Certification

The California
Statewide Codes
Title 20 Processes
& Standards California’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations
Program
Background
Here to help you The California Energy Commission (CEC) established the Appliance Efficiency
Regulations in 1976 in response to a legislative mandate to reduce the energy
meet California’s demand in the state. Also known as the California Code of Regulations, Title 20,
Title 20 appliance Sections 1601 through 1609, these standards are updated regularly to include
and equipment amendments and new standards.
certification All appliances and equipment regulated under Title 20 must be certified to the CEC
requirements. before being offered for sale in California.
What do the regulations include?
We offer FREE Title 20 contains the following requirements for residential and commercial
• Trainings appliances and equipment:
• Resources v Energy efficiency and performance
v Design specification
All designed v Marking
to improve v Test procedure
compliance v Certification and data reporting
with the state’s How can we help?
appliance and In addition to clarifying the requirements and definitions under Title 20, we offer
building energy training and resources on the following topics:
codes and aimed v Certification requirements, forms, and processes
at locking v CEC Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS)
in long-term v Interaction with federal energy conservation standards and regulations
energy savings. v Mechanisms for determining compliance with standards
v Best practices for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors

Find our new On-Demand Video Trainings at

EnergyCodeAce.com/content/title-20-training
Contact us at [email protected] for inquiries and assistance
Be sure to visit EnergyCodeAce.com and register to ensure you will
receive announcements on Title 20 training, tools, and resources.
10/26/2020
This program is funded by California utility customers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.
 Certification
Title 20 ProcessesProcess Overview
CEC Certification
1. Identify who is certifying
v www.energy.ca.gov/appliances
Manufacturers may certify appliance efficiency data directly (Direct Man-
ufacturer Certification) or manufacturers may elect to have an authorized
third-party certifier submit data to the Energy Commission on behalf of
the manufacturer (Third-Party Certification). All certification processes
are now completed online.
2. Identify the certification requirements
Direct Manufacturer Certification (two requirements):
1. Completed Appliance Submittal Declaration in MAEDBS
2. Submit appliance data in MAEDBS through manual or Excel upload.
Third-Party Certification (four requirements):
1. Third-Party Certifier Application in MAEDBS
2. Manufacturer’s Delegation of Authority Application in MAEDBS
v energy.ca.gov/files/certification-packets-appliances 3. Completed Appliance Submittal Declaration in MAEDBS
4. Submit appliance data in MAEDBS through manual or Excel upload.
3. Locate the applicable CEC Certification Packet
energy.ca.gov/files/certification-packets-appliances
1. General Instructions (PDF)
2. Appliance-specific submission instructions (PDF)
3. Appliance-specific data submission template (Excel)
4. Review Test Laboratory Requirements
All appliance design and efficiency data testing must be performed at a
testing laboratory approved by the CEC. Certifiers must indicate on the
appliance submittal Declaration the test laboratory at which testing was
conducted.
v https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Login.aspx The CEC maintains a publicly-available list of approved laboratories.
https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Pages/CompanyInfo/
CompanyList.aspx

Appliance Efficiency Enforcement

Section 1609 of the Appliance Efficiency Regulations went into effect
July 1, 2015. Any person involved with the manufacture, distribution,
and sale of noncompliant appliances, including manufacturers, retailers,
contractors, importers, and distributors, may be subject to administrative
civil penalies of up to $2,500 per violation. Violations include if the model
has not been tested, marked, or certified correctly; does not meet the
efficiency standards; or if any person knowingly provides materially false
information to the Energy Commission.

Referenced Documents and URLs

Title 20 Appliance Efficiency Standards:
govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Browse/Home/CaliforniaCaliforniaCodeofRegulations?guid=I8F8F3BC0D44E11DEA95CA4428E-
C25FA0&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)–
CEC Title 20 Certification Packets: energy.ca.gov/files/certification-packets-appliances
CEC Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS): https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Login.aspx
Title 20 Inquiries: [email protected]
 Title 20 Appliance Efficiency Regulations
Certification
Title 20
Frequently Asked Questions
Processes
How do you determine whether or not a product What are the consequences of not certifying to
is covered by Title 20 standards? the Energy Commission?
Refer to sections 1601 (scope) and 1602 (definitions) of the Title Section 1609 of Title 20 contains information on Title 20
20 Appliance Efficiency Regulations for information on covered enforcement provisions. Parties found in violation of Title 20
products and their relevant definitions. If you are still unsure if a may be subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per unit found in
specific product is covered, you may contact the Energy Commis- violation and per violation type.
sion at [email protected].
Does the Energy Commission have preference
What is the California Energy Commission’s for third-party certifications over direct
(CEC) Appliance Efficiency Database? manufacturer certifications?
The CEC maintains a publicly-accessible database which While CEC requires that certifiers follow the instructions depend-
includes lists of regulated appliances and equipment (including ing on which certification process they choose, it does prefer that
manufacturer, brand, and model identification) that have been certification is submitted by the entity responsible for implement-
certified by manufacturers and third-parties. A regulated product ing the warranty of the device.
cannot be offered for sale in California if it is not listed in this
database How do I know at which laboratories I can test
https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Pages/Appliance my appliance or equipment? Does the Energy
Search.aspx Commission have a preference?
CEC requires all testing to be conducted at CEC-approved
If a product is listed in the CEC Appliance laboratories, which differs from the DOE test laboratory
Efficiency Database, is it automatically in the requirement in that it restricts the testing to a list of pre-approved
Federal appliance database? laboratories. This list of approved laboratories can be found
The Department of Energy (DOE) maintains its own publicly-ac- in the MAEDBS company search:
cessible database for compliance certification of appliances and https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Pages/CompanyInfo/
equipment regulated under DOE energy conservation standards CompanyList.aspx
called the Compliance Certification Management System (CCMS).
Manufacturers and third-parties whose appliances/equipment are How can my own test laboratory be approved
regulated under both Title 20 and federal standards must certify to by the CEC?
both the CEC Appliance Efficiency Database and the DOE CCMS Laboratories must create a company account in MAEDBS in order
regulations.doe.gov/ccms to access the laboratory application. Once the account request is
approved by the Energy Commission, the laboratory must submit
What does the compliance certification process the laboratory application in order to be listed in MAEDBS as an
involve? approved entity to test appliance data under specific test methods.
Certifying to the Energy Commission involves testing the model The MAEDBS portal is found here:
and submitting certification forms according to specific procedures https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Login.aspx
and requirements outlined in CEC certification packets catego-
rized by product. Certification packets can be found here: How much time should we allow for the
energy.ca.gov/files/certification-packets-appliances certification approval process?
Allow up to 30 days for a response from the Energy Commission.
If the submittal contains errors, approval may take longer until
issues are resolved.

This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E®), Southern California Edison Company (SCE), and
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas®) under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.
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