Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 77— - ENERGY CONSERVATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY › Part Part A–1— - Certain Industrial Equipment › § 6313
Requires manufacturers to make many kinds of commercial heating, cooling, refrigeration, water‑heating, motor, ice‑making, clothes‑washing, and walk‑in cooler/freezer equipment meet minimum energy and performance levels on specific dates. Key start dates are January 1, 1994 for many small commercial HVAC and water‑heating rules, January 1, 1995 for some large units (through December 31, 2009), and January 1, 2010 for many updated HVAC, very large units, and self‑contained commercial refrigeration rules. Examples of the numeric rules are: some small air conditioners under 65,000 Btu/hr must meet a cooling efficiency of 10.0 or 9.7; some larger units must meet cooling efficiencies near 8.9–11.2 or higher depending on size and date; some heat pumps must meet heating performance factors or COPs like 6.8, 6.6, 3.0, or 3.3 depending on type and size; storage water heaters must meet standby loss limits such as 0.30 + (27/Measured Storage Volume) for electric units and 1.30 + (114/Measured Storage Volume) or 1.30 + (95/Measured Storage Volume) for gas/oil units with minimum thermal efficiencies of 78 percent for many models; commercial refrigerators and freezers made on or after January 1, 2010 have daily energy limits given by formulas tied to volume (for example, refrigerators with solid doors: 0.10 V + 2.04 kWh/day; transparent doors: 0.12 V + 3.34 kWh/day; freezers with solid doors: 0.40 V + 1.38 kWh/day), and some display cases must meet 0.6 × TDA + 1.0 kWh/day starting January 1, 2012. Packaged terminal units made on or after January 1, 1994 must meet an EER equal to 10.0 − (0.16 × Capacity in thousands of Btu/hr) with capacity limits for the calculation, and the corresponding heat‑mode COP must equal 1.3 + (0.16 × that EER. Automatic commercial ice makers built on or after January 1, 2010 must meet maximum energy and condenser‑water use limits that depend on type and harvest rate, and commercial clothes washers made on or after January 1, 2007 must have a Modified Energy Factor ≥ 1.26 and Water Factor ≤ 9.5. Requires regular federal reviews and rulemaking tied to industry standards. If ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 is changed, the Secretary must publish an energy‑savings analysis within 180 days and generally adopt the ASHRAE minimum within 18 months unless a stricter standard is shown to save significant additional energy and is feasible and justified (in which case the Secretary must issue a rule within 30 months). The Secretary must reevaluate covered classes at least every 6 years and publish rules so amended ASHRAE levels apply to products manufactured 2 years later for small equipment and 3 years later for large equipment. Motor efficiency rules took effect after 60 months from October 24, 1992 (84 months if listing/certification was required), and many motors were updated under NEMA MG‑1 requirements after the 3‑year period beginning December 19, 2007. Walk‑in coolers and freezers made on or after January 1, 2009 must meet door, insulation, motor, and lighting requirements (for example, wall/ceiling/door insulation at least R–25 for coolers and R–32 for freezers, floor insulation R–28 for freezers, and interior lights of at least 40 lumens per watt or timed shutoff). The Secretary must set or review standards and publish final rules on the schedules and effective dates noted above. Definitions given in the law include AV (adjusted volume), V (compartment volume), SOC‑SC‑M (service over the counter, self‑contained, medium temperature commercial refrigerator), and TDA (total display area). Finally, the Secretary may set standards for certain solid‑state lighting power supplies, drivers, or devices not earlier than 1 year after a test procedure is prescribed.
Full Legal Text
The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 6313
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73