Selection of Eligible Clothes Washers
York Region has adopted stringent guidelines for energy and water efficiency for determining which clothes washers should be included in the Water for Tomorrow water efficient washer rebate program. These rebates apply to multi-unit residences and ICI facilities in York Region. In deciding which guidelines to adopt, York Region reviewed two of the most popular and widely used guidelines in North America:
- ENERGY STAR® - an energy standard widely adopted internationally, including Canada (http://www.energystar.gov/)
- Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) - a voluntary efficiency requirement jointly developed by United States and Canada (http://www.cee1.org/)
Both ENERGY STAR® and CEE use modified energy factor (MEF) and the water factor (WF) to select the products:
- MEF is the quotient of the clothes washer tub capacity (L) divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle (kWh/cycle).
- The clothes washer is more energy efficient with a higher MEF.
- WF is the quotient of the clothes washer water consumption per cycle (L/cycle) divided by the clothes washer tub capacity (L).
- The clothes washer is more water efficient with a lower WF.
Current Specification
ENERGY STAR® qualifications, in effect January 1, 20111 require that standard-sized clothes washers have:
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Maximum water usage per tub capacity value (WF) of 0.8 L/cycle/L
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Minimum tub capacity to energy usage value (MEF) of 56.6 L/kWh/cycle
1Applicants who purchased clothes washers meeting previously established ENERGY STAR® specifications will be eligible for a rebate until June 30, 2011.
The CEE has developed a three-tier specification to differentiate energy efficiency levels.
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The first tier coincides with the latest specification of ENERGY STAR® that came into effect as of January 1, 2011
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The second tier of CEE requires clothes washers to have a minimum MEF of 62.3 L/kWh/cycle and a maximum WF of 0.6 L/cycle/L
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The third tier is even more stringent with a minimum MEF of 68.0 L/kWh/cycle and a maximum WF of 0.53 L/cycle/L
York Region's Clothes Washer Performance Guidelines
York Region has selected the ENERGY STAR® guideline for use in York Region's Water for Tomorrow clothes washer rebate program for multi-unit residences and ICI facilities, as ENERGY STAR® labelled clothes washers are widely accepted in Canada.
