Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s Energy and Consumer Savings Act of 2005 first established minimum energy efficiency standards for thirteen commercial and residential products. In 2006, Rhode Island passed amendments to the 2005 act to include five more products. The Act allows for the efficiency of existing standards to be increased, if stricter standards would promote energy conservation in the state and be cost-effective for consumers who purchase the products.
Rhode Island’s appliance standards apply to new products sold, offered for sale or installed in the state. They do not apply to new products manufactured in the state and sold outside the state, new products manufactured outside the state and sold at wholesale inside the state for final retail sale and installation outside the state, products installed in mobile manufactured homes at the time of construction, or products designed expressly for installation and use in recreational vehicles.
Which Appliances?
Rhode Island’s appliance standards cover the following products; the effective date of the standard is shown in parentheses:
- Automatic commercial ice makers (2010)
- Commercial clothes washers (2007, federally preempted)
- Commercial hot food holding cabinets (2008)
- Commercial pre-rinse spray valves (2007, federally preempted)
- Commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator freezers (2010, federally preempted)
- High-intensity discharge lamp ballasts (2007, federally preempted)
- Illuminated exit signs (2007, federally preempted)
- Large packaged air-conditioning equipment (2010, federally preempted)
- Low voltage dry-type distribution transformers (2007, federally preempted)
- Metal halide lamp fixtures (2008, federally preempted)
- Residential boilers and residential furnaces (TBD)
- Single -voltage external AC to DC power supplies (2007)
- State-regulated incandescent reflector lamps (2008, federally preempted)
- Torchieres (2007, federally preempted)
- Traffic signal modules (2007, federally preempted)
- Unit heaters (2007, federally preempted)
- Walk-in refrigerators and walk-in freezers (2008)
- Water dispensers (2008)
Where are the Regulations?
The text of the 2006 Energy and Consumer Savings Act, which includes the 2005 Act and the 2006 revisions, can be found at: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Billtext/BillText06/SenateText06/S2844Aaa.pdf.
Product Testing and Certification
Products must be certified to the California Energy Commission. Please see Information for Manufacturers for details.
Contact
If you have any questions about Rhode Island’s appliance standards contact:
Charles Hawkins
RI Office of Energy Resources
1 Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02909
Phone: (401)574-9124
E-Mail: chawkins@energy.ri.gov
Janet Keller
RI Office of Energy Resources
1 Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02908
Phone: (401) 574-9126
Fax: (401) 574-9125
E-Mail: jkeller@energy.ri.gov
Web site: http://www.energy.ri.gov