New EnerGuide Ratings on the Way for Dishwashers

EnerGuide ratings for all dishwashers sold in Canada will drop in the near future with the introduction of a new procedure for testing the energy consumption of these appliances. Consumers should be aware that the reduced ratings are not necessarily the result of energy efficiency improvements. The biggest impact on EnerGuide ratings will come from a reduction in the number of loads used to calculate annual energy consumption, from 264 to 215 cycles per year.
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Questions and Answers About the New Dishwasher Test Procedure

New Test Procedure Will Mean Lower EnerGuide Ratings for Dishwashers

EnerGuide ratings for all dishwashers sold in Canada will drop in early 2004 with the introduction of a new procedure for testing the energy consumption of these appliances. The changes will be implemented through an amendment to the Energy Efficiency Regulations and are intended to harmonize with new regulatory requirements recently enacted in the United States.

What is changing?

The key changes in the proposed test procedure are as follows:

• The number of dishwasher loads used to calculate the rating will be reduced. The existing test procedure calculates annual energy consumption on the basis of 264 loads per year. However, new survey data indicates that consumers use their dishwashers on average only 215 times per year, which is the number that will be used in the new test procedure.
  
  
• A new test procedure will be introduced for soil-sensing dishwashers. The soil-sensing mechanism on these units will be tested using heavy, medium and light soil loads. The dishwasher's energy factor (which in turn is used to determine its kilowatt-hour rating) will be calculated by averaging the energy consumption figures from the three test loads.
  
  
• Standby power consumption (the energy used when the appliance is idle) will be included when calculating estimated annual energy use for all dishwashers.

How will the new test procedure affect EnerGuide and EnergyGuide labelling?

The reduced number of wash loads per year (and to a lesser extent the new test procedure for soil-sensing models) will result in lower kilowatt-hour ratings for all dishwasher models sold in Canada and the United States.

These lower ratings are already appearing on the U.S. EnergyGuide label (the black and yellow label). Until the new procedure takes effect in Canada, however, kilowatt-hour ratings for EnerGuide labels (the black and white label) will continue to be calculated on the basis of 264 loads per year.

As a result, there may be situations where the kilowatt-hour rating for a dishwasher shown on the U.S. EnergyGuide label will be different from that shown on the EnerGuide label (the two labels are often displayed back to back). In response to this situation, Natural Resources Canada will allow manufacturers/retailers to place information near the EnerGuide label indicating that the kilowatt-hour rating was determined on the basis of 264 loads per year.

Why is the energy consumption rating (kWh/yr.) for dishwashers lower on the U.S. EnergyGuide label than on the Canadian EnerGuide label?

The United States has implemented a new procedure for testing the energy consumption of residential dishwashers that has resulted in lower energy consumption ratings for these appliances, even when no improvements have been achieved in energy efficiency. Canada also plans to adopt this new procedure through an amendment to the Energy Efficiency Regulations in early 2004. In the meantime, the regulations require that dishwashers sold in Canada must be tested using the existing procedure. The main difference in the two procedures is in the number of loads used to calculate a dishwasher's estimated annual energy consumption. The current test procedure uses 264 loads; the new procedure will use 215 loads. This has resulted in instances where the kilowatt-hour rating for a dishwasher shown on the EnergyGuide label is different from that shown on the EnerGuide label.

What changes are being made in the new test procedure?

The new test procedure for dishwashers reflects changes in consumer usage patterns. Specifically, the new procedure will reduce the estimated number of times a dishwasher is used from 264 loads to 215 loads per year. As well, manufacturers of soil-sensing dishwashers will be required to run three separate tests on these models – using heavy, medium and light soil loads – and then average the energy consumption figures from the three loads. Finally, standby power consumption (the energy used when the appliance is idle) will be included when calculating estimated annual energy use for all dishwashers.

How will changes in the test procedure affect the EnerGuide label?

The new test procedure for dishwashers will produce energy consumption ratings that are lower than those yielded by the existing test method, even for the same model of dishwasher. As a result, manufacturers/retailers will be required to produce new EnerGuide labels for some existing models (revised EnerGuide scales will be issued by Natural Resources Canada).

Why hasn't Canada implemented the new test procedure for dishwashers?

Implementing the new test procedure requires an amendment to the Energy Efficiency Regulations. As a first step in this process, Natural Resources Canada has published the proposed amendment in the Canada Gazette and is now accepting comments and feedback. Based on the outcome of these consultations, changes may be made to the text of the amendment, which must then be approved by a special Cabinet committee and published again in the Canada Gazette. This process is expected to be completed in early 2004.

Are the ratings for dishwashers contained in the EnerGuide Directory still accurate?

These ratings are still accurate for the purposes of comparison shopping because they were all calculated using the existing test procedure. However, you may find that an EnerGuide rating for a specific model in the directory is different from the rating on the U.S. EnergyGuide label in the store. This is because the United States has already implemented the new test procedure for dishwashers.

What is the difference between the EnerGuide label and the EnergyGuide label?

The Canadian black and white EnerGuide label is a tool to help consumers make an energy-wise choice when buying a new appliance. It shows how much energy an appliance consumes in a year of normal service and makes it easy to compare the energy efficiency of each model to others of the same size and class. EnergyGuide is a similar labelling initiative in the United States, although the black and yellow EnergyGuide label also shows an appliance's estimated annual energy costs.