DOE has issued a pre-publication Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) pertaining to energy conservation standards for miscellaneous refrigeration products. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) also requires DOE to periodically determine whether more stringent, standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would result in significant energy savings. In this NOPR, DOE proposes amended standards for miscellaneous refrigeration products, and also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

• DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this NOPR until 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. DOE will send a follow-up e-mail once the notice publishes to announce the closing date of the comment period.
• Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number EERE-2020-BT-STD-0039, by email (MRP2020STD0039@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a webinar on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
• Click here to register for the webinar.
• Foreign Nationals interested in participating in this webinar, must be screened by DOE Headquarters Security prior to being granted access. Please email Regina.Washington@ee.doe.gov to complete the necessary documentation at least two weeks prior to scheduled meeting date.
• Additional webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on DOE’s website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/public-meetings-and-comment-deadlines

On July 18, 2016 DOE published a final rule that amended the test procedure for refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers and established both coverage and procedures for testing miscellaneous refrigeration products (MREFs). That final rule also established provisions within DOE’s certification requirements to provide instructions regarding product category determinations, which were intended to be consistent with the definitions established for MREFs and refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. This published Federal Register final rule corrects certain inconsistencies between the instructions for determining product categories and the corresponding product definitions to avoid confusion regarding the application of those definitions.

• The effective date of this rule is March 9, 2023.

For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

The direct final rule for miscellaneous refrigeration products published on October 28, 2016 (81 FR 75194) became effective on February 27, 2017. Compliance with the new standards in the direct final rule was required on October 28, 2019.

Miscellaneous refrigeration products are not currently required to be tested and rated according to a DOE test procedure. However, miscellaneous refrigeration product manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 430, Subpart B, Appendix A for all representations of energy use on or after January 17, 2017.