Manufacturers of clothes washers have decided that, beginning on or before April 30, 2011, they will voluntarily communicate capacity to consumers using only the Department of Energy (DOE) clothes washer test procedure for drum volume calculations. This change will be applicable to all clothes washers sold as of that date, regardless of when manufactured.
Manufacturers participating include Indesit Company, Alliance Laundry Systems, LG Electronics, BSH Home Appliances, Miele, Electrolux Home Products, Samsung Electronics America, GE Appliances & Lighting, and Whirlpool Corp. Each of the manufacturers will revise their online website information and print material to reflect only washer capacity determined in accord with the DOE test procedure.
The DOE procedure is currently used to report energy and water consumption, and will be used in the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers’(AHAM) new energy verification program for clothes washers. The DOE procedure provides an accurate, uniform and repeatable measurement of drum volume for the purpose of calculating energy and water consumption for all clothes washer types.
