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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Cooking Products

Recent Updates: A Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Microwave Oven Conservation Standards (RIN: 1904–AC07) was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2012. (77 FR 8526) The Department will have a Public Meeting to discuss Standby and Off Mode issues. The comment period for this notice is now open. Comments must be submitted to the Department no later than April 16, 2012. For a link to the notice see below under the first bullet in the Microwave Oven Energy Conservation Standards Rulemaking Activity section, on this webpage.

This page describes rulemaking activities and regulations regarding energy efficiency for residential kitchen ranges, cooktops, ovens, microwave ovens, and cooking products.

Statutory Authority

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) (42 USC 6295 (h)), as amended, requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether amended, more stringent standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified. On April 8, 2009, DOE published a final rule amending the energy conservation standards for gas and electric kitchen ranges and ovens. DOE raised the standards for gas kitchen ranges and ovens and determined that standards for electric kitchen ranges and ovens did not warrant revision -a "no-standard" standard. Dehumidifiers and dishwashers were originally included in this rulemaking, but have been excluded because the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) prescribed standards for both of these products. EISA 2007 also amended EPCA to direct DOE to amend its test procedure for kitchen ranges and ovens to include measures of standby mode and off mode energy consumption.

Microwave oven standby-mode and off-mode energy use were also originally considered in this rule, as well as in a separate rulemaking for microwave oven test procedures. Interested party comments on both of these rules generally supported incorporating into the test procedure language expected to be codified in an international standby power test procedure, which was scheduled to publish in July 2009. Therefore, the microwave oven standards and test procedure amendments addressing standby- and off-mode energy use are now scheduled for completion in a separate rulemaking.

Current Microwave Oven Test Procedure & Conservation Standards Rulemaking Activity

Microwave Oven Test Procedure Rulemaking Activity

Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR)

Request for Information (RFI)

Final Rule Repeal of Active Mode Test Procedure

Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR)

SNOPR Test Procedure Public Meeting Information and Meeting Materials

Final Rule

Microwave Oven Energy Conservation Standards Rulemaking Activity

Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR)


Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Standby Mode and Off Mode for Microwave Ovens

Typographical Corrections to the SNOPR:

    • Tables V.7 through V. 12 (starting on page 8559, referencing the various Manufacturer Impact Analyses)
      • The label in the first row of each table should read "INPV" instead of "Change in INPV".
      • The label in the second row of each table correctly reads "Change in INPV".
    • The date range in section IV.G on page 8551(in the first paragraph of the first column) starting with "The total shipments and efficiency distributions were updated using the new estimates outlined in the SNOPR NIA. The MIA also uses the new analysis period in the NIA (2013–2043)…", should read "(2014–2043)".

After a regulatory action has been issued, Section 6(a)(3)(E) of EO 12866 requires agencies to identify in a complete, clear, and simple manner, the substantive changes between the draft submitted to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review and the action subsequently announced, and identify those changes in the regulatory action that were made at the suggestion or recommendation of OIRA. The document at the link below is intended to comply with this requirement.

Public Meetings and Meeting Materials for SNOPR (Vol. 77, No. 30, published on February 14, 2012)

Microwave Oven Test Procedure & Standards Point of Contact Information


Wes Anderson
Project Manager
(202) 586-7335

Current Rulemaking Activity for Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Conventional Cooking Products

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)

NOPR Test Procedure Public Meeting Information and Meeting Materials

Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR)

Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Cooking Products and Commercial Clothes Washers

Final Rule

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR)

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR)

Framework

Public Meetings and Meeting Materials (Past Rulemakings)

  • NOPR Test Procedure Public Meeting for Microwave Ovens
  • NOPR Public Meeting for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, Cooking Products, and Commercial Clothes Washers
  • ANOPR Public Meeting for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, Cooking Products, and Commercial Clothes Washers
  • Framework Document Public Meeting for Commercial Clothes Washers and Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Cooking Products

Additional Information (Past Rulemakings)

Contact Information for Conservation Standards & Test Procedures for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, Cooking Products and Commercial Clothes Washers

Stephen L. Witkowski, P.E.
Project Manager
(202) 586-7463

Technical Support Document: Microwave Oven

This report provides the technical analysis and results in support of the information presented in the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for microwave ovens. This document consists of 17 Chapters, and 16 Appendices.

The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Title Page
Chapters
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Analytical Framework
Chapter 3. Market and Technology Assessment
Chapter 4. Screening Analysis
Chapter 5. Engineering Analysis
Chapter 6. Markups for Product Price Determination
Chapter 7. Energy Use Analysis
Chapter 8. Life-Cycle Cost and Payback Period Analyses
Chapter 9. Shipments Analysis
Chapter 10. National Impact Analysis
Chapter 11. Consumer Subgroup Analysis
Chapter 12. Manufacturer Impact Analysis
Chapter 13. Employment Impact Analysis
Chapter 14. Utility Impact Analysis
Chapter 15. Emissions Analysis
Chapter 16. Monetization of Emission Reductions Benefits
Chapter 17. Regulatory Impact Analysis
Appendix 5A AHAM Data Submittal
Appendix 5B Microwave Oven Standby Power Testing Regression Methodology
Appendix 7A RECS 2005 Variables and Values
Appendix 8A User Instructions for the Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Spreadsheet
Appendix 8B Uncertainty and Variability
Appendix 8C Distributions Used for Discount Rates
Appendix 8D Rebuttable Payback Analysis Results
Appendix 8E Estimation of Equipment Price Trends for Microwave Ovens
Appendix 10A User Instructions for the National Impacts Analysis Spreadsheet
Appendix 10B National Energy Savings and Net Present Value Using Alternative Economic Growth Scenarios
Appendix 10C National Net Present Value of Consumer Benefits and Emissions Reductions Using Alternative Product Price Forecasts
Appendix 12A Manufacturer Impact Analysis Interview Guides
Appendix 12B Government Regulatory Impact Model (GRIM) Overview
Appendix 16A Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 12866
Appendix 17A Regulatory Impact Analysis Supporting Material

Analytical Tools: Microwave Oven

This page presents the analytical tools associated with the above SNOPR technical support document (TSD) for microwave ovens.