Clothes dryers

May 2021

Technical bulletin on amending the standards

Webinar – Thursday, May 20, 2:00-3:00 pm EST

On December 13, 2019, the Prime Minister of Canada issued a Mandate Letter to the Minister of Natural Resources to “make ENERGY STAR^® certification mandatory for all new home appliances starting in 2022”.

Accordingly, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is considering amending the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for household clothes dryers in Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations (“the Regulations”) to the efficiency criteria established by the ENERGY STAR program as they appeared on December 13, 2019, or essentially as in the ENERGY STAR Specification for clothes dryers (Version 1.1) , that took effect on May 5, 2017. This technical bulletin is released to initiate the consultation process and to collect stakeholder views on the requirements being considered for household clothes dryers.

Input received during this stage of the process will inform the development of the amendment. NRCan has undertaken a preliminary cost-benefit analysis using Canadian market data to assess the economic and environmental impacts of amending these standards and to ensure Canadian consumers and businesses benefit from its implementation.

The Government of Canada intends to pre-publish a regulatory proposal in the Canada Gazette, Part I, within approximately one year of this bulletin.

Background

Clothes dryers are currently regulated products in Canada.

Efficiency standards for clothes dryers save energy and reduce overall costs for Canadians. The efficiency standards also reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and help encourage manufacturers to adopt efficient product designs.

The ENERGY STAR program is a familiar brand that identifies above-average energy performance by allowing certified products to bear the familiar ENERGY STAR symbol. ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program developed in the United States by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and it is administered in Canada by NRCan.

NRCan is considering aligning the efficiency performance standards of the Regulations for household clothes dryers with the more stringent requirements established by the ENERGY STAR program. This would include gas dryers that are currently not regulated. The Regulations under consideration would reduce the energy use of household clothes dryers sold in Canada by approximately 25%.

Product description

A clothes dryer means a household tumble-type clothes dryer with forced air circulation. The heat source is electricity or gas, and the drum and blower(s) are driven by an electric motor(s).

The size category of a clothes dryer is based on its drum capacity:

• less than 125 litres (4.4 cubic feet); or
• 125 litres (4.4 cubic feet) or more.

Vented dryers exhaust evaporated moisture from the cabinet while ventless dryers utilize a closed-loop system with an internal condenser to remove evaporated moisture to a drain.

Energy performance testing standard

NRCan is considering three acceptable standards be referenced as the energy performance testing standards:

• For electric clothes dryers:
  CSA C361-16 - Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Clothes Dryers,  or
• For electric or gas clothes dryers:
  Appendix D1 or Appendix D2 to Subpart B, Part 430 of Title 10 to the United States Code of Federal Regulations, entitled Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Clothes Dryers

CSA testing standards can be ordered from the CSA website. Many CSA energy efficiency standards are also available at no cost on their website. To access the standards you will first need to create an account to join the CSA Communities of Interest.

The United States Code of Federal Regulations testing standard for clothes dryers is available online.

Energy performance standard

The new minimum energy performance standards under consideration for clothes dryers are summarized in the table below:

Product Type	Energy Performance Standard
Vented Gas	CEF ≤ 1.58 (kg/kWh)
Ventless or Vented Standard Electric	CEF ≤ 1.78 (kg/kWh)
Ventless or Vented Compact Electric (120 V)	CEF ≤ 1.72 (kg/kWh)
Vented Compact Electric (240 V)	CEF ≤ 1.56 (kg/kWh)
Ventless Compact Electric (240 V)	CEF ≤1.22 (kg/kWh)

Note: CEF is the Combined Energy Factor.

The current energy performance standard for ventless combination washer-dryers will remain the same.

Important dates

These modifications to the Regulations would come into force six months after the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

NRCan is considering applying the more stringent energy performance standards to household clothes dryers manufactured on or after July 1, 2023.

Labelling requirements

There is no change being considered to the labelling requirements for this product. An EnerGuide label must be attached to every new clothes dryer subject to the Regulations and sold in Canada.

Verification requirements

There is no change being considered to the energy efficiency verification requirements for this product.

Equipment will continue to carry a third-party verification mark indicating that the product meets the minimum energy performance standard and that the information to be reported has been verified.

The verification mark is the mark of a Standards Council of Canada accredited certification body that operates an energy efficiency certification program for the product.

Reporting requirements

Energy efficiency report

The below information will be considered for energy efficiency reporting. Gas dryer burner power, if applicable, will be a new addition:

• Size category, namely compact or standard
• Nominal voltage (for electric models)
• Nominal gas burner power (for gas models), in kW or btu/h *NEW*
• Drum capacity, in litres,
• Annual energy consumption, in kWh
• Combined energy factor, in kg/kWh
• Does dryer have automatic termination controls?

The Regulations apply to products imported or shipped inter-provincially for sale or lease in Canada. An energy efficiency report must be submitted, by the dealer, to NRCan before the product is imported into Canada or traded interprovincially for the first time.

Import report

There are no changes being considered to import report requirements for this product.

Comments invited

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide stakeholders with technical detail required to comment on the requirements under consideration for this product.

Additional information on Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations including a current list of Standards Council of Canada accredited certification bodies can be found on the Department’s website.

We welcome your comments by July 31, 2021. All correspondence should be forwarded to:

Natural Resources Canada
Office of Energy Efficiency
nrcan.equipment-equipement.rncan@canada.ca

with the subject line: A17 to Efficiency Regulations - Appliances