§ 431.306 - Energy conservation standards and their effective dates.


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  • § 431.306 Energy conservation standards and their effective dates.

    (a) Each walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer manufactured on or after January 1, 2009, shall -

    (1) Have automatic door closers that firmly close all walk-in doors that have been closed to within 1 inch of full closure, except that this paragraph shall not apply to doors wider than 3 feet 9 inches or taller than 7 feet;

    (2) Have strip doors, spring hinged doors, or other method of minimizing infiltration when doors are open;

    (3) Contain wall, ceiling, and door insulation of at least R-25 for coolers and R-32 for freezers, except that this paragraph shall not apply to:

    (i) Glazed portions of doors not to structural members and

    (ii) A walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer component if the component manufacturer has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary in a manner consistent with applicable requirements that the component reduces energy consumption at least as much as if such insulation requirements of subparagraph (a)(3) were to apply.

    (4) Contain floor insulation of at least R-28 for freezers;

    (5) For evaporator fan motors of under 1 horsepower and less than 460 volts, use -

    (i) Electronically commutated motors (brushless direct current motors); or

    (ii) 3-phase motors;

    (6) For condenser fan motors of under 1 horsepower, use -

    (i) Electronically commutated motors (brushless direct current motors);

    (ii) Permanent split capacitor-type motors; or

    (iii) 3-phase motors; and

    (7) For all interior lights, use light sources with an efficacy of 40 lumens per watt or more, including ballast losses (if any), except that light sources with an efficacy of 40 lumens per watt or less, including ballast losses (if any), may be used in conjunction with a timer or device that turns off the lights within 15 minutes of when the walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer is not occupied by people.

    (b) Each walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer with transparent reach-in doors manufactured on or after January 1, 2009, shall also meet the following specifications:

    (1) Transparent reach-in doors for walk-in freezers and windows in walk-in freezer doors shall be of triple-pane glass with either heat-reflective treated glass or gas fill.

    (2) Transparent reach-in doors for walk-in coolers and windows in walk-in cooler doors shall be -

    (i) Double-pane glass with heat-reflective treated glass and gas fill; or

    (ii) Triple-pane glass with either heat-reflective treated glass or gas fill.

    (3) If the walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer has an antisweat heater without antisweat heat controls, the walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer shall have a total door rail, glass, and frame heater power draw of not more than 7.1 watts per square foot of door opening (for freezers) and 3.0 watts per square foot of door opening (for coolers).

    (4) If the walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer has an antisweat heater with antisweat heat controls, and the total door rail, glass, and frame heater power draw is more than 7.1 watts per square foot of door opening (for freezers) and 3.0 watts per square foot of door opening (for coolers), the antisweat heat controls shall reduce the energy use of the antisweat heater in a quantity corresponding to the relative humidity in the air outside the door or to the condensation on the inner glass pane.

    (c) Walk-in cooler and freezer display doors. All walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer display doors manufactured starting June 5, 2017, must satisfy the following standards:

    Class descriptor Class Equations for
    maximum energy
    consumption
    (kWh/day) *
    Display Door, Medium TemperatureDD.M0.04 × Add + 0.41.
    Display Door, Low TemperatureDD.L0.15 × Add + 0.29.

    (d) Walk-in cooler and freezer non-display doors. All walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer non-display doors manufactured starting on June 5, 2017, must satisfy the following standards:

    Class descriptor Class Equations for
    maximum energy
    consumption
    (kWh/day) *
    Passage door, Medium TemperaturePD.M0.05 × And + 1.7.
    Passage Door, Low TemperaturePD.L0.14 × And + 4.8.
    Freight Door, Medium TemperatureFD.M0.04 × And + 1.9.
    Freight Door, Low TemperatureFD.L0.12 × And + 5.6.

    (e) Walk-in cooler refrigeration systems. All walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer refrigeration systems manufactured starting on the dates listed in the table, except for walk-in process cooling refrigeration systems (as defined in § 431.302), must satisfy the following standards:

    Equipment class Minimum AWEF
    (Btu/W-h)*
    Compliance date: equipment manufactured starting on . . .
    Dedicated Condensing System - Medium, Indoor5.61June 5, 2017.
    Dedicated Condensing System - Medium, Outdoor7.60
    Dedicated Condensing System - Low, Indoor with a Net Capacity (qnet) of:
    < 6,500 Btu/h9.091 × 105 −5 × qnet + 1.81July 10, 2020.
    ≥ 6,500 Btu/h2.40
    Dedicated Condensing System - Low, Outdoor with a Net Capacity (qnet) of:
    < 6,500 Btu/h6.522 × 105 −5 × qnet + 2.73
    ≥ 6,500 Btu/h3.15
    Unit Cooler - Medium9.00
    Unit Cooler - Low with a Net Capacity (qnet) of:
    < 15,500 Btu/h1.575 × 105 −5 × qnet + 3.91
    ≥ 15,500 Btu/h4.15

    [74 FR 12074, Mar. 23, 2009, as amended at 78 FR 62993, Oct. 23, 2013; 79 FR 32123, June 3, 2014; 80 FR 69838, Nov. 12, 2015; 82 FR 31885, July 10, 2017]