Commercial and Industrial Air Compressors

DOE has published a Federal Register notice proposing to withdraw its prior determination that compressors qualify as covered equipment under Part A-1 of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA).

• DOE will accept comments on or before July 15, 2025.
• Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number EERE-2025-BT-DET-0007, by email (Compressors2025DET0007@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a public webinar on Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
• Register for the webinar.
• Foreign Nationals interested in participating in this meeting or webinar, must be screened by DOE Headquarters Security prior to being granted access. Please email deborah.ogunshakin@ee.doe.gov to complete the necessary documentation at least two weeks prior to scheduled meeting date.
• Additional webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on DOE’s website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/public-meetings-and-comment-deadlines

DOE has published a Federal Register notice delaying the effective date of a recently published final rule amending the test procedures for compressors. DOE also seeks comment on any further delay of the effective date, including the impacts of such delay, as well as comment on the legal, factual, or policy issues raised by the rule.

• As of March 7, 2025, the effective date of the final rule published on January 17, 2025, is delayed until May 20, 2025. 
• The incorporation by reference approval published on January 17, 2025, is delayed to May 20, 2025. 

DOE has published a Federal Register final rule amending the test procedure for compressors to correct an error and to ensure that pressure ratio is expressed in terms of absolute pressure. DOE is also correcting the formula for isentropic efficiency and specific energy consumption of the packaged compressor by incorporating a K₆ correction factor to correct for differences in pressure ratio when testing at differing elevations. Finally, DOE is amending the definition of “air compressor” to include a minor clarification and revise a typographical error.

• The effective date of this rule is April 2, 2025.
• The amendments will be mandatory for product testing starting July 16, 2025.
• The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the director of the Federal Register on April 2, 2025.

DOE has pulled down the enforcement policy regarding the test procedure for air compressors and removed the policy from the DOE enforcement website as of May 2, 2022.  DOE expects regulated entities to begin transitioning in accordance with the current DOE regulations. 

For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

The energy efficiency standards rulemaking docket EERE-2013-BT-STD-0040 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents.

Public Meeting Information

There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.

Submitting Public Comments

Comment period is closed.

The test procedures rulemaking docket EERE-2022-BT-TP-0019 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents.

Public Meeting Information

There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.

Submitting Public Comments

Comment period is closed.

Compressors manufactured starting on January 10, 2025 and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6311(7), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.345.

Manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified in 10 CFR 431.344 to determine that compressors that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards.

Compliance

DOE has established regulations on certification, compliance, and enforcement in the CFR at 10 CFR Part 429.  These regulations cover statistical sampling plans, certified ratings, certification reports, record retention, and enforcement.  More information on these regulations is available here.

Waivers

For information on current test procedure waivers, see DOE’s Waivers webpage.

For information about obtaining test procedure waivers, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart V.

Exceptions

DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals has not authorized exception relief for compressors.

For information about obtaining exception relief, see 10 CFR part 1003.

Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions

For information on further guidance and answers to frequently asked questions on all covered products, see DOE’s Further Guidance database.

State Exemptions to Federal Pre-emption

DOE has not exempted any state from this energy conservation standard. States may petition DOE to exempt a state regulation from preemption by the federal energy conservation standard. States may also petition DOE to withdraw such exemptions. For details, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart W.

For more information related to this product, please email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov