, DOE proposes to 

add a definition for ‘‘switch-selectable 

single-voltage external power supply’’

similar to one under consideration by 

other countries. These proposed 

definitions are detailed below. 

Active Power 

DOE proposes to define the term 

‘‘active power’’ in its external power 

supply test procedure using the CEC 

EPS Test Procedure definition and 

including a reference to IEEE Standard 

1515–2000. DOE has inserted a citation 

to IEEE Standard 1515–2000 because the 

IEEE definition contains a formula that 

could be helpful in explaining how 

voltage and current should be 

multiplied and integrated to determine 

active power. DOE is not proposing to 

include the IEEE Standard 1515–2000 

equation in its definition because this 

equation is not part of the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure. DOE believes that its 

proposed definition for ‘‘active power’’

harmonizes with existing industry 

definitions and adds clarity to DOE’s 

test procedure. The proposed definition, 

which would replace the definition 


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17RMS stands for ‘‘Root Mean Square’’ and is the 

square root of the average of the squares of a set of 

numbers (in this case, measured levels of 

instantaneous power consumption). 

currently in Appendix Z, section 2.c., 

would read as follows: 

Active power means the RMS17 value of the 

instantaneous power taken over one period. 

(See IEEE Standard 1515–2000). 

Ambient Temperature 

The proposed definition for ‘‘ambient 

temperature’’ is the same as the 

definition in the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure, IEEE Standard 1515–2000, 

and IEEE Standard 100, except that DOE 

uses the phrase ‘‘unit under test,’’ while 

the EPS Test Procedure simply uses the 

acronym ‘‘UUT,’’ and the IEEE Standard 

100 definition uses the phrase ‘‘object 

under consideration.’’ While these are 

minor language differences, it is clear 

that in all cases the definitions are 

referring to the external power supply 

being tested and are otherwise 

substantially identical to each other. 

DOE believes that its proposed 

definition, which is exactly the same as 

IEEE Standard 1515–2000, aligns with 

the industry definitions of ambient 

temperature and clarifies the external 

power supply test procedure. 

Accordingly, DOE’s proposed definition 

for ambient temperature would be 

inserted into Appendix Z, Section 2.d. 

and read as follows: 

Ambient temperature means the 

temperature of the ambient air immediately 

surrounding the unit under test. 

Apparent Power 

DOE proposes to use the same 

definition for ‘‘apparent power’’ in its 

test procedure as the one found in the 

CEC EPS Test Procedure, IEEE Standard 

1515–2000, and IEEE Standard 100. All 

three definitions specify that apparent 

power is the product of RMS voltage 

and RMS current. IEEE Standard 100 

also describes how to calculate RMS 

voltage and RMS current. DOE believes 

that its proposed definition, which 

would be inserted in Appendix Z, 

Section 2.e. and be defined as ‘‘the 

product of RMS voltage and RMS 

current,’’ aligns with existing industry 

definitions of apparent power and 

clarifies the external power supply test 

procedure. 

Instantaneous Power 

DOE proposes to include and define 

the term ‘‘instantaneous power’’ in its 

test procedure. The proposed definition 

adopts the language from the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure definition verbatim and 

represents the product of the 

instantaneous voltage and instantaneous 

current at a port (the terminal pair of a 

load). DOE believes that the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure definition is accurate 

and complete, and its adoption would 

help clarify this term for any users of 

the DOE test procedure. In addition, 

DOE cannot conceive of any reason why 

this definition would not be applicable 

to both single-voltage and multiplevoltage external power supplies. For all 

of these reasons, DOE proposes to define 

instantaneous power in Appendix Z, 

Section 2.f. as follows: 

Instantaneous power means the product of 

the instantaneous voltage and instantaneous 

current at a port (the terminal pair of a load). 

Minimum Output Current 

DOE’s proposed definition for 

minimum output current would 

describe this term precisely and clarify 

the external power supply test 

procedure, which uses the term 

minimum output current to specify the 

loading conditions for multiple-voltage 

units. DOE is proposing to define this 

term in Appendix Z, Section 2.g. as 

follows: 

Minimum output current means the 

minimum current that must be drawn from 

an output bus for an external power supply 

to operate within its specifications. 

Multiple-Voltage External Power Supply 

DOE proposes to define the term 

‘‘multiple-voltage external power 

supply’’ in its test procedure. As 

discussed in section III.B, DOE proposes 

to incorporate into its test procedure a 

method that manufacturers can use to 

test and report on the efficiency of a 

multiple-voltage external power supply. 

The proposed definition is based on the 

language used in the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure for single-voltage external 

power, adapted to multiple-voltage 

units with more than one output. DOE 

believes that its proposed definition is 

accurate and complete, and its adoption 

would help to clarify this term for any 

users of the DOE test procedure. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

this term in Appendix Z, Section 2.h. as 

follows: 

Multiple-voltage external power supply 

means an external power supply that is 

designed to convert line voltage AC input 

into more than one simultaneous lowervoltage output. 

Nameplate Input Frequency, Input 

Voltage, Output Current, Output Power, 

and Output Voltage 

DOE proposes to define the terms 

‘‘nameplate input frequency,’’

‘‘nameplate input voltage,’’ ‘‘nameplate 

output current,’’ ‘‘nameplate output 

power,’’ and ‘‘nameplate output 

voltage’’ in its test procedure. These 

terms all refer to the manufacturers’

ratings affixed to the outside of the case 

of an external power supply denoting 

the maximum or typical input and 

output parameters. The proposed DOE 

definitions are consistent with the CEC 

EPS Test Procedure definitions but more 

concise. DOE found in its review of 

definitions that the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure definitions included 

illustrative language or examples, which 

DOE believes extraneous to its purposes. 

Accordingly, DOE is proposing to define 

these terms in Appendix Z, Sections 

2.i–2.m as follows: 

i. Nameplate input frequency means the 

AC input frequency of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 

j. Nameplate input voltage means the AC 

input voltage of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 

k. Nameplate output current means the 

current output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing (either DC or AC). 

l. Nameplate output power means the 

power output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 

m. Nameplate output voltage means the 

voltage output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing (either DC or AC). 

Output Bus 

DOE proposes to define the term 

‘‘output bus’’ in its test procedure for 

external power supplies. An output bus 

is physically composed of output wires 

from the power supply that are able to 

deliver power to a load. DOE proposes 

to define this term in Appendix Z, 

Section 2.p. as follows: 

Output bus means any of the outputs of the 

power supply, to which loads can be 

connected and from which power can be 

drawn, as opposed to signal connections 

used for communication. 

Switch-Selectable Single-Voltage 

External Power Supply 

Since this rulemaking proposes a test 

method under which manufacturers 

would test and state the efficiency of 

their switch-selectable single-voltage 

external power supplies, DOE also 

proposes to include and define in its 

test procedure the term ‘‘switchselectable single-voltage external power 

supply.’’ DOE seeks to clarify the 

distinction between a ‘‘switch-selectable 

single-voltage power supply,’’ which 

provides only one of several output 

voltages at a time, and a ‘‘multiplevoltage external power supply,’’ which 

provides multiple voltages 

simultaneously. DOE’s proposed 

definition for this term is based on a 

draft Australian/New Zealand standards 


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document and, if adopted, would help 

harmonize its usage. Accordingly, DOE 

is proposing to define this term in 

Appendix Z, Section 2.t. as follows: 

Switch-selectable single-voltage external 

power supply means a single-voltage AC–AC 

or AC–DC power supply that allows users to 

choose from more than one output voltage. 

Unit Under Test 

Finally, DOE proposes to define the 

term ‘‘unit under test’’ in its external 

power supply test procedure. The 

proposed definition into Appendix Z to 

Subpart B of Part 430, Section 2.w states 

that the unit under test means ‘‘the 

external power supply being tested.’’

Since the unit under test in this test 

procedure always applies to the external 

power supply being tested, DOE’s 

proposed definition is consistent with 

how this term is interpreted by industry 

when using the external power supply 

test procedure. 

DOE welcomes stakeholder comments 

on all of the proposed definitions for the 

external power supply test procedure. 

D. Single-Voltage External Power 

Supply Test Procedure Amendments 

During the development of the test 

procedure for multiple-voltage external 

power supplies, DOE found areas for 

improvement in its existing (singlevoltage) external power supply test 

procedure codified in Appendix Z. To 

improve the existing (single-voltage) 

external power supply test procedure, 

DOE is weighing the incorporation of a 

number of changes to Appendix Z. 

These changes would involve sections 3 

and 4 and would, among other things, 

help tighten the testing requirements to 

help improve the accuracy of test 

results. 

Specifically, DOE is considering four 

changes to the Test Apparatus and 

General Instructions (section 3 of 

Appendix Z): (1) Adopting the same 

three-step resolution requirement for 

equipment at powers greater than 10 W; 

(2) replacing the requirement on AC 

input voltage source output power with 

a requirement that the AC source 

voltage remain within 1 percent of 115 

volts; (3) loosening the AC source 

voltage THD requirement from less than 

or equal to 2 percent to less than or 

equal to 3 percent; and (4) requiring full 

accounting of losses associated with the 

test leads. These proposed changes are 

designed to improve the existing test 

conditions and clarify the test procedure 

instructions. 

A further change to section 4 of 

Appendix Z would tighten the stability 

requirement for power measurement 

from 5 percent to 1 percent, yielding 

more repeatable and accurate test 

results. DOE specifically requests 

stakeholder comments on the possibility 

of amending some of the same 

requirements in its single-voltage 

external power supply test procedure as 

are proposed in section III.B above for 

multiple-voltage external power 

supplies (section III.B). 

DOE believes that incorporating the 

proposed changes for multiple-voltage 

external power supplies into the singlevoltage test procedure would improve 

the accuracy and repeatability of 

measurements and, on the whole, ease 

the testing burden on manufacturers. 

However, while DOE believes that the 

proposed amendments for multiplevoltage EPSs are both reasonable and 

appropriate, DOE is also concerned 

about departures from the CEC EPS Test 

Procedure (single-voltage) requirements, 

which have been adopted 

internationally. Consequently, DOE is 

not proposing revised regulatory text for 

single-voltage EPSs, but is considering 

whether to revise the current test 

procedure in the manner described in 

the sections that follow. Stakeholder 

comments are sought on this issue to 

help DOE decide whether to incorporate 

these revisions in the final rule. As 

discussed in the following sections, 

DOE is considering amending the 

single-voltage test procedure, regarding 

measurement resolution and 

uncertainty, AC source voltage 

requirements, AC source distortion 

requirements, test lead loss 

measurements, and power measurement 

stability requirements. DOE is 

requesting comments on these changes 

under consideration. 

1. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

The Test Apparatus and General 

Instructions section (section 3 of 

Appendix Z) of the DOE power supply 

test procedure references the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure, which sets out in 

section 4.b a requirement that all power 

measurements shall be made with a 

measurement resolution of 0.01 W or 

better. As discussed in section III.B.1.i 

above, this requirement would likely be 

burdensome and not result in significant 

gains in measurement accuracy. This 

measurement resolution requirement is 

also in conflict with IEC Standard 

62301, which incorporates the 

aforementioned three-tiered approach 

for measurement resolution. To address 

this difference between the DOE test 

procedure and IEC Standard 62301, 

DOE is considering adopting the IEC 

62301 approach by amending the singlevoltage external power supply test 

procedure in section 3(a) of Appendix Z 

to include the following resolution 

requirement for power measurements: 

(1) 0.01 W or better for measurements of 

10 W or less, (2) 0.1 W or better for 

measurements of greater than 10 W up 

to 100 W, and (3) 1 W or better for 

measurements of greater than 100 W. 

Similarly, the CEC IPS Test Procedure 

qualifies its measurement uncertainty 

requirements by including confidence 

levels, which are missing both from the 

CEC EPS and DOE single-voltage test 

procedure. Adopting these confidence 

levels would complete the singlevoltage test procedure and align it with 

general engineering practice and IEC 

Standard 62301. 

2. AC Source Voltage Requirement 

The Test Apparatus and General 

Instructions section of the DOE test 

procedure (section 3 of Appendix Z) 

references the CEC EPS Test Procedure, 

which sets a requirement in section 4.e 

that the AC source voltage have an 

output power 10 times greater than the 

nameplate output power of the unit 

under test. As discussed in section 

III.B.1.ii above, this requirement may be 

burdensome for testing laboratories and 

may not guarantee a constant voltage in 

cases of significant reactive power draw 

due to a unit under test with a low 

power factor. DOE is therefore 

considering amending its single-voltage 

external power supply test procedure in 

section 3(a) of Appendix Z to include a 

requirement that the AC source voltage 

not deviate by more than 1 percent from 

its nominal value, achievable with an 

AC voltage regulator and, where 

practicable, the input voltage source be 

capable of delivering at least 10 times 

the nameplate input power of the unit 

under test (as recommended by IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000). 

3. AC Source Distortion Requirement 

The Test Apparatus and General 

Instructions section of the DOE test 

procedure (section 3 of Appendix Z) 

references the CEC EPS Test Procedure, 

which includes a requirement in section 

4.e that the AC source have a THD of 

less than 2 percent. As discussed in 

section III.B.1.iii of this notice, this 

requirement may be burdensome, since 

the specifications of common 

laboratory-grade AC regulators that DOE 

has reviewed can only guarantee a THD 

of less than 3 percent, not 2 percent. 

DOE is therefore considering amending 

the single-voltage external power supply 

test in section 3(a) of Appendix Z 

procedure to include a requirement that 

the AC source THD be no greater than 

3 percent, consistent with DOE’s 

proposal for multiple-voltage external 

power supplies. 


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18 ‘‘ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for 

Single Voltage-voltage External Ac-Dc and Ac-Ac 

Power Supplies Eligibility Criteria (Version 2.0),’’

Final Draft, February 19, 2008. 

19AS/NZS 4665.2, ‘‘Minimum Energy 

Performance Standards (MEPS) Requirements,’’

Draft. 

4. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

The Test Apparatus and General 

Instructions section of the DOE test 

procedure (section 3 of Appendix Z) 

references the CEC EPS Test Procedure, 

which sets a requirement that the test 

apparatus use leads with ‘‘large gauge 

and short length.’’ CEC EPS Test 

Procedure, section 4.f. As discussed in 

section III.B.1.iv, this requirement does 

not fully account for, or explicitly limit, 

the error that may be introduced into 

the measurements due to test lead 

resistance. DOE is therefore considering 

following the approach used in the CEC 

IPS Test Procedure by amending the 

single-voltage external power supply 

test procedure in section 3(a) of 

Appendix Z to include a requirement 

that the testing laboratory account for 

and document the losses in the test 

leads. 

5. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirement 

The Test Measurement section of the 

DOE test procedure (section 4 of 

Appendix Z) references the CEC EPS 

Test Procedure, which sets a 

requirement in section 5.d that the AC 

input power into the unit under test 

must not drift by more than 5 percent 

from the maximum value observed 

when conducting instantaneous 

measurements. As discussed in section 

III.B.2.i, DOE believes that this 5- 

percent stability requirement is not 

stringent enough and could introduce 

some error into the efficiency 

measurement. 

To address this issue, DOE is 

considering adopting part of the 

procedures presented in the CEC IPS 

Test Procedure by amending the 

requirements in the single-voltage 

external power supply test procedure in 

section 4(a) of Appendix Z to require a 

1-percent stability criterion, while 

retaining provisions for the calculation 

of average power through integration 

when that stability requirement cannot 

be met. 

E. Switch-Selectable Voltage External 

Power Supplies 

In reviewing the DOE test procedure 

(Appendix Z), DOE noted that it does 

not explain to manufacturers how they 

should test and rate external power 

supplies that incorporate a switch that 

enables users to vary the output voltage 

of the unit under test. To remedy this 

gap, DOE proposes that external power 

supplies with a switch-selectable output 

voltage shall be tested at the maximum 

and minimum voltage setting. Under 

this proposal, an external power supply 

with a switch-selectable output voltage 

would be considered in compliance 

with an energy efficiency standard if it 

meets or exceeds the minimum 

requirements at both its lowest and 

highest selectable output voltage. 

Conducting both tests makes DOE’s 

procedures consistent with those of the 

ENERGY STAR18 and Australian and 

New Zealand 19 external power supply 

efficiency programs. 

F. Submission of Certification Test Data 

to DOE 

Manufacturers of covered and 

regulated products must file 

documentation with DOE to certify that 

the products they are distributing into 

commerce in the United States are 

compliant with the Federal energy 

conservation standards. EISA modified 

EPCA by establishing standards for 

Class A external power supplies, 

including minimum active-mode 

efficiency and maximum no-load power 

consumption. In prescribing these 

standards, Congress effectively extended 

the pre-existing certification 

requirements to apply to Class A 

external power supplies. Consequently, 

DOE is including these products in the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 430. 

1. Background 

In its July 2006 NOPR, DOE had 

proposed several components of the 

certification and enforcement procedure 

for both battery chargers and external 

power supplies, including definitions of 

‘‘basic model’’ and ‘‘covered product,’’ a 

sampling plan, and test procedures. 71 

FR at 42178. In December 2006, DOE 

codified some of the measures proposed 

in the July 2006 NOPR, including 

modifications to the definitions of 

‘‘basic model’’ and ‘‘covered product’’

and the test procedures. 71 FR at 71340. 

In the following section, DOE 

provides a summary review and several 

cross-references to its actions with 

respect to the certification and 

enforcement provisions for battery 

chargers and external power supplies. 

i. Definition of ‘‘Basic Model’’

In its December 2006 Final Rule, DOE 

codified amendments to the definition 

of ‘‘basic model’’ in 10 CFR 430.2 to 

make it applicable to battery chargers 

and external power supplies. 71 FR at 

71365. These amendments to the 

definition of a basic model establish 

how this term applies to these two 

products. The basic model concept is 

important because it represents the level 

at which manufacturers must 

demonstrate that they comply with any 

Federal regulation. By including 

discussion of this term in today’s NOPR, 

DOE is not re-opening and revising the 

definitions of basic model for battery 

chargers or external power supplies. 

Instead, DOE is including this 

discussion to facilitate stakeholder 

interpretation of how this term, 

previously defined, applies to these two 

products. 

The codified language adopted in 

December 2006 concerning the basic 

model definitions for battery chargers 

and external power supplies read as 

follows: 

Basic model means all units of a given type 

of covered product (or class thereof) 

manufactured by one manufacturer and—

* * * * * 

(25) With respect to battery chargers, 

which have electrical characteristics that are 

essentially identical, and which do not have 

any different physical or functional 

characteristics that affect energy 

consumption. 

(26) With respect to external power 

supplies, which have electrical 

characteristics that are essentially identical, 

and which do not have any different physical 

or functional characteristics that affect energy 

consumption. 

As previously discussed, EISA 

established energy conservation 

standards for Class A external power 

supplies. Starting on the effective date 

of that standard, manufacturers are 

required to track the efficiency of their 

designs and certify compliance at the 

basic model level. The phrase ‘‘any 

different physical or functional 

characteristics that affect energy 

consumption’’ means that any 

modification for a particular product 

which changes the efficiency becomes a 

new basic model. In other words, three 

50 W power supplies having similar 

electrical design characteristics but 

having 8 V, 18 V and 40 V outputs 

would be classified as three different 

basic models because the functional 

characteristic of output voltage will 

affect efficiency. Similarly, three 50 W 

power supplies having exactly the same 

electrical design characteristics but 

having a 4 foot, 6 foot, and 8 foot output 

cords would be classified as three 

different basic models because this 

physical characteristic affects energy 

consumption. In essence, if an EPS 

manufacturer creates a custom design to 

fulfill an order from a customer, that 

design would represent a new basic 

model if any modification to that design 

affects the energy consumption of the 

device. 


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ii. Definition of ‘‘Covered Product’’

In its December 2006 Final Rule, DOE 

codified an amendment to the definition 

of ‘‘covered product’’ in 10 CFR 430.2 

to clarify that the term applies to a 

‘‘battery charger’’ and an ‘‘external 

power supply.’’ 71 FR at 71366. 

Following that amendment, the 

definition of a covered product reads as 

follows: 

Covered product means a consumer 

product: (1) Of a type specified in section 322 

of the Act, or (2) That is a ceiling fan, ceiling 

fan light kit, medium base compact 

fluorescent lamp, dehumidifier, battery 

charger, external power supply, or torchiere. 

iii. Sampling Plan 

DOE is in the process of completing 

and publishing its Final Rule to address 

those items that were not addressed in 

the December 2006 final rule. These 

items include codifying the sampling 

plans that were proposed in July 2006, 

including one each for battery chargers 

and external power supplies. The 

sampling plan determines the number of 

units of each basic model a 

manufacturer must test as the basis for 

rating the model and determining 

whether it complies with an applicable 

Federal standard. 

The sampling plans follow the same 

approach as for other regulated products 

listed in 10 CFR Part 430. When 

proposing these sampling plans for 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies, DOE considered four factors: 

(1) Minimizing manufacturers’ testing 

time and costs; (2) assuring 

compatibility with other sampling plans 

the Department has promulgated; (3) 

providing a highly statistically valid 

probability that basic models that are 

tested meet applicable energy 

conservation standards; and (4) 

providing a highly statistically valid 

probability that a manufacturer 

preliminarily found to be in 

noncompliance will actually be in 

noncompliance. 

In the July 2006 NOPR, DOE proposed 

the following rule language with respect 

to the sampling plan for battery chargers 

(71 FR at 42204): 

(aa) For each basic model of battery charger 

selected for testing, a sample of sufficient 

size shall be selected at random and tested 

to ensure that—(1) Any represented value of 

the estimated nonactive energy ratio or other 

measure of energy consumption of a basic 

model for which consumers would favor 

lower values shall be no less than the higher 

of: (i) The mean of the sample, or (ii) The 

upper 97.5 percent confidence limit of the 

true mean divided by 1.05, and (2) Any 

represented value of the estimated nonactive 

energy ratio or other measure of energy 

consumption of a basic model for which 

consumers would favor higher values shall 

be no greater than the lower of: (i) The mean 

of the sample, or (ii) The lower 97.5 percent 

confidence limit of the true mean divided by 

0.95. 

In the July 2006 NOPR, DOE proposed 

the following rule language with respect 

to the sampling plan for external power 

supplies (71 FR at 42204): 

(bb) For each basic model of external 

power supply selected for testing, a sample 

of sufficient size shall be selected at random 

and tested to ensure that—(1) Any 

represented value of the estimated energy 

consumption of a basic model for which 

consumers would favor lower values shall be 

no less than the higher of: (i) The mean of 

the sample, or (ii) The upper 97.5 percent 

confidence limit of the true mean divided by 

1.05, and (2) Any represented value of the 

estimated energy consumption of a basic 

model for which consumers would favor 

higher values shall be no greater than the 

lower of: (i) The mean of the sample, or (ii) 

The lower 97.5 percent confidence limit of 

the true mean divided by 0.95. 

iv. Test Procedures 

In the December 2006 Final Rule, 

DOE codified two test procedures for 

measuring the performance of battery 

chargers and external power supplies. 

71 FR at 71366 and 71368. These same 

test procedures are discussed 

extensively in this Federal Register 

notice, as DOE is proposing 

modifications to the test procedures for 

both products. The two test procedures 

are codified in Appendices Y and Z. 

DOE anticipates that, like most other 

regulated products, manufacturers will 

test and certify their own products as 

being compliant with any national 

regulatory standard. Some 

manufacturers may choose to outsource 

this testing to a third-party test facility 

that is certified for efficiency 

measurements of battery chargers and 

external power supplies; however, DOE 

does not require independent test lab 

results. Rather, DOE does accept test 

reports from manufacturers if (1) their 

in-house testing facilities are capable of 

complying with all the requirements of 

DOE’s test procedures, including 

equipment tolerances and accuracy 

requirements, and (2) the technicians 

conducting the testing on the unit under 

test follow the test procedure 

methodology exactly. 

v. Enforcement Provisions 

Once DOE has adopted the sampling 

requirements for battery chargers and 

external power supplies at the 

conclusion of this rulemaking, each 

product will automatically become 

subject to the existing certification and 

enforcement provisions in 10 CFR part 

430. These provisions include section 

430.62 for certification, and sections 

430.61, 430.71, 430.72, 430.73, and 

430.74 for enforcement. DOE discussed 

the applicability of the enforcement 

provisions in its July 2006 NOPR. 71 FR 

at 42191–42195. 

The required certification report 

would be submitted for all basic models 

of a covered product, limited currently 

to Class A external power supplies, and 

shall include for each basic model the 

product type, product class, the 

manufacturer’s name, the private 

labeler’s name(s) (if applicable), the 

manufacturer’s model number(s), and 

the active-mode efficiency and no-loadmode power consumption of that basic 

model. As discussed in sections II.E and 

III.E of today’s notice, DOE is proposing 

that manufacturers of Class A external 

power supplies incorporating a switchselectable output voltage report the 

measured active-mode efficiency and 

no-load-mode power consumption at 

the lowest and highest selectable output 

voltages. 

2. Alternative Reporting Methodology 

Under Consideration 

DOE’s standard certification reporting 

procedure requires manufacturers to 

report on the efficiency or energy or 

water consumption of each basic model 

of a covered product. As discussed in 

section III.F.1.i, a basic model 

constitutes those designs that have no 

differentiating electrical, physical, or 

functional features that affect energy 

consumption. For external power 

supplies, DOE understands that many of 

these devices are custom-built to OEM 

specifications. These custom designs 

often incorporate customer-specified 

features or performance criteria that 

impact the energy consumption of the 

power supply and establish the design 

as a new and unique basic model. 

Therefore, due to the way in which 

external power supplies are specified 

and manufactured, customized designs 

will virtually always be a different basic 

model. DOE understands that some 

manufacturers could produce significant 

numbers of basic models each year and 

is concerned that by applying the 

standard certification and reporting 

requirements as found in 10 CFR part 

430, it may be placing significant 

burden on manufacturers. 

While manufacturers would be 

required to report to DOE on each basic 

model manufactured, DOE is also 

considering allowing manufacturers to 

choose an alternative approach to 

certification reporting which may 

alleviate some manufacturer burden. 

DOE may adopt this alternative 

approach in the final rule if DOE 

concludes that this alternative approach 

would reduce manufacturer testing and 


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20Available at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/ 

text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=5ab6957c4063b1109f3

ab2aaf331c894&rgn=div9&view=text&node=

10:3.0.1.4.16.6.9.13.28&idno=10. 

reporting burden while ensuring 

compliance with the mandatory 

standards. 

DOE’s alternative approach is based 

on how the Environmental Protection 

Agency allows for reporting and 

certification of ‘‘families’’ of external 

power supplies in the ENERGY STAR 

program. In this approach, 

manufacturers establish design families, 

which are groups of basic models that 

have the same wattage rating, input 

voltage(s), and fundamental electrical 

circuit design, but which have different 

output voltages. For example, a design 

family may consist of five EPSs, all 

rated at 20 W, but having output 

voltages ranging from 5 V through 40 V. 

In the ENERGY STAR program, 

manufacturers may choose to certify 

only the highest and lowest rated 

voltage within that design family, and 

then certify compliance on all basic 

models within that group if both models 

are in compliance. Manufacturers are 

still held responsible for the individual 

compliance of all basic models within 

certified design families. 

DOE’s main concern about allowing 

manufacturers to establish a ‘‘design 

family’’ approach to certifying groups of 

basic models is that manufacturers 

could change the wire gauge and 

potentially the length of the output 

cable. Due to the fact that the resistance 

of output wire can contribute to 

approximately 10 to 20 percent of the 

total losses incurred by an external 

power supply, DOE is concerned that 

manufacturers may use particular 

output wires to qualify the highest and 

lowest voltage EPS in a design family, 

and then use output wires with higher 

losses for the interim voltages, which 

may cause one or more of those basic 

models to be non-compliant. For this 

reason, like EPA, DOE would require 

manufacturers who may choose this socalled alternative approach to certify 

compliance of all basic models, even if 

they are only reporting on a limited 

subset within a design family. 

DOE is considering this alternative 

approach because (1) manufacturers 

would still be held accountable for the 

compliance of all basic models 

manufactured or imported; (2) it offers 

a means by which reporting burden on 

manufacturers could be reduced; and (3) 

DOE believes that the external power 

supply market dynamics (i.e., how 

orders are placed and fulfilled) may 

warrant this approach. DOE invites 

stakeholder comment on this alternative 

approach for reducing manufacturer 

burden when reporting on the 

compliance of basic models produced. 

DOE provided a suggested format for 

the compliance statement and 

certification report in Appendix A to 

Subpart F of part 430—Compliance 

Statement and Certification Report, 

which was published in a final rule in 

March 1998 (63 FR 13321).20 These 

reporting requirements are consistent 

with requirements and burdens placed 

on manufacturers of other covered and 

regulated products. DOE is also 

providing stakeholders the suggested 

format below in Figure III.1. 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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BILLING CODE 6450–01–C 


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IV. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 

The time and date of the public 

meeting are listed in the DATES section 

at the beginning of this NOPR. The 

public meeting will be held at the U.S. 

Department of Energy, Forrestal 

Building, Room 1E–245, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. To attend 

the public meeting, please notify Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945. 

(Please note that foreign nationals 

participating in the public meeting are 

subject to advance security screening 

procedures which may take up to 30 

days. If a foreign national wishes to 

participate in the workshop, please 

inform DOE as soon as possible by 

contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at the 

number above so that the necessary 

procedures can be completed.) 

B. Procedure for Submitting Requests To 

Speak 

Any person who has an interest in the 

topics addressed in this notice, or who 

is a representative of a group or class of 

persons that has an interest in these 

issues, may request an opportunity to 

make an oral presentation at the public 

meeting. Such persons may hand 

deliver requests to speak to the address 

shown in the ADDRESSES section at the 

beginning of this notice between 9 a.m. 

and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. Requests may 

also be sent by mail or e-mail to: Ms. 

Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Program, 

6th Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, or 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. Persons 

who wish to speak should include in 

their request a computer diskette or CD 

in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, 

or text (ASCII) file format that briefly 

describes the nature of their interest in 

this rulemaking and the topics they 

wish to discuss. This person should also 

provide a daytime telephone number 

where he or she can be reached. DOE 

requests that those persons who are 

scheduled to speak submit a copy of 

their statements at least two weeks prior 

to the public meeting. DOE may permit 

any person who cannot supply an 

advance copy of this statement to 

participate if that person has made 

alternative arrangements with the 

Building Technologies Program in 

advance. When necessary, the request to 

give an oral presentation should ask for 

such alternative arrangements. 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

DOE will designate a DOE official to 

preside at the public meeting and may 

also employ a professional facilitator to 

aid discussion. The public meeting will 

be conducted in an informal conference 

style. The meeting will not be a judicial 

or evidentiary public hearing, but DOE 

will conduct it in accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553 and section 336 of EPCA (42 

U.S.C. 6306). There shall be no 

discussion of proprietary information, 

costs or prices, market share, or other 

commercial matters regulated by U.S. 

antitrust laws. 

DOE reserves the right to schedule the 

order of presentations and to establish 

the procedures governing the conduct of 

the public meeting. A court reporter will 

record the proceedings and prepare a 

transcript. 

At the public meeting, DOE will 

provide an opportunity to stakeholders 

to present summaries of any comments 

they submitted to DOE before the public 

meeting, and encourage all interested 

parties to share their views on issues 

affecting this rulemaking. Each 

participant may present a prepared 

general statement (within time limits 

determined by DOE) before the 

discussion of specific topics. Other 

participants may comment on any 

general statements. After the completion 

of all prepared statements, participants 

may clarify their statements and 

comment on statements made by others. 

Participants should be prepared to 

answer questions from DOE and other 

participants. Department representatives 

may also ask questions about 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 procedures needed 

for the proper conduct of the public 

meeting. 

DOE will make the entire record of 

this proposed rulemaking, including the 

transcript from the public meeting, 

available for inspection at the U.S. 

Department of Energy, 6th Floor, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 

20024, (202) 586–9127, between 9 a.m. 

and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. A copy of the 

transcript will be posted online. 

D. Submission of Comments 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

information regarding this notice, the 

proceeding of the public meeting, or any 

aspect of the rulemaking no later than 

the date provided at the beginning of 

this notice. Comments, data, and 

information submitted to DOE’s e-mail 

address for this rulemaking should be 

provided in WordPerfect, Microsoft 

Word, PDF, or text (ASCII) file format. 

Stakeholders should avoid the use of 

special characters or any form of 

encryption, and wherever possible, 

comments should include the electronic 

signature of the author. Absent an 

electronic signature, comments 

submitted electronically must be 

followed and authenticated by 

submitting a signed original paper 

document to the address provided at the 

beginning of this notice. Comments, 

data, and information submitted to DOE 

by mail or hand delivery/courier should 

include one signed original paper copy. 

No telefacsimiles (faxes) will be 

accepted. 

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 two copies: one copy of 

the document including all the 

information believed to be confidential, 

and one copy of the document with the 

information believed to be confidential 

deleted. DOE will make its own 

determination as to 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 or available from 

public 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) a date 

after which such information might no 

longer be considered confidential; and 

(7) why disclosure of the information 

would be contrary to the public interest. 

After the public meeting and the 

expiration of the period for submission 

of written statements, DOE will begin 

conducting the analyses as discussed at 

the public meeting and reviewing the 

comments received. 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

Comments are welcome on all aspects 

of this rulemaking. However, DOE is 

particularly interested in receiving 

comments and views of interested 

parties concerning the following issues: 

1. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

DOE invites stakeholder comments on 

the proposed approach for defining 


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standby mode and off mode for both 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies. DOE also invites comment on 

the proposed test methods for 

measuring standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption for external power 

supplies, including whether the 

duration of the measurement is 

sufficiently long. (See section III.A.) 

2. Definitions in the Test Procedures 

DOE proposes to revise certain 

existing definitions and to add several 

new definitions to harmonize with 

ENERGY STAR test procedures and 

enhance the clarity and transparency of 

DOE’s test procedure. DOE also 

proposes some new definitions that are 

necessary for the multiple-voltage 

external power supply test procedure 

proposed in today’s notice. DOE invites 

comments from stakeholders on all the 

definitions proposed in today’s notice. 

(See section III.C.) 

3. Measurement Resolution and 

Uncertainty 

DOE seeks comment on its proposal to 

allow measurement resolution to scale 

with the magnitude of power measured, 

which would make DOE’s test 

procedure consistent with IEC Standard 

62301. More specifically, DOE proposes 

changing the measurement equipment 

minimum resolution to 0.1 watts for 

measurements taken that are greater 

than 10 watts up to 100 watts and 1 watt 

for measurements taken that are greater 

than 100 watts. In making this change, 

the DOE proposal maintains a resolution 

of 0.5 percent or better at all times. DOE 

proposes to fully qualify the uncertainty 

of measurement specification by 

requiring a 95-percent confidence level 

on the measurement resolution 

requirements. DOE invites comments 

from stakeholders on this proposed 

change, and any possible impacts of 

these changes on testing burden and 

measurement accuracy. (See sections 

III.B.1.i and III.D.1.) 

4. AC Source Voltage Requirements 

DOE seeks comments on the proposed 

changes to the specification regarding 

regulation and harmonic distortion of 

the AC input voltage source. In 

particular, DOE welcomes comments on 

the impacts of the changes on the testing 

burden or measurement accuracy and 

repeatability. (See sections III.B.1.ii, 

III.B.1.iii, III.D.2 and III.D.3.) 

5. Test Lead Loss Measurement 

DOE seeks comments on the proposed 

requirement that the testing laboratory 

explicitly account for losses due to the 

test leads. In particular, DOE invites 

comments on the impacts of this 

requirement on measurement accuracy 

and testing burden. (See sections 

III.B.1.iv and III.D.4.) 

6. Power Measurement Stability 

Requirements 

DOE invites stakeholder comments on 

its proposed requirements that 

measured power stabilization to within 

1 percent before measurements are 

recorded. The proposal allows for 

average measurements in case sufficient 

stability cannot be achieved. DOE 

welcomes comments on the impacts of 

this proposal on testing burden and 

measurement accuracy and 

repeatability. (See sections III.B.2.i and 

III.D.5.) 

7. Loading Conditions for MultipleVoltage External Power Supplies 

DOE seeks comments on all issues 

pertaining to loading of multiple-voltage 

external power supplies. In particular, 

DOE invites comments on the nominal 

loading conditions (100 percent, 75 

percent, 50 percent, and 25 percent of 

nameplate output current), the 

proportional allocation method for 

derating load currents, possible further 

adjustments to loading conditions due 

to minimum output current 

requirements, and no-load mode testing 

requirements. (See section III.B.2.) 

8. Single-Voltage External Power Supply 

Test Procedure 

DOE seeks comments on the changes 

under consideration to the singlevoltage external power supply test 

procedure, specifically whether these 

changes would improve the accuracy 

and repeatability of measurements, 

bringing the test procedure more in line 

with current industry standards and test 

methods. (See section III.D.) 

9. Switch-Selectable Single-Voltage 

External Power Supplies 

DOE invites comments on its 

proposed method for testing switchselectable single-voltage external power 

supplies. In particular, DOE welcomes 

comments on its proposal for testing 

such units at both their highest and 

lowest voltage settings, and requiring 

they meet appropriate standards at both 

settings. (See section III.E.) 

10. Submission of Certification Test 

Data to DOE 

DOE seeks comment on whether 

manufacturers should be required to file 

paperwork on every basic model or 

whether they should be allowed to form 

‘‘design families’’ and only certify the 

highest and lowest voltage design 

within each family (while still being 

held accountable for compliance of all 

basic models within that family). (See 

section III.F.) 

V. Procedural Issues and Regulatory 

Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f)(1) 

of Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review.’’ 58 FR 51735 

(October 4, 1993). Accordingly, OMB 

did not review this document. 

B. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996) requires 

preparation of an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis for any rule that by 

law must be proposed for public 

comment, unless the Department 

certifies that the rule, if promulgated, 

will have no significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. A regulatory flexibility analysis 

examines the impact of the rule on 

small entities and considers alternative 

ways of reducing negative impacts. 

Also, 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: http:// 

www.gc.doe.gov. 

EPACT amended EPCA to incorporate 

into DOE’s energy conservation program 

certain additional consumer products 

and commercial and industrial 

equipment, including battery chargers 

and external power supplies. With 

regard to these products, EPCA, as 

amended by EPACT, directed DOE to 

codify relevant definitions and test 

procedures, hold a Scoping Workshop 

public meeting to discuss DOE’s plans 

for developing energy conservation 

standards, and finally, conduct a 

determination analysis on the feasibility 

of standards. On December 8, 2006, DOE 

published definitions and test 

procedures for battery chargers and 

external power supplies in the Federal 

Register. 71 FR 71340. Today, DOE 

proposes amendments to some of these 

definitions and test procedures in 

compliance with EPCA, as amended by 

EISA. 


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DOE reviewed today’s proposed rule 

under the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act and the policies and 

procedures published on February 19, 

2003. As part of this rulemaking, DOE 

examined the existing compliance costs 

already borne by manufacturers and 

compared them to the revised 

compliance costs due to the proposed 

amendments in this NOPR, namely, the 

adoption of test procedures for multiplevoltage external power supplies and the 

measurement of energy consumption of 

battery chargers and external power 

supplies during standby and off-mode, 

amendments to the current singlevoltage external power supply test 

procedure, and reporting requirements 

for Class A external power supplies. 

The proposed amendments to the 

single-voltage test procedure are based 

on tests commonly used by industry and 

would, in some respects, reduce testing 

costs by introducing changes designed 

to ensure testing repeatability and 

practicability. Regarding the reporting 

requirements for Class A external power 

supplies, since manufacturers would 

routinely need to test their products to 

ensure that they comply with the new 

standards set forth in EISA, the 

submission of a single page certifying 

compliance with those standards would 

not likely increase manufacturer costs 

significantly. 

Accordingly, DOE does not find that 

the revisions proposed in this document 

would result in any significant increase 

in testing or compliance costs and 

tentatively concludes and certifies that 

this rulemaking would not impose a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small businesses 

manufacturing covered battery chargers 

and external power supplies. 

Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a 

regulatory flexibility analysis for this 

rulemaking. DOE’s certification and 

supporting statement of factual basis 

will be provided to the Chief Counsel 

for Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

605(b). 

C. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act 

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3500 et seq.), 

a person is not required to respond to 

a collection of information by a Federal 

agency unless the collection displays a 

valid OMB control number. This NOPR 

would not impose any new information 

or recordkeeping requirements, since it 

does not change the existing 

manufacturer certification and reporting 

requirements adopted in DOE’s 

December 8, 2006, final rule. 

Accordingly, no OMB clearance is 

required under the PRA. 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

In this proposed rule, DOE proposes 

test procedure amendments that it 

expects will be used to develop and 

implement future energy conservation 

standards for battery chargers and 

external power supplies. 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.) (NEPA) 

and DOE’s implementing regulations at 

10 CFR part 1021. Specifically, the rule 

is covered by Categorical Exclusion A5, 

for rulemakings that interpret or amend 

an existing rule without changing the 

environmental effect, as set forth in 

DOE’s NEPA regulations in Appendix A 

to Subpart D, 10 CFR part 1021. Today’s 

proposed rule will not affect the 

amount, quality or distribution of 

energy usage, and, therefore, will 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 developing 

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 

developing such regulations. 65 FR 

13735. DOE examined this proposed 

rule and determined that it does 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. Accordingly, 

Executive Order 13132 requires no 

further action. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

With respect to the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (February 7, 1996), 

imposes on Federal agencies the 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 

promote simplification and burden 

reduction. Section 3(b) of Executive 

Order 12988 specifically requires, 

among other things, 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; (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, this 

rulemaking 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) (Pub. L. 

No. 104–4, codified at 2 U.S.C. 1501 et 

seq.) generally requires Federal agencies 

to examine closely the impacts of 

regulatory actions on State, local, or 

Tribal governments. Subsection 101(5) 

of Title I of that law defines a Federal 

intergovernmental mandate to include a 

regulation that would impose upon 

State, local, or Tribal governments an 

enforceable duty, except a condition of 

Federal assistance or a duty arising from 

participating in a voluntary Federal 

program. Title II of that law requires 

each Federal agency to assess the effects 

of Federal regulatory actions on State, 

local, and Tribal governments, in the 

aggregate, or the private sector, other 

than to the extent such actions merely 

incorporate requirements specifically 

set forth in a statute. Section 202 of the 

title requires a Federal agency to 

perform as detailed assessment of the 

anticipated costs and benefits of any 

rule that includes a Federal mandate 

which may result in costs State, local, 

or Tribal governments, or the private 

sector of $100 million or more in any 


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one year (adjusted annually for 

inflation). 2 U.S.C. 1532(a) and (b). 

Section 204 of that title requires each 

agency that proposed a rule containing 

a significant Federal intergovernmental 

mandate to develop an effective process 

for obtaining meaningful and timely 

input by elected officers of State, local, 

and Tribal governments. 2 U.S.C. 1534. 

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). Today’s 

proposed rule would amend the 

definitions and test procedures that 

would be used in measuring the energy 

efficiency of battery chargers and 

external power supplies. The proposed 

rule would not result in the expenditure 

of $100 million or more in any year. 

Accordingly, no assessment or analysis 

is required under the UMRA. 

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. 

Today’s proposed rule to amend DOE 

test procedures would not have any 

impact on the autonomy or integrity of 

the family as an institution. 

Accordingly, DOE has concluded that it 

is unnecessary to prepare a Family 

Policymaking Assessment. 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

Pursuant to Executive Order 12630, 

‘‘Governmental Actions and Interference 

with Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights,’’ 53 FR 8859 (March 18, 1988), 

DOE has determined that this rule 

would not result in any takings that 

might require compensation under the 

Fifth Amendment to the United States 

Constitution. 

J. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 

Section 515 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 (Pub. L. 106–554, codified at 

44 U.S.C. 3516 note) provides for 

agencies to review most disseminations 

of information to the public under 

information quality guidelines 

established by each agency under 

general guidelines issued by OMB. 

OMB’s guidelines were published at 67 

FR 8452 (February 22, 2002), and DOE’s 

guidelines were published at 67 FR 

62446 (October 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 a final 

rule 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 reasonable alternatives to the action 

and their expected benefits on energy 

supply, distribution, and use. Because 

this rulemaking is not expected to be a 

significant regulatory action under E.O. 

12866; would not have a significant 

adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy; and has 

not been designated a significant energy 

action by the Administrator of OIRA, 

DOE has tentatively determined that 

this rule is not a significant energy 

action. Accordingly, DOE has not 

prepared a Statement of Energy Effects 

for this rulemaking. 

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), the Department of Energy must 

comply with section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

(Pub. L. 93–275), as amended by the 

Federal Energy Administration 

Authorization Act of 1977 (Pub. L. 95–

70). 15 U.S.C. 788. Section 32 provides 

that where a proposed rule authorizes or 

requires use of commercial standards, 

the NOPR must inform the public of the 

use and background of such standards. 

In addition, section 32(c) requires DOE 

to consult with the Department of 

Justice (DOJ) and the FTC concerning 

the impact of the commercial or 

industry standards on competition. 

The rule proposed in this notice 

incorporates testing methods contained 

in the following commercial standards: 

(1) CEC 2007 Appliance Efficiency 

Regulations, Section 1604(u)(1) that 

directly cites ‘‘Test Method for 

Calculating the Energy Efficiency of 

Single-Voltage External AC–DC and 

AC–AC Power Supplies,’’ (2) IEEE Std 

1515–2000, ‘‘IEEE Recommended 

Practice for Electronic Power 

Subsystems: Parameter Definitions, Test 

Conditions, and Test Methods,’’ and (3) 

IEC Standard 62301 ‘‘Household 

electrical appliances—Measurement of 

standby power.’’ DOE has evaluated 

these revised 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., that they were developed in a 

manner that fully provides for public 

participation, comment, and review). 

DOE will consult with the Attorney 

General and the Chairman of the FTC 

concerning the impact of these test 

procedures on competition of requiring 

use of methods contained in these 

standards to test battery chargers and 

external power supplies. 

VI. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Energy conservation, 

Household appliances, Imports, 

Intergovernmental relations, Small 

businesses. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 1, 

2008. 

Alexander A. Karsner, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DOE proposes to amend 10 

CFR part 430 as follows: 

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. In § 430.22 add new paragraphs 

(b)(1)9, (b)(4)3, (b)(4)4, (b)(4)5, (b)(11)2 

and (b)(12) to read as follows: 

§ 430.22 Reference sources. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

9. ANSI/NCSL Z540.1–1994, 

‘‘Calibration Laboratories and 


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1For clarity on any other terminology used in the 

test method, please refer to IEC 60050 or IEEE 

Standard 100. 

Measuring and Test Equipment—

General Requirements.’’

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

3. IEC 62301, ‘‘Household electrical 

appliances—Measurement of standby 

power,’’ Edition 1. 

4. IEC 60050, ‘‘International 

Electrotechnical Vocabulary.’’

5. ISO/IEC 17025, ‘‘General 

requirements for the competence of 

testing and calibration laboratories’’

(2005). 

* * * * * 

(11) * * * 

2. ‘‘Proposed Test Protocol for 

Calculating the Energy Efficiency of 

Internal AC–DC Power Supplies, 

Revision 6.2,’’ November 2007. 

(12) Institute of Electrical and 

Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park 

Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y., 

10016–5997, (212) 419–7900. 

1. IEEE Standard 1515–2000, 

‘‘Standardizing specification language.’’

2. IEEE 100, ‘‘Authoritative Dictionary 

of IEEE Standards Terms,’’ Seventh 

Edition. 

3. In § 430.23 revise paragraphs (aa) 

and (bb) to read as follows: 

§ 430.23 Test procedures for the 

measurement of energy and water 

consumption. 

* * * * * 

(aa) Battery Chargers. The energy 

consumption of a battery charger, 

expressed as the nonactive energy ratio, 

shall be measured in accordance with 

section 4(a) of Appendix Y of this 

subpart. The energy consumption of a 

battery charger in standby mode and off 

mode shall be measured in accordance 

with section 4(c) of Appendix Y of this 

subpart. 

(bb) External Power Supplies. The 

energy consumption of an external 

power supply, including active-mode 

efficiency in a percentage and the noload-, off-, and standby mode energy 

consumption levels in watts, shall be 

measured in accordance with section 4 

of Appendix Z of this subpart. 

4. Appendix Y to Subpart B of Part 

430 is amended by: 

a. Revising paragraph 2(i); and 

b. Adding new paragraphs 2(j), 4(c) 

and 4(d). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

Appendix Y to Subpart B of Part 430— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Battery 

Chargers 

1. Scope: * * * 

2. Definitions: 

* * * * * 

i. Off Mode is the condition, for battery 

chargers with manual on-off switches, in 

which the battery charger is (1) connected to 

the main electricity supply, (2) is not 

connected to the battery, and (3) all switches 

are turned off. 

j. Standby Mode (also No-Load Mode) 

means the condition in which (1) the battery 

charger is connected to the main electricity 

supply, (2) the battery is not connected to the 

charger, and (3) for battery chargers with 

manual on-off switches, all switches are 

turned on. 

* * * * * 

4. Test Measurement: 

* * * * * 

(c) Standby Mode Energy Consumption 

Measurement. Conduct a measurement of 

standby power consumption while the 

battery charger is connected to the power 

source. Remove the battery from the charger 

and record the power (i.e., watts) consumed 

as the time series integral of the power 

consumed over a one-hour test period, 

divided by the period of measurement. If the 

battery charger has manual switches, all must 

be turned on for the duration of the standby 

mode test. 

Standby mode may also apply to products 

with non-detachable batteries. If the product 

uses a cradle and/or adapter for power 

conversion and charging, then only that part 

of the system will remain connected to the 

main electricity supply, and standby mode 

power consumption will equal that of the 

cradle and/or adapter. If the product contains 

integrated power conversion and charging 

circuitry but is powered through a detachable 

AC power cord, then only the cord will 

remain connected to mains, and standby 

mode power consumption will equal that of 

the AC power cord (i.e., zero watts). If the 

product contains integrated power 

conversion and charging circuitry but is 

powered through a non-detachable AC power 

cord, then no part of the system will remain 

connected to mains and standby mode power 

consumption is not applicable. 

(d) Off Mode Energy Consumption 

Measurement. If the battery charger has 

manual switches, record a measurement of 

off mode energy consumption while the 

battery charger is connected to the power 

source. Remove the battery from the charger 

and record the power (i.e., watts) consumed 

as the time series integral of the power 

consumed over a one-hour test period, 

divided by the period of measurement, with 

all switches turned off. If the battery charger 

does not have manual switches, record that 

the off mode measurement is not applicable 

to this product. 

Off mode may also apply to products with 

non-detachable batteries. If the product uses 

a cradle and/or adapter for power conversion 

and charging, then only that part of the 

system will remain connected to the main 

electricity supply, and off mode power 

consumption will equal that of the cradle 

and/or adapter. If the product contains 

integrated power conversion and charging 

circuitry but is powered through a detachable 

AC power cord, then only the cord will 

remain connected to mains, and off mode 

power consumption will equal that of the AC 

power cord (i.e., zero watts). If the product 

contains integrated power conversion and 

charging circuitry but is powered through a 

non-detachable AC power cord, then no part 

of the system will remain connected to mains 

and off mode power consumption is not 

applicable. 

5. Appendix Z to Subpart B of Part 

430 is amended by: 

a. Revising paragraphs 1 and 2; 

b. Revising paragraph 3 by adding 

after the introductory heading ‘‘3. Test 

Apparatus and General Instructions’’ a 

paragraph designation ‘‘(a) SingleVoltage External Power Supply’’; 

c. Adding a new paragraph 3 (b); and 

d. Revising paragraph 4. 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

Appendix Z to Subpart B of Part 430— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of External Power 

Supplies 

1. Scope: This appendix covers the test 

requirements used to measure energy 

consumption of external power supplies. 

2. Definitions: The following definitions 

are for the purposes of understanding 

terminology associated with the test method 

for measuring external power supply energy 

consumption.1

a. Active mode means the mode of 

operation when the external power supply is 

connected to the main electricity supply and 

the output is (or ‘‘all outputs are’’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power supply) 

connected to a load (or ‘‘loads’’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power supply). 

b. Active mode efficiency is the ratio, 

expressed as a percentage, of the total real 

output power produced by a power supply to 

the real input power required to produce it. 

(See IEEE Standard 1515–2000, 4.3.1.1.) 

c. Active power (also real power) (P) means 

the root-mean-square (RMS) value of the 

instantaneous power taken over one period. 

(See IEEE Standard 1515–2000.) 

d. Ambient temperature means the 

temperature of the ambient air immediately 

surrounding the unit under test. 

e. Apparent power (S) is the product of 

RMS voltage and RMS current (VA). 

f. Instantaneous power means the product 

of the instantaneous voltage and 

instantaneous current at a port (the terminal 

pair of a load). 

g. Minimum output current means the 

minimum current that must be drawn from 

an output bus for an external power supply 

to operate within its specifications. 

h. Multiple-voltage external power supply 

means an external power supply that is 

designed to convert line voltage AC input 

into more than one simultaneous lowervoltage output. 

i. Nameplate input frequency means the 

AC input frequency of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 

j. Nameplate input voltage means the AC 

input voltage of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 


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k. Nameplate output current means the 

current output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing (either DC or AC). 

l. Nameplate output power means the 

power output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing. 

m. Nameplate output voltage means the 

voltage output of the power supply as 

specified on the manufacturer’s label on the 

power supply housing (either DC or AC). 

n. No-load mode means the mode of 

operation when an external power supply is 

connected to the main electricity supply and 

the output is (or ‘‘all outputs are’’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power supply) not 

connected to a load (or ‘‘loads’’ for a 

multiple-voltage external power supply). 

o. Off mode is the condition, applicable 

only to units having on-off switches, in 

which the external power supply is (1) 

connected to the main electricity supply, (2) 

the output is not connected to any load, and 

(3) all switches are turned off. 

p. Output bus means any of the outputs of 

the power supply to which loads can be 

connected and from which power can be 

drawn, as opposed to signal connections 

used for communication. 

q. Single-voltage external AC–AC power 

supply means an external power supply that 

is designed to convert line voltage AC input 

into lower voltage AC output and is able to 

convert to only one AC output voltage at a 

time. 

r. Single-voltage external AC–DC power 

supply means an external power supply that 

is designed to convert line voltage AC input 

into lower-voltage DC output and is able to 

convert to only one DC output voltage at a 

time. 

s. Standby mode means the condition in 

which the external power supply is in noload mode and, for external power supplies 

with on-off switches, all switches are turned 

on. 

t. Switch-selectable single voltage external 

power supply means a single-voltage AC–AC 

or AC–DC power supply that allows users to 

choose from more than one output voltage. 

u. Total harmonic distortion, expressed as 

a percent, is the RMS value of an AC signal 

after the fundamental component is removed 

and interharmonic components are ignored, 

divided by the RMS value of the fundamental 

component. THD of current is defined as: 

THD

IIII I

I I

n = 2 ++++ 2

3

2

4

2

5

2 2

1

......

where In is the RMS value of the nth 

harmonic of the current signal. 

v. True power factor (PF) is the ratio of the 

active power (P) consumed in watts to the 

apparent power (S), drawn in volt-amperes. 

PF P

S =

This definition of power factor includes 

the effect of both distortion and 

displacement. 

w. Unit under test is the external power 

supply being tested. 

3. Test Apparatus and General Instructions 

(a) Single-Voltage External Power Supply. 

* * * 

(b) Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supply. Unless otherwise specified, 

measurements shall be made under test 

conditions and with equipment specified 

below. 

(i) Measuring equipment. Power 

measurements shall be made with a 

voltmeter and ammeter (for output power 

measurements) or power analyzer (for input 

power measurements), calibrated in 

accordance with ANSI/NCSL Standard 

Z540.1 or ISO/IEC Standard 17025 and 

within the calibration period as specified by 

an accompanying dated calibration certificate 

or label. Measurements of power 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: 

(A) 0.01 W or better for power 

measurements of 10 W or less; 

(B) 0.1 W or better for power measurements 

of greater than 10 W up to 100 W; 

(C) 1 W or better for power measurements 

of greater than 100 W. 

(ii) Test room. The tests shall be conducted 

in a room that has an air speed within 0.1 

m of the unit under test of ≤ 0.5 m/s, and the 

ambient temperature shall be maintained at 

23 °C ± 5 °C throughout the test, as specified 

in IEC Standard 62301. There shall be no 

intentional cooling of the unit under test by 

use of separately powered fans, air 

conditioners, or heat sinks. The unit under 

test shall be tested on a thermally nonconductive surface. Products intended for 

outdoor use may be tested at additional 

temperatures, provided those are in addition 

to the conditions specified above and are 

noted in a separate section on the test report. 

(iii) Input AC reference source. An AC 

reference source shall be used to provide 

input voltage to the unit under test. The 

input to the unit under test shall be the 

specified voltage ± 1 percent and the 

specified frequency ± 1 percent, as specified 

in IEC Standard 62301. The unit under test 

shall be tested at the following voltage and 

frequency combination: 115 V at 60 Hz. If 

testing under this condition is not possible, 

or if voltage and/or frequency ranges are not 

specified by the manufacturer (or the 

nameplate value is unclear), the unit under 

test shall not be tested. 

The input voltage source shall be capable 

of delivering at least 10 times the nameplate 

input power of the unit under test where 

practicable (as recommended by IEEE 

Standard 1515–2000). The input voltage 

source shall be deemed inadequate and a 

different voltage source shall be used if the 

input voltage varies at any point during the 

test by more than ± 1 percent of the specified 

source voltage for the test. 

Regardless of the AC source type, the THD 

of the supply voltage when supplying the 

unit under test in the specified mode shall 

not exceed 3 percent, up to and including the 

13th harmonic, as specified in IEC Standard 

62301. The peak value of the test voltage 

shall be within 1.34 and 1.49 times its RMS 

value as specified in IEC Standard 62301. 

(iv) Test leads. Appropriate wires must be 

selected for wiring connections depending on 

the maximum current carried by and the 

length of the conductor, in accordance with 

Table B.2 in Annex B of IEEE Standard 1515–

2000. The voltage drop across the conductor 

carrying the current must be added to or 

subtracted from the input and output voltage 

measurements if these measurements of the 

unit under test are not taken directly at the 

connector pins of the unit under test. 

4. Test Measurement 

(a) Single-Voltage External Power Supply 

(i) Standby Mode and Active Mode 

Measurement—The measurement of standby 

mode (also no load-mode) energy 

consumption and active-mode efficiency 

shall conform to the requirements specified 

in section 5, ‘‘Measurement Approach’’ of the 

CEC’s ‘‘Test Method for Calculating the 

Energy Efficiency of Single-Voltage External 

AC–DC and AC–AC Power Supplies,’’ August 

11, 2004 (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.22). Switch-selectable single-voltage 

external power supplies shall be tested twice, 

once at the highest nameplate output voltage 

and once at the lowest. 

(ii) Off-Mode Measurement—If the external 

power supply unit under test incorporates 

on-off switches, the unit under test shall be 

placed in off mode, and its power 

consumption in off mode measured and 

recorded. The measurement of the off mode 

energy consumption shall conform to the 

requirements specified in section 5, 

‘‘Measurement Approach,’’ of the CEC’s 

‘‘Test Method for Calculating the Energy 

Efficiency of Single-Voltage External AC–DC 

and AC–AC Power Supplies,’’ August 11, 

2004 (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.22), except that in section 5.a, 

‘‘Preparing UUT [Unit Under Test] for Test,’’

the built-in switches shall be placed in the 

‘‘off’’ position for the measurement. The only 

loading condition that will be measured for 

off mode is ‘‘Loading Condition 5.’’ Switchselectable single-voltage external power 

supplies shall have their off mode power 

consumption measured twice, once at the 

highest nameplate output voltage and once at 

the lowest. 

(b) Multiple-Voltage External Power 

Supply—Power supplies that are packaged 

for consumer use to power a product must be 


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tested with the output cord packaged with 

the unit for sale to the consumer, which is 

considered part of the unit under test. There 

are two options for connecting metering 

equipment to the output of this type of power 

supply: Cut the cord immediately adjacent to 

the output connector, or attach leads and 

measure the efficiency from the output 

connector itself. If the power supply is 

attached directly to the product that it is 

powering, cut the cord immediately adjacent 

to the powered product and connect output 

measurement probes at that point. The tests 

should be conducted on the sets of output 

wires that constitute the output busses. If the 

product has additional wires, these should be 

left electrically disconnected unless they are 

necessary for controlling the product. In this 

case, the manufacturer shall supply a 

connection diagram or test jig that will allow 

the testing laboratory to put the unit under 

test into active mode. 

(i) Standby-Mode and Active-Mode 

Measurement—The measurement of the 

multiple-voltage external power supply 

standby-mode (also no-load-mode) energy 

consumption and active-mode efficiency 

shall be as follows: 

(A) Loading conditions and testing 

sequence. If the unit under test has on-off 

switches, all switches shall be placed in the 

‘‘on’’ position. Loading criteria for multiplevoltage external power supplies shall be 

based on nameplate output current and not 

on nameplate output power because output 

voltage might not remain constant. 

The unit under test shall operate at 100 

percent of nameplate current output for at 

least 30 minutes immediately before 

conducting efficiency measurements. 

After this warm-up period, the technician 

shall monitor AC input power for a period of 

5 minutes to assess the stability of the unit 

under test. If the power level does not drift 

by more than 1 percent from the maximum 

value observed, the unit under test can be 

considered stable and measurements can be 

recorded at the end of the 

5-minute period. Measurements at 

subsequent loading conditions, listed in 

Table 1, can then be conducted under the 

same 5-minute stability guidelines. Only one 

warm-up period of 30 minutes is required for 

each unit under test at the beginning of the 

test procedure. 

If AC input power is not stable over a 5- 

minute period, the technician shall follow 

the guidelines established by IEC Standard 

62301 for measuring average power or 

accumulated energy over time for both input 

and output. 

The unit under test shall be tested at the 

loading conditions listed in Table 1, derated 

per the proportional allocation method 

presented in the following section. 

TABLE 1—LOADING CONDITIONS FOR UNIT UNDER TEST

Loading Condition 1 ........................................................... 100% of Derated Nameplate Output Current ± 2%. 

Loading Condition 2 ........................................................... 75% of Derated Nameplate Output Current ± 2%. 

Loading Condition 3 ........................................................... 50% of Derated Nameplate Output Current ± 2%. 

Loading Condition 4 ........................................................... 25% of Derated Nameplate Output Current ± 2%. 

Loading Condition 5 ........................................................... 0%. 

Input and output power measurements 

shall be conducted in sequence from Loading 

Condition 1 to Loading Condition 4, as 

indicated in Table 1. For Loading Condition 

5, the unit under test shall be placed in noload mode, any additional signal connections 

to the unit under test shall be disconnected, 

and input power shall be measured. 

(B) Proportional allocation method for 

loading multiple-voltage external power 

supplies. For power supplies with multiple 

voltage busses, defining consistent loading 

criteria is difficult because each bus has its 

own nameplate output current. The sum of 

the power dissipated by each bus loaded to 

its nameplate output current may exceed the 

overall nameplate output power of the power 

supply. The following proportional 

allocation method must be used to provide 

consistent loading guidelines for multiplevoltage external power supplies. For 

additional explanation, please refer to section 

6.1.1 of the California Energy Commission’s 

‘‘Proposed Test Protocol for Calculating the 

Energy Efficiency of Internal AC-DC Power 

Supplies Revision 6.2,’’ November 2007. 

Assume a multiple-voltage power supply 

with N output busses, and nameplate output 

voltages V1, . . . ,VN, corresponding output 

current ratings I1, . . . ,IN, and a nameplate 

output power P. Calculate the derating factor 

D by dividing the power supply nameplate 

output power P by the sum of the nameplate 

output powers of the individual output 

busses, equal to the product of bus nameplate 

output voltage and current IiVi, as follows: 

D P

V Ii i

i

N =

=

∑i

,

If D ≥ 1, then loading every bus to its 

nameplate output current does not exceed 

the overall nameplate output power for the 

power supply. In this case, each output bus 

will simply be loaded to the percentages of 

its nameplate output current listed in Table 

1. However, if D < 1, it is an indication that 

loading each bus to its nameplate output 

current will exceed the overall nameplate 

output power for the power supply. In this 

case, and at each loading condition, each 

output bus will be loaded to the appropriate 

percentage of its nameplate output current 

listed in Table 1, multiplied by the derating 

factor D. 

(C) Minimum output current requirements. 

Depending on their application, some 

multiple-voltage power supplies may require 

a minimum output current for each output 

bus of the power supply for correct 

operation. In these cases, ensure that the load 

current for each output at Loading Condition 

4 in Table 1 is greater than the minimum 

output current requirement. Thus, if the test 

method’s calculated load current for a given 

voltage bus is smaller than the minimum 

output current requirement, the minimum 

output current must be used to load the bus. 

This load current shall be properly recorded 

in any test report. 

(D) Test loads. Active loads such as 

electronic loads or passive loads such as 

rheostats used for efficiency testing of the 

unit under test shall be able to maintain the 

required current loading set point for each 

output voltage within an accuracy of ± 0.5 

percent. If electronic load banks are used, 

their settings should be adjusted such that 

they provide a constant current load to the 

unit under test. 

(E) Efficiency calculation. Efficiency shall 

be calculated by dividing the measured 

active output power of the unit under test at 

a given loading condition by the active AC 

input power measured at that loading 

condition. Average efficiency shall also be 

calculated and reported as the arithmetic 

mean of the efficiency values calculated at 

Loading Conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Table 

1. 

(F) Power consumption calculation. Power 

consumption of the unit under test at 

Loading Conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4 is the 

difference between the active output power 

at that Loading Condition and the active AC 

input power at that Loading Condition. The 

power consumption of Loading Condition 5 

(no-load) is equal to the AC active input 

power at that Loading Condition. 

(ii) Off-Mode Measurement—If the 

multiple-voltage external power supply unit 

under test incorporates any on-off switches, 

the unit under test shall be placed in off 

mode, and its power consumption in off 

mode measured and recorded. The 

measurement of the off mode energy 

consumption shall conform to the 

requirements specified above in 

subparagraph (4)(b)(i) of this appendix, 

except that all built-in switches shall be 

placed in the off position for the 

measurement. Note that the only loading 

condition that will be measured for off mode 

is ‘‘Loading Condition 5’’ paragraph (A), 

‘‘Loading conditions and testing sequence.’’

6. In § 430.62 add and reserve 

paragraphs (a)(4)(xviii) through (xxii) 

and add new paragraph (a)(4)(xxiii) to 

read as follows: 

§ 430.62 Submission of data. 

(a) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(xviii)–(xxii) [Reserved] 

(xxiii) External power supplies, the 

active-mode efficiency percentage and 

no-load mode watts. For external power 

supplies with switch-selectable output 

voltage, the active-mode efficiency 


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percentage and no-load mode watts at 

the lowest and highest selectable output 

voltage. 

[FR Doc. E8–18576 Filed 8–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS