Notice to Consumers and Salespeople
New ENERGY STAR® Criteria for Dishwashers and Clothes Washers
The energy efficiency criteria dishwashers and clothes washers must meet to qualify for the ENERGY STAR symbol will become tougher than ever in 2007. As a result, consumers should be aware that some models that are currently eligible for the ENERGY STAR symbol will no longer qualify and may not be eligible for ENERGY STAR rebate offers.
Why are the criteria changing?
The ENERGY STAR criteria for dishwashers is changing because almost 90 percent of products currently on the market are able to meet the existing requirement, which has not been updated for several years. Since the goal of ENERGY STAR is to identify products that are among the top 25 percent of energy performers on the market, the criteria for dishwashers must be strengthened to ensure that qualified models continue to offer consumers significant energy savings compared to models that only meet the minimum standard.
The changes in criteria for clothes washers are a direct result of amendments to Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations that strengthen the minimum energy efficiency standard effective January 1, 2007. (More information on the amendments) The new standard will automatically eliminate the least efficient clothes washer models from the market, since products that do not meet regulated minimum standards cannot be sold in Canada. A strengthening of ENERGY STAR criteria for clothes washers is required in order to ensure that qualified models continue to represent only the top 25 percent of energy performers on the market.
How are the criteria changing?
Effective January 1, 2007, the ENERGY STAR criteria for dishwashers will change from a minimum Energy Factor (EF) of 0.58 to a minimum EF of 0.65. This will ensure that ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers exceed the minimum energy performance level by at least 41 percent. As well, for the first time, an ENERGY STAR criteria will be established for compact dishwashers, which will be required to have a minimum EF of 0.88 to qualify for ENERGY STAR.
The changes in ENERGY STAR criteria for clothes washers are two-fold:
- The minimum Modified Energy Factor (MEF) for ENERGY STAR qualification will increase from 40.21 L/kWh/cycle (1.42 cu. ft./kWh/cycle) to 48.45 L/kWh/cycle (1.72 cu. ft./kWh/cycle). As a result, models that qualify for the ENERGY STAR label will be at least 36 percent more energy efficient than models that only meet the new minimum energy efficiency standard.
- A new Water Factor (WF) criteria will be introduced to ensure that ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers are water efficient, as well as energy efficient. To be eligible for the ENERGY STAR symbol, clothes washers will be required to have a maximum WF of 1.07 L/cycle per litre of tub capacity (8.0 gal./cycle/cu. ft.). Water Factor is calculated by dividing the litres of water consumed per cycle by the litres of drum capacity. The lower the WF, the less water is used per cycle.
How will these changes affect products that currently qualify for ENERGY STAR?
As a result of these changes, many dishwashers and clothes washers manufactured and sold before January 1, 2007, will no longer qualify for ENERGY STAR. To ensure a smooth transition to the new requirements, during the first three months of 2007 retailers will be allowed to continue to use the ENERGY STAR symbol on dishwashers and clothes washers manufactured before January 1, 2007, even if the products do not meet the new criteria. After March 31, 2007, retailers cannot use the ENERGY STAR symbol to promote models that no longer qualify.
Retailers can, however, continue to sell these products without using the ENERGY STAR symbol. In cases where the ENERGY STAR symbol is included on the product's EnerGuide label, retailers will be required to apply a new EnerGuide label that does not show the ENERGY STAR symbol (retailers should contact the product manufacturer's representative to request replacement labels) or to remove the ENERGY STAR portion of the existing EnerGuide label.
On January 1, 2007 the lists of models on our Web site will show only those that meet the new criteria.
To help consumers and retailers identify models that no longer qualify for the ENERGY STAR symbol but may still bear the mark until March 31, 2007, the following lists have been compiled:
-
List of dishwasher models that no longer qualify for ENERGY STAR
HTML MS Excel
-
List of clothes washer models that no longer qualify for ENERGY STAR
HTML MS Excel
Will products that qualified for ENERGY STAR under the pre-January 1, 2007 criteria still be eligible for ENERGY STAR rebates?
This is up to the government or utility offering the rebate. Although some may still pay a rebate for products that are no longer qualified to bear the ENERGY STAR symbol, others may not. If you plan to purchase a dishwasher or clothes washer displaying the ENERGY STAR symbol between January 1 and March 31, 2007, and hope to take advantage of a rebate offer, check with the government or utility offering the rebate to determine whether a model is eligible before purchasing the product.
Questions and answers about the changes to the ENERGY STAR criteria for dishwashers and clothes washers
|