Today’s clothes washers come in a variety of top-loading or front-loading models. The energy and water savings of the more efficient models result primarily from such innovations as more efficient use of hot and cold water through more accurate sensors that can detect the clothing load and determine how much water for washing is necessary. The new washers also use higher spin speeds to remove more water from the clothes so less time and energy is needed to dry the clothes.

Current Efficiency Standard Rulemaking Activity: Effective September 28, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) adopted amended energy conservation standards for residential clothes washers. DOE had published a direct final rule to establish these amended standards for residential clothes washers in the Federal Register on May 31, 2012. The amended standards, which are a minimum allowable integrated modified energy factor (IMEF) and maximum allowable integrated water factor (IWF), are shown in Table 1. One set of amended standards applies to all products listed in Table 1 manufactured in, or imported into, the United States on or after March 7, 2015. A second set of amended standards applies to the two top-loading product classes for products manufactured in, or imported into, the United States on or after January 1, 2018.

Further information about this rulemaking can be found on DOE’s Residential Clothes Washers website.

TABLE 1. AMENDED ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS FOR RESIDENTIAL CLOTHES WASHERS (COMPLIANCE STARTING 2015 AND 2018)

Efficiency Rating: The IMEF (integrated modified energy factor) rating is calculated as the clothes container capacity in cubic feet divided by the sum, expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh), of: (1) the total weighted per-cycle hot water energy consumption; (2) the total weighted per-cycle machine electrical energy consumption; (3) the per-cycle energy consumption for removing moisture from a test load; and (4) the per-cycle standby and off mode energy consumption.

The IWF (integrated water consumption factor) is calculated as the sum, expressed in gallons per cycle, of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for all wash cycles divided by the clothes container capacity in cubic feet.

Product Classes: For the existing standards, DOE defines residential clothes washers in the following classes:

· Top-loading, compact (less than 1.6 cubic feet capacity);

· Top-loading, standard (1.6 cubic feet or greater capacity);

· Front-loading, compact (less than 1.6 cubic feet capacity); and

· Front-loading; standard.

Analyses: Under contract to DOE, LBNL's Energy Efficiency Standards Group (EES) conducted the following analyses for the current standards rulemaking and test procedure, including:

• Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period Analysis,
• Shipments Analysis,
• National Impact Analysis (National Energy Savings and Net Present Value),
• Net National Employment, and
• Utility Impacts Analysis.

Efficiency Standards History: The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) established the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other than Automobiles, covering major household appliances, including residential clothes washers. Later, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 amended EPCA by establishing energy conservation standards for residential clothes washers and requiring the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to consider amending standards in two subsequent rulemakings.

In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) prescribed new standards for residential clothes washers and required that DOE consider amending these standards. The standards prescribed in EISA 2007 were that all top-loading or front-loading standard-size residential clothes washers manufactured on or after January 1, 2011 must have a modified energy factor (MEF) of at least 1.26, and a water factor of not more than 9.5.

On January 12, 2001, the DOE had published a Final Rule for new minimum energy efficiency standards for clothes washers in the Federal Register. The first stage of this adopted standard became effective on January 1, 2004. The final stage became effective in 2007. The Technical Support Document for the ruling, prepared by LBNL's Energy Efficiency Standards (EES) Group, provides details on the engineering, economic, environmental, and utility analyses supporting the ruling. Spreadsheets for the life-cycle cost, shipments and national energy savings, and regulatory impact analyses are also available for downloading on DOE's residential clothes washer website.

DOE published a new test procedure in 1997. This test procedure consisted of two versions, J and J1, with J1 becoming effective with the promulgation of a new efficiency standard. One of the changes to the test procedure made it possible to account for the energy used to dry clothes in a clothes dryer. Therefore, clothes washers that can reduce the remaining moisture content (RMC) of the washed clothes through the use of higher spin speeds can be credited with improving the overall efficiency of the washer/dryer system. Additional changes were made to this test procedure before being re-published as part of the new efficiency standard Final Rule, in January 2001. Since then, due to repeatability problems with the test cloth, additional changes were made in a test procedure Direct Final Rule, published in October 2003. The current updated version of the test procedure, Appendix J1, can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations (Search terms: 10CFR430 AND Subpart B). Additional information on clothes washer test cloths can be found on DOE's residential clothes washer website.

Previous documents produced by EES include two reports for a Public Workshop that was held by DOE on November 17, 1996. The first document is a Draft Report on Design Options for Clothes Washers discussing possible designs for improving the energy efficiency of standard capacity clothes washers. The second document is a Draft Report on the Preliminary Engineering Analysis for Clothes Washers providing information on the relationship between increased clothes washer efficiency and manufacturer cost. The engineering analysis was based on data collected from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the trade association representing most laundry product manufacturers.