Refrigerated vending machines – March 2017

Technical bulletin on amending the standards

On March 4, 2017, Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency issued a Notice of Intent to amend Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations (the Regulations) to align refrigerated vending machines with standards in the United States. This technical bulletin has been released to initiate the consultation process and to collect stakeholder views on the requirements being considered for refrigerated vending machines.

Input received during this stage of the process will inform the development of the Amendment 15 proposal. In addition, the department will undertake a cost-benefit analysis using the best-available Canadian market data to assess the economic and environmental impacts of these updated 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 two years of this bulletin.

Background

In 2014, the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council committed to align new and updated energy efficiency standards and test standards for energy-using equipment, to the extent practicable and permitted by law.

In Canada, refrigerated vending machines manufactured as of January 1, 2007 are subject to the Regulations. On July 31, 2015, the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) issued a final rule, which updated the testing standard. On January 8, 2016, the U.S.DOE issued a final rule, which increased the stringency of the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), and expanded their scope to include combination vending machines.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is considering aligning with the increased MEPS, expanded scope, updated testing standards and manufacturing date of the U.S. DOE. 

Product description

Refrigerated beverage vending machine

A commercial refrigerator that cools bottled or canned beverages and dispenses the bottled or canned beverages on payment.

Combination vending machine

A refrigerated beverage vending machine containing both a refrigerated and non-refrigerated compartment separated by a solid partition.

Energy performance testing standard

NRCan is considering referencing the following energy performance test standard:

Appendix B to Subpart Q, Part 431 of Title 10 to the United States Code of Federal Regulations, entitled Uniform test method for the measurement of energy consumption of refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machines

Energy performance standard

Proposed MEPS for refrigerated vending machines
Product type	Maximum daily energy consumption (kilowatt hours per day)
Class A (a refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machine that is not a combination vending machine and in which 25 percent or more of the surface area on the front side of the beverage vending machine is transparent)	0.0018V + 2.43
Class B (a refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machine that is not considered to be Class A and is not a combination vending machine)	0.0018V + 2.20
Combination A (a combination vending machine where 25 percent or more of the surface area on the front side of the beverage vending machine is transparent)	0.0030V + 2.66
Combination B (a combination vending machine that is not considered to be Combination A)	0.0039V + 2.04

V is volume in cubic litres

Important dates

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

NRCan proposes that the updated standards would apply to refrigerated vending machines that have been manufactured on or after January 8, 2019.

Verification requirements

There is no change proposed for the energy efficiency verification requirements for this product.

Reporting requirements

Energy efficiency report

The energy efficiency report required for refrigerated vending machines would include the following additional product specific information:

• whether the product has one or more compartments that are not designed to be refrigerated (Combination A and Combination B)
• whether the product has 25 percent or more surface area on the front side that is transparent (Class A and Combination A)

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 inter-provincially for the first time.

Import report

There is no change to import reporting.

Comments invited

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

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 April 21, 2017. All correspondence should be forwarded to:

Natural Resources Canada
Office of Energy Efficiency
580 Booth Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E4
E-mail: nrcan.equipment.rncan@canada.ca