Dishwashers
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 dishwashers 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 Household Dishwashers (Version 6.0) that took effect on January 29, 2016. This technical bulletin is released to initiate the consultation process and to collect stakeholder views on the requirements being considered for household dishwashers.
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 the standards and to ensure Canadian consumers and businesses benefit from their 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
Dishwashers are currently regulated products in Canada.
Efficiency standards for dishwashers save energy, reduce water consumption 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. It is a joint program of the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ENERGY STAR is administered in Canada by NRCan.
NRCan is considering aligning the efficiency performance standards of the Regulationsfor standard size household dishwashers with the more stringent requirements established in Version 6 of the ENERGY STAR program. Since almost all compact dishwashers sold in Canada meet or exceed the ENERGY STAR performance standard, NRCan is considering an efficiency standard higher than the ENERGY STAR specification for that size of dishwasher only. The regulation under consideration would reduce the energy use of household dishwashers sold in Canada by approximately 12% over current compliant dishwashers while also using 30% less water.
Product description
A dishwasher means an electrically operated automatic household dishwasher.
The size category of a dishwasher is:
- compact, if it has a capacity of less than eight place settings and six serving pieces, or
- standard, if it has a capacity that is equal to or greater than eight place settings and six serving pieces
A dishwasher is one of the following types:
- built-in, if it is designed to be permanently connected to a water and electric supply in a dwelling, or
- portable, if it is designed not to be permanently connected to a water and electric supply in a dwelling
Energy performance testing standards
NRCan is considering two acceptable standards be referenced as the energy performance testing standards:
- CSA C373-14 – Energy performance and water consumption of household dishwashers, or
- Appendix C1 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 Dishwashers
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 dishwashers is available online.
Energy performance standards
The minimum energy performance standards and water consumption standards under consideration for household dishwashers are summarized in the table below:
| Product type | Energy performance standard | Water consumption standard |
| Standard household dishwasher | ≤ 270 kWh/year | ≤ 13.25 litres/cycle (≤ 3.5 U.S. gallons/cycle) |
| Compact household dishwasher | ≤ 155 kWh/year | ≤ 7.57 litres/cycle (≤ 2.0 U.S. gallons/cycle) |
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 dishwashers 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 dishwasher subject to the Regulations and sold in Canada.
Verification requirements
There is no change being considered for 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
There is no change being considered to the energy efficiency report requirements for this product.
The Regulations apply to products imported or shipped inter-provincially for sale or lease in Canada. This 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 is no change being considered to the 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 in 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
Page details
- Date modified: