Energy Conservation Program: Product Classes for Residential Dishwashers, Residential Clothes Washers, and Consumer Clothes Dryers

On October 30, 2020, and December 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") published two final rules that established product classes for residential dishwashers with a cycle time for the normal cycle of 60 minutes or less, top-loading residential clothes washers and certain classes of consumer clothes dryers with a cycle time of less than 30 minutes, and front-loading residential clothes washers with a cycle time of less than 45 minutes ("short-cycle product classes"). The rules resulted in amended energy conservation standards for these short-cycle product classes, without determining whether relevant statutory criteria for amending standards were met. On August 11, 2021, DOE published a notice of proposed rulemaking ("NOPR") to withdraw these short-cycle product classes This final rule finalizes the revocation of the two earlier rules that improperly promulgated standards for these new product classes and reinstates the prior product classes and applicable standards for these covered products.