Design Options for Clothes Washers

This report discusses possible design options for improving the energy efficiency of standard capacity, residential clothes washers.

The procedure used in this design option analysis is based on a Department of Energy(DOE) interpretive ruling outlining process improvement measures [1]. After the different appliances subject to possible regulation are ranked, potential design options are identified as the next step in the process of promulgating appliance efficiency standards. Screening factors are then used to determine if any design options should be eliminated from further consideration. Much of the input used for screening design options was provided by clothes washer manufacturers. Other sources include trade publications and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).

Although (under the new process) the design option stage of the analysis now precedes an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR), responses to the original ANOPR [2], data previously collected from manufacturers, and existing input from AHAM and other stakeholders will still be considered in this report. The DOE intends to issue a Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the future.