Proposal to amend O. Reg. 509/18 under the Electricity Act, 1998 (“Efficiency Regulation”)

These changes are administrative in nature and would have no impact on energy use or GHG emissions.

The Ministry of Energy (the Ministry) is proposing amendments to O.Reg. 509/18, Energy and Water Efficiency – Appliances and Products (Efficiency Regulation) which, if approved, would fully harmonize Ontario requirements and efficiency metrics for 42 products through rolling incorporation by reference to the federal Energy Efficiency Regulations made under Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act (NRCan standards), and remove now obsolete efficiency requirements for 3 existing products. Rolling incorporation would allow for automatic updates to product scope, test standards and efficiency requirements of these products in the Efficiency Regulation if, and when changes/updates are made to the NRCan standards. The proposed amendments would:

A. Expand full rolling incorporation with NRCan standards for 42 products that are already harmonized with current NRCan requirements (test method, scope and efficiency requirements), to ensure that Ontario’s requirements would update automatically when NRCan changes/updates their standards. The proposed compliance date for these changes to come into force is January 1, 2025. Affected products include:

1. Range, electric, residential
2. Range, gas, residential
3. Clothes washer, residential
4. Clothes washer, commercial
5. Clothes dryer, residential, electric
6. Integrated/combination clothes washer and dryer
7. Dishwasher, residential
8. Dehumidifier
9. Freezer, refrigerator or refrigerator-freezer, residential
10. Miscellaneous refrigeration product
11. Commercial refrigeration (refrigerator, freezer, ref-freezer and display cabinets)
12. Ice storage bin, manual scoop-out
13. Ice maker commercial automatic
14. Vending machine, refrigerated bottled or canned beverage
15. Microwave
16. Walk-in freezers and walk-in coolers
17. Commercial prerinse spray valve
18. Air conditioner or heat pump, central, <19 kW
19. Air conditioner or heat pump, ≥ 19 kW
20. Air conditioner or heat pump, packaged terminal
21. Air conditioner, room
22. Water chiller
23. Ceiling fan
24. Air conditioner or heat pump, single-package vertical
25. Lamp, fluorescent, general service
26. Lamp, incandescent, general service reflector
27. Ballast, fluorescent lamp
28. Ballast, high intensity discharge (HID) or low pressure sodium lamp (LPS)
29. Torchiere
30. Exit sign
31. Signal module, traffic
32. Signal module, pedestrian
33. Ceiling fan light kit
34. Induction motor, 0.18 to 2.2 kW (0.25 to 3 horsepower) single speed, AC
35. Induction motor, three-phase, 0.75 to 375 kW (1 to 500 HP) up to 600 volts
36. Transformer, dry-type (15-833 kVA for single phase, 15-7500 for three-phase)
37. Pumps, commercial and industrial
38. Compact audio product
39. Television
40. Video product
41. External power supply
42. Battery charger

B. Make housekeeping amendments to evoke now obsolete efficiency requirements for 3 products currently regulated under the Efficiency Regulation. These products are not regulated and are not planned to be regulated in future by other major jurisdictions or are already captured under a different product in the Efficiency Regulation. In addition, the benefits of continued regulation for these products, such as estimated energy savings, are no longer considered substantial. The proposed compliance date for these changes to come into force is January 1, 2025. Affected products include:

1. Vending machine, for other than refrigerated bottled or canned beverage
2. Furnace fans, residential
3. Luminaire, dusk-to-dawn

C. Other housekeeping changes to the Efficiency Regulation. These changes could include updating references to include the most relevant or most recent editions of test standards for products with no changes to the existing efficiency requirements, or update/clarify product names.

Environmental Impact

No energy or environmental impacts are expected from these changes as the proposed updates would not change minimum efficiency requirements at this time, however proposed updates may lead to energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in future whenever NRCan changes/updates their standards. The proposed changes are administrative in nature and are intended to demonstrate Ontario’s commitment to continue harmonization with NRCan standards for a wider range of products.