Proposed Amendment to Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations

Bulletin
April 2005

Commercial Reach-In, Food Service Refrigerators and Freezers

Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan's) Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) is proposing to amend Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations (the Regulations) to require dealers of commercial, reach-in, food service refrigerators and freezers imported or shipped interprovincially for sale or lease in Canada to comply with minimum energy performance standards.

In October 2004, NRCan issued a bulletin describing the proposed amendments and inviting comments. In December 2004, NRCan held a workshop at which NRCan presented the proposed regulations along with their background, and the stakeholders gave their comments. As a result of the comments received, NRCan modified the proposed regulations.

Changes from the October 2004 bulletin are denoted below in bold.

This bulletin attempts to put the proposed revisions of the amendment in plain language. The legal text of the amendment will be published in the Canada Gazette Part I.

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Background

The most recent Canadian Standards Association standard for food service refrigerators and freezers (CAN/CSA C827-98) was published in 1998.

The CSA standard contains minimum performance criteria for annual energy consumption that vary with the volume of the refrigerator or freezer. The standard is voluntary in all jurisdictions in Canada, except in:

• Ontario, where these criteria are regulated by the Province of Ontario's Energy Efficiency Act (Ontario Regulation 82/95, amended to O. Reg 18/02) and apply to products manufactured, sold or leased after April 1, 2003.
• New Brunswick, where these criteria are regulated in Regulation 95-70 of the New Brunswick Energy Efficiency Act (O.C. 95-555), and apply to products manufactured, sold or leased after August 31, 2004.

Technical criteria for ENERGY STAR^® qualified commercial solid-door refrigerators and freezers are in effect in the United States. Canada does not currently cover these items as ENERGY STAR products but is expected to do so in the near future. The U.S. ENERGY STAR performance criteria cover four types of products – refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, freezers and ice cream cabinets – and does not further subdivide them. The CSA standard, on the other hand, subdivides them into different types of refrigerators and freezers. The U.S. ENERGY STAR criteria cover only solid-door equipment, whereas the CSA standard covers both solid-door and glass-door equipment. The minimum performance levels specified by U.S. ENERGY STAR are generally lower (more energy efficient) than those set out in the CSA standard.

The California Energy Commission has regulated the performance levels of reach-in refrigerators, freezers and refrigerator-freezers, with Tier 1 levels in effect as of March 2003, and Tier 2 levels in effect as of August 2004. The Tier 1 levels were set so that 25 percent of the units in the California Energy Commission's database would be eliminated for sale in California, and the Tier 2 levels were set so that 50 percent of the units would be eliminated for sale.

It is proposed that the new Canadian performance levels be identical to the California Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels as follows:

• Effective January 1, 2007: California Tier 1 Levels
  • Refrigerators (with solid/opaque doors, transparent doors, or no doors)
  • Freezers (with solid/opaque doors or transparent doors)
  • Refrigerator-freezers (with solid/opaque doors)
    
    
• Effective January 1, 2008: California Tier 2 Levels
  • Refrigerators (with solid/opaque doors or transparent doors)
  • Freezers (with solid/opaque doors)
  • Refrigerator-freezers (with solid/opaque doors)

The California levels were chosen rather than those of CSA C827-98 because the CSA standard does not contain enough data to specify performance levels for some of the more common types of reach-in refrigerators and freezers; these units would therefore fall outside the regulations.

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Product Description

NRCan is proposing that the Regulations will apply to reach-in, food service refrigerators and freezers. For the purposes of the Regulation, reach-in refrigerators, freezers and refrigerator-freezers are commercial, refrigerated storage cabinets or freezers that have sliding doors, hinged doors, or no doors, and have a source of refrigeration requiring an energy input. The following types of units are covered:

• Refrigerators
  1. Reach-in cabinets
  2. Pass-through cabinets
  3. Roll-in or roll-through cabinets
  4. Wine chillers that are not consumer products

• Freezers
  1. Reach-in cabinets
  2. Pass-through cabinets
  3. Roll-in or roll-through cabinets

• Refrigerator-freezers:
  1. Reach-in cabinets

Reach-in cabinets include:

• Buffet tables
• Ice cream cabinets
• Milk, beverage and ice cream cabinets
• Milk or beverage cabinets
• Preparation tables
• Undercounter cabinets
• Wine chillers
• Worktop tables

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Energy Performance Test Procedure

The proposed test method is ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 117-1992, Method of Testing Closed Refrigerators, with the following exceptions: the back (loading) doors of pass-through and roll-through refrigerators and freezers shall remain closed throughout the test, and the controls of all appliances shall be adjusted to obtain the following product temperatures:

The standard can be ordered from:

Volume shall be calculated in accordance with clause 4 of CAN/CSA
C300-00, entitled Energy Performance and Capacity of Household Refrigerators, Refrigerator-Freezers, and Freezers.

The standard can be ordered from:

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Minimum Energy Performance Standards

The actual daily power consumed (in kWh/day) shall not exceed the amounts specified below:

Notes:
V is the refrigerator volume measured in litres.
AV (adjusted volume) is equal to the refrigerator volume plus 1.63 times the freezer volume.
E_daily = Maximum daily energy consumption (kWh)

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Effective Date

NRCan is proposing that the energy efficiency standard for food service refrigerators and freezers come into effect on January 1, 2007.

All food service refrigerators, freezers and refrigerator-freezers subject to the Regulations as described in this document that are manufactured after the specified date will be required to meet the stated efficiency levels.

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Labelling Requirements

No labelling requirements will be introduced at this time.

Verification Requirements

The same verification requirements that apply to other products regulated under the Energy Efficiency Act will apply to reach-in, food service refrigerators and freezers.

NRCan is proposing that regulated reach-in, food service refrigerators and freezers will carry a verification mark indicating that the energy performance of the product has been verified. The verification mark is the mark of a Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accredited certification organization that administers an energy performance verification program for this product. NRCan will also accept labels issued by a province indicating that the product meets the provincial energy efficiency levels as a verification mark, providing that the provincial level is equivalent to or more stringent than the federally regulated level.

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Reporting Requirements

The energy efficiency report required for this product will include the following information:

• Type of product (refrigerator, freezer or refrigerator-freezer)
• Brand name
• Manufacturer
• Model number
• Name of the organization or province that carried out the verification and authorized the verification mark that will appear on the product
• Daily energy consumption in kWh (to one decimal place)
• Type of refrigerator, freezer or refrigerator-freezer:
  • Buffet table
  • Ice cream cabinet
  • Milk, beverage and ice cream cabinet
  • Milk or beverage cabinet
  • Pass-through cabinet
  • Preparation table
  • Roll-in cabinet
  • Roll-through cabinet
  • Undercounter cabinet
  • Wine chiller
  • Worktop table
• Volume (in litres) of the refrigerator compartment, if there is one
• Volume (in litres) of the freezer compartment, if there is one
• For refrigerator-freezers only: adjusted volume (in litres)
• Door type (solid-opaque, transparent or no door)

This report must be submitted, by the dealer, to the Minister of NRCan before the product is imported into Canada or traded interprovincially for the first time.

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Importing Requirements

A dealer who imports these products into Canada must include the following information on the customs release document:

• Type of product
• Model number
• Brand name
• Name and address of the dealer importing the product
• Purpose for which the product is being imported (i.e., for sale or lease in Canada without modification; for sale or lease in Canada after modification to comply with energy efficiency standards; or for use as a component in a product being exported from Canada)

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Harmonization

NRCan attempts as much as possible to harmonize with other regulatory agencies.

The proposed federal levels harmonize with regulations in effect for the state of California, with the following exceptions:

• California has additional reporting requirements that are not required by NRCan:
  
  • Defrost system (automatic, manual, partial-automatic)
  • Door style (hinged or sliding)
  • Type (for refrigerator-freezers, California needs to know if the unit has a single refrigeration system or two refrigeration systems)
    
  • Height, width, depth
  • Type of illumination
  • Illumination wattage
  • Refrigerant type (ozone-depleting, non-ozone-depleting)
  • Insulation type (ozone-depleting, non-ozone-depleting)

In addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2, California specifies two additional energy efficiency levels that come into effect on January 2006 and January 2007. These efficiency levels are lower (more energy efficient) than the Canadian ones.

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Economic, Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis

NRCan uses a cost-benefit analysis to determine the economic attractiveness of improving the energy efficiency of equipment. The improved efficiency required by these changes to the Energy Efficiency Regulations is expected to provide positive benefits to Canadians, particularly if the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is taken into account.

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Comments Invited

This bulletin is being issued in advance of pre-publication in the Canada Gazette to allow time for concerned parties to comment on the proposal.

Comments are requested by May 5, 2005, so that changes can be incorporated into the pre-publication notice.

All correspondence should be forwarded to: