On December 15, 2020, the Department of Energy (DOE) established separate product classes for certain washing machines under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The new classes include top-loading residential clothes washers and consumer clothes dryers that offer cycle times for a normal cycle of less than 30 minutes, and front-loading residential clothes washers that offer cycle times for a normal cycle of less than 45 minutes. Energy efficiency advocates expressed concern that the new classifications would allow washers and dryers with shorter cycles to avoid more stringent standards.