Commercial Clothes Washers
As defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), “commercial clothes washer” means a soft-mounted front-loading or soft-mounted top-loading clothes washer that: (1) Has a clothes container compartment that (i) For horizontal-axis clothes washers, is not more than 3.5 cubic feet; and (ii) For vertical-axis clothes washers, is not more than 4.0 cubic feet; and (2) Is designed for use in: (i) Applications in which the occupants of more than one household will be using the clothes washer, such as multi-family housing common areas and coin laundries; or (ii) Other commercial applications. 10 CFR 431.152 Manufacturers have been required to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy conservation standards for commercial clothes washers since 2007.
Current Standard | Current Test Procedure |
Ongoing Rulemaking for Standards | Ongoing Rulemaking for Test Procedure |
Helpful Links
Recent and Ongoing Activities
Standards
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Notification of Proposed Determination
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- Federal Register, 86FR71840 (December 20, 2021)
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Request for Information
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The commercial clothes washer energy conservation standard rulemaking docket EERE-2019-BT-STD-0044 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information:
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Test Procedure
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Final Rule; Correcting Amendments
Final Rule
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- Federal Register, 87FR78819 (December 23, 2022)
- Federal Register, 87FR33316 (June 1, 2022)
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Extension of Comment Period
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
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- Federal Register, 86FR59652 (October 28, 2021)
- Federal Register, 86FR49140 (September 1, 2021)
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Request for Information; Reopening of Public Comment Period
Request for Information
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The clothes washer test procedure rulemaking docket EERE-2016-BT-TP-0022 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Current Standard
Commercial clothes washers manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.156.
To determine that commercial clothes washers that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.154.
Test Cloth Correction Factors
The Test Cloth Correction Factors page contains the information used to determine the test cloth correction factors for each test cloth lot.
Helpful Links
Compliance
DOE has established regulations on certification, compliance, and enforcement in the CFR at 10 CFR Part 429. These regulations cover statistical sampling plans, certified ratings, certification reports, record retention, and enforcement. More information on these regulations is available here.
Waivers
For information on current test procedure waivers, see DOE’s Waivers webpage.
For information about obtaining test procedure waivers, see 10 CFR 431.401.
Exceptions
DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals has not authorized exception relief for commercial clothes washers.
For information about obtaining exception relief, see 10 CFR part 1003.
Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions
For information on further guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions on all covered products, see DOE’s Further Guidance database.
State Exemptions to Federal Pre-emption
DOE has not exempted any state from this energy conservation standard. States may petition DOE to exempt a state regulation from preemption by the Federal energy conservation standard. States may also petition DOE to withdraw such exemptions. For details, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart W.
ENERGY STAR®
DOE supports the testing and verification of ENERGY STAR® products in close collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Find tips and guidance for making your home, workplace, or vehicle more energy efficient visit EnergySavers.gov.
For more information related to this product, please email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov
