International Experience in Standards and Labeling Programs for Rice Cookers

ERNEST ORLANDO LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY International Experience in Standards and Labeling Programs for Rice Cookers Nan Zhou, and Nina Zheng Environmental Energy Technologies Division September 2008 Prepared for and with the support of the China Sustainable Energy Program of the Energy Foundation through the Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Disclaimer This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The Regents of the University of California, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accu- racy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by its trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Unit- ed States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California. Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is an equal opportu- nity employer. i Table of Contents Abstract..........................................................................................................................iii 1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 2. Overview of Rice Cooker Standards and Labeling Programs in Selected Countries. 1 2.1 Overview............................................................................................................... 1 2.2 Program Type........................................................................................................ 2 2.3 Review of Test Procedures ................................................................................... 2 2.4 Efficiency Requirements....................................................................................... 5 3. Energy Efficient Rice Cooker Technology Development in Japan............................ 8 3.1 Historical Trend and Current Status of Rice Cooker in Japan.............................. 8 3.1.1 Trend of Domestic Shipment of Electric Rice Cookers................................. 9 3.1.2 Major Domestic Manufacturers and Retailers of Electric Rice Cookers in Japan ..................................................................................................................... 12 3.1.3 Consumers’ Preference for Selection of Electric Rice Cookers .................. 13 3.2 Energy Saving of Electric Rice Cookers to date................................................ 13 3.2.1 Energy Saving in Warm Mode .................................................................... 13 3.2.2 Energy Saving in Standby Mode ................................................................ 14 3.2.3 Transition from Heater Type Electric Rice Cookers to IH Type................. 15 3.2.4 Future Tasks and Issues on Energy Saving in Electric Rice Cookers ......... 15 3.3 Energy Saving Label.......................................................................................... 16 3.4 Energy Efficient Rice Cooker Database ............................................................. 17 3.5 Energy Saving Technologies .............................................................................. 22 4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 24 Reference ...................................................................................................................... 26 ii International Experience in Standards and Labeling Programs for Rice Cookers Nan Zhou, and Nina Zheng Environmental Energy Technologies Division Prepared for and with the support of the China Sustainable Energy Program of the Energy Foundation through the Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC02-05CH1123 Abstract China has had an active program on energy efficiency standards for household appliances since the mid-1990s. Rice cooker is among the first to be subject to such mandatory reg- ulation, since it is one of the most prevalent electric appliances in Chinese households. Since first introduced in 1989, the minimum energy efficiency standard for rice cookers has not been revised. Therefore, the potential for energy saving is considerable. Initial analysis from CNIS indicates that potential carbon savings is likely to reach 7.6 million tons of CO2 by the 10th year of the standard implementation. Since September 2007, CNIS has been working with various groups to develop the new standard for rice cookers. With The Energy Foundation’s support, LBNL has assisted CNIS in the revision of the minimum energy efficiency standard for rice cookers that is expected to be effective in 2009. Specifically, work has been in the following areas: as- sistance in developing consumer survey on usage pattern of rice cookers, review of international standards, review of international test procedures, comparison of the international standards and test procedures, and assessment of technical options of reducing energy use. This report particularly summarizes the findings of reviewing international standards and technical options of reducing energy consumption. The report consists of an overview of rice cooker standards and labeling programs and testing procedures in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Thailand, and Japan’s case study in developing energy efficiency rice cooker technologies and rice cooker efficiency programs. The results from the analysis can be summarized as the follows: Hong Kong has a Voluntary Energy Efficiency Labeling scheme for electric rice cookers initiated in 2001, with revision implemented in 2007; South Korea has both MEPS and Mandatory Energy Efficiency Label targeting the same category of rice cookers as Hong Kong; Thailand’s voluntary endorsement labeling program is similar to Hong Kong in iii program design but has 5 efficiency grades; Japan’s program is distinct in its adoption of the “Top Runner” approach, in which, the future efficiency standards is set based on the efficiency levels of the most efficient product in the current domestic market. Although the standards are voluntary, penalties can still be evoked if the average efficiency target is not met. Both Hong Kong and South Korea’s tests involve pouring water into the inner pot equal to 80% of its rated volume; however, white rice is used as a load for its tests in Hong Kong whereas no rice is used for tests in South Korea. In Japan’s case, water level speci- fied by the manufactures is used and milled rice is used as a load only partially in the tests. Moreover, Japan does not conduct heat efficiency test but its energy consumption measurements tests are much more complex, with 4 different tests are conducted to de- termine the annual average energy consumption. Hong Kong and Thailand both set Minimum Allowable Heat Efficiency for different rated wattages. The energy efficiency requirements are identical except that the minimum heat efficiency in Thailand is 1 percentage point higher for all rated power catego- ries. In South Korea, MEPS and label’s energy efficiency grades are determined by the rice cooker’s Rated Energy Efficiency for induction, non-induction, pressure, non- pressure rice cookers. Japan’s target standard values are set for electromagnetic induction heating products and non-electromagnetic induction heating products by different size of rice cookers. Specific formulas are used by type and size depending on the mass of water evaporation of the rice cookers. Japan has been the leading country in technology development of various types of rice cookers, and developed concrete energy efficiency standards for rice cookers. However, as consumers in Japan emphasize the deliciousness of cooked rice over other factors, many types of models were developed to improve the taste of cooked rice. Nonetheless, the efficiency of electromagnetic induction heating (IH) rice cookers in warm mode has improved approximately 12 percent from 1993 to 2004 due to the “low temperature warming method” developed by manufacturers. The Energy Conservation Center of Japan (IEEJ) releases energy saving products database on the web regularly, on which the energy saving performance of each product is listed and ranked. Energy saving in rice cookers mostly rest with insulation of the pot. Technology developed to improve the energy efficiency of the rice cookers includes providing vacuum layers on both side of the pot, using copper-plated materials, and double stainless layer lid that can be heated and steam can run in between the two layers to speed the heating process. iv 1. Introduction China has had an active program on energy efficiency standards for household appliances since the mid-1990s. Rice cooker is among the first to be subject to such mandatory reg- ulation, since it is one of the most prevalent electric appliances in Chinese households. According to China National Institute if Standardization (CNIS)’s estimates, outputs of rice cookers have reached

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