2017 District of Columbia Code
Title 8 - Environmental and Animal Control and Protection.
Chapter 17M - Energy Efficiency Standards.
§ 8–1771.03. Standards and implementation.

(a) On or after January 1, 2009, a new bottle-type water dispenser, commercial hot food holding cabinet, metal halide lamp fixture, state-regulated incandescent reflector lamp, or walk-in refrigerator or freezer shall not be sold or offered for sale in the District of Columbia unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the efficiency standards set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) On or after January 1, 2010, a product listed in subsection (a) of this section shall not be installed in the District of Columbia unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the following efficiency standards:

(1) Bottle-type water dispensers designed for dispensing both hot and cold water shall not have standby energy consumption greater than 1.2 kilowatt-hours per day, as measured in accordance with the test criteria contained in version 1.1 of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Energy Star Program Requirements for Bottled Water Coolers,” except units with an integral, automatic timer shall not be tested using Section D, “Timer Usage,” of the test criteria.

(2) Commercial hot food holding cabinets shall have a maximum idle energy rate not exceeding 40 watts per cubic foot of interior volume, as determined by the “idle energy rate-dry test” in ASTM F2140-01, “Standard Test Method for Performance of Hot Food Holding Cabinets” published by ASTM International. Interior volume shall be measured in accordance with the method shown in the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Energy Star Program Requirements for Commercial Hot Food Holding Cabinets” as in effect on August 15, 2003.

(3) Metal halide lamp fixtures designed to be operated with lamps rated greater than or equal to 150 watts but less than or equal to 500 watts shall not contain a probe-start metal halide ballast.

(4)(A) State-regulated incandescent reflector lamps shall meet the minimum average lamp efficacy requirements for federally-regulated incandescent reflector lamps contained in section 325(i)(1)(A) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, approved December 22, 1975 (89 Stat. 923; 42 U. S.C. § 6295(i)(1)(A)).

(B) The following types of incandescent reflector lamps shall be exempt from these requirements:

(i) Lamps rated at 50 watts or less of the following types: BR30, ER30, BR40, and ER40;

(ii) Lamps rated at 65 watts of the following types: BR30, BR40, and ER40; and

(iii) R20 lamps of 45 watts or less.

(5)(A) Walk-in refrigerators or freezers shall:

(i) Have automatic door closers that firmly close all reach-in doors and that firmly close all walk-in doors that have been closed to within one inch of full closure; provided, that this requirement shall not apply to walk-in doors wider than 3 feet, 9 inches or higher than 6 feet, 11 inches;

(ii) Contain wall, ceiling, and door insulation of at least R-28 for refrigerators and at least R-32 for freezers; provided, that door insulation requirements shall not apply to glazed portions of doors or to structural members;

(iii) Contain floor insulation of at least R-28 for freezers;

(iv) For single-phase evaporator fan motors of under one horsepower and less than 460 volts, use electronically commutated motors; provided, that the Mayor may delay implementation of this sub-subparagraph upon a determination that the motors are only available from one manufacturer or in insufficient quantities to serve the needs of the walk-in industry for evaporator-fan applications;

(v) For condenser fan motors of under one horsepower, use either:

(I) Electronically commutated motors;

(II) Permanent split capacitor-type motors; or

(III) Polyphase motors of 1/2 horsepower or more; and

(vi) For all interior lights, use light sources with an efficacy of 40 lumens per watt or more, including ballast losses; provided, that light sources with an efficacy of 40 lumens per watt or less, including ballast losses (if any), may be used in conjunction with a timer or device that turns off the lights within 15 minutes after the enclosure ceases to be occupied.

(B) Walk-in refrigerators or freezers with transparent reach-in doors and walk-in door windows shall also meet the following specifications:

(i) Transparent reach-in doors and windows in walk-in doors for walk-in freezers shall be of triple-pane glass with either heat-reflective treated glass or gas fill.

(ii) Transparent reach-in doors and windows in walk-in doors for walk-in refrigerators shall be:

(I) Double-pane glass with heat-reflective treated glass and gas fill; or

(II) Triple-pane glass with either heat-reflective treated glass or gas fill.

(iii) For appliances with an anti-sweat heater:

(I) The appliances shall have a total door rail, glass, and frame heater power draw of no more than:

(aa) Seven and 1/10 watts per square foot of door opening for freezers; and

(bb) Three watts per square foot of door opening for refrigerators.

(II) If an appliance with an anti-sweat heater has anti-sweat heat controls, the controls shall reduce the energy use of the anti-sweat heater in an amount corresponding to the relative humidity in the air outside the door or to the condensation on the inner glass pane.

(c) On or after January 1, 2012, a new single-voltage external AC to DC power supply shall not be sold or offered for sale in the District of Columbia unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the following efficiency standards:

(1) Single-voltage external AC to DC power supplies shall meet the energy efficiency requirements in the following table:

Nameplate Output Power                 Minimum Efficiency in Active Mode

From 0 to less than 1 watt                 0.49 times the nameplate output

From 1 watt to not more than                 The sum of 0.09 times the natural

49 watts                 logarithm of the nameplate output                 power (expressed in watts) and 0.49

Greater than 49 watts                 0.84

Maximum Energy Consumption                 in No-Load Mode

From 0 to less than 10 watts                 0.5 watts

From 10 watts to not more

than 250 watts                 0.75 watts

(2) This standard shall apply to single-voltage AC to DC power supplies that are sold individually and to those that are sold as a component of or in conjunction with another product.

(3) Single-voltage external AC to DC power supplies that require Food and Drug Administration listing and approval as a medical device shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.

(4) Single-voltage external AC to DC power supplies made available by a manufacturer directly to a consumer or to a service or repair facility after and separate from the original sale of the product requiring the power supply as a service part or spare part shall not be required to meet the standards of this section until January 1, 2013.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the efficiency of single-voltage external AC to DC power supplies shall be measured in accordance with the test methodology specified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program, “Test Method for Calculating the Energy Efficiency of Single-Voltage External AC-DC and AC-AC Power Supplies (August 11, 2004),” except that tests shall be conducted at 115 volts only.

(6) One year after the sale or offering for sale of a new product becomes subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, the product shall not be installed in the District of Columbia unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the efficiency standards set forth herein.

(Dec. 11, 2007, D.C. Law 17-64, § 4, 54 DCR 10964.)

This section is referenced in § 8-1771.05.