[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57854-57856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28552]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of
the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for
Waiver of Consolidated Industries From the DOE Furnace Test Procedure
(Case No. F-082)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Today's notice grants an Interim Waiver to Consolidated
Industries (Consolidated) from the existing Department of Energy (DOE
or Department) test procedure regarding blower time delay for the
company's USA and UCA series furnaces.
Today's notice also publishes a ``Petition for Waiver'' from
Consolidated. Consolidated Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant
relief from the DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time
delay specification. Consolidated seeks to test using a blower delay
time of 30 seconds for its USA and UCA series furnaces instead of the
specified 1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time.
The Department is soliciting comments, data, and information respecting
the Petition for Waiver.
DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information not later than
December 22, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements shall be sent to: Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Case No.
F-082, Mail Stop EE-43, Room 1J-108, Forestall Building, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-7140.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail Station EE-431, Forestall
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202)
586-9138
Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
Counsel, Mail Station GC-72, Forestall Building, 1000 Independence
Avenue
[[Page 57855]]
SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9507.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer
Products (other than automobiles) was established pursuant to the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended, (EPCA), which requires
DOE to prescribe standardized test procedures to measure the energy
consumption of certain consumer products, including furnaces. The
intent of the test procedures is to provide a comparable measure of
energy consumption that will assist consumers in making purchasing
decisions. These test procedures appear at 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B.
The test procedure rules provide for a waiver process and allow the
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(Assistant Secretary) to grant an Interim Waiver from test procedure
requirements to manufacturers that have petitioned DOE for a waiver of
such prescribed test procedures. 10 CFR Part 430, Sec. 430.27. The
waiver process allows the Assistant Secretary to waive temporarily test
procedures for a particular basic model when a petitioner shows that
the basic model contains one or more design characteristics which
prevent testing according to the prescribed test procedures, or when
the prescribed test procedures may evaluate the basic model in a manner
so unrepresentative of its true energy consumption as to provide
materially inaccurate comparative data. Waivers generally remain in
effect until final test procedure amendments become effective,
resolving the problem that is the subject of the waiver.
An Interim Waiver may be granted when it is determined that the
applicant will experience economic hardship if the Application for
Interim Waiver is denied, if it appears likely that the Petition for
Waiver will be granted, or the Assistant Secretary determines that it
would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate relief
pending a determination on the Petition for Waiver. 10 CFR Part 430,
Sec. 430.27(e). An Interim Waiver remains in effect for a period of 180
days or until DOE issues its determination on the Petition for Waiver,
whichever is sooner, and may be extended for an additional 180 days, if
necessary.
On April 26, 1995, Consolidated filed an Application for Interim
Waiver and a Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay.
Consolidated Application seeks an Interim Waiver from the DOE test
provisions that require a 1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of
the burner and starting of the circulating air blower. Instead,
Consolidated requests the allowance to test using a 30-second blower
time delay when testing its USA and UCA series furnaces. Consolidated
states that the 30-second delay is indicative of how these furnaces
actually operate. Such a delay results in an average furnace AFUE
improvement of 1.0 percent. Since current DOE test procedures do not
address this variable blower time delay, Consolidated asks that the
Interim Waiver be granted.
The Department has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
August 23, 1993 (58 FR 44583), to amend the furnace test procedure,
which addresses the above issue.
Previous Petitions for Waiver for this type of time blower delay
control have been granted by DOE to Coleman Company, 50 FR 2710,
January 18, 1985; Magic Chef Company, 50 FR 41553, October 11, 1985;
Rheem Manufacturing Company, 53 FR 48574, December 1, 1988, 56 FR 2920,
January 25, 1991, 57 FR 10166, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 34560, August 5,
1992; 59 FR 30577, June 14, 1994, and 59 FR 55470, November 7, 1994;
Trane Company, 54 FR 19226, May 4, 1989, 56 FR 6021, February 14, 1991,
57 FR 10167, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 22222, May 27, 1992, and 58 FR
68138, December 23, 1993; Lennox Industries, 55 FR 50224, December 5,
1990, 57 FR 49700, November 3, 1992, 58 FR 68136, December 23, 1993,
and 58 FR 68137, December 23, 1993; Inter-City Products Corporation, 55
FR 51487, December 14, 1990, and 56 FR 63945, December 6, 1991; DMO
Industries, 56 FR 4622, February 5, 1991, and 59 FR 30579, June 14,
1994; Heil-Quaker Corporation, 56 FR 6019, February 14, 1991; Carrier
Corporation, 56 FR 6018, February 14, 1991, 57 FR 38830, August 27,
1992, 58 FR 68131, December 23, 1993, 58 FR 68133, December 23, 1993
and 59 FR 14394, March 28, 1994; Amana Refrigeration Inc., 56 FR 27958,
June 18, 1991, 56 FR 63940, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 23392, June 3,
1992, and 58 FR 68130, December 23, 1993; Snyder General Corporation,
56 FR 54960, September 9, 1991; Goodman Manufacturing Corporation, 56
FR 51713, October 15, 1991, 57 FR 27970, June 23, 1992 and 59 FR 12586,
March 17, 1994; The Ducane Company Inc., 56 FR 63943, December 6, 1991,
57 FR 10163, March 24, 1992, and 58 FR 68134, December 23, 1993;
Armstrong Air Conditioning, Inc., 57 FR 899, January 9, 1992, 57 FR
10160, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 10161, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 39193, August
28, 1992, 57 FR 54230, November 17, 1992, and 59 FR 30575, June 14,
1994; Thermo Products, Inc., 57 FR 903, January 9, 1992; Consolidated
Industries Corporation, 57 FR 22220, May 27, 1992; Evcon Industries,
Inc., 57 FR 47847, October 20, 1992, and 59 FR 46968, September 13,
1994; Bard Manufacturing Company, 57 FR 53733, November 12, 1992, and
59 FR 30578, June 14, 1994; and York International Corporation, 59 FR
46969, September 13, 1994, and 60 FR 100, January 3, 1995.
Thus, it appears likely that this Petition for Waiver for blower
time delay will be granted. In those instances where the likely success
of the Petition for Waiver has been demonstrated based upon DOE having
granted a waiver for a similar product design, it is in the public
interest to have similar products tested and rated for energy
consumption on a comparable basis.
Therefore, based on the above, DOE is granting Consolidated an
Interim Waiver for its USA and UCA series furnaces. Consolidated shall
be permitted to test its USA and UCA series furnaces on the basis of
the test procedures specified in 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix
N, with the modification set forth below:
(I) Section 3.0 in Appendix N is deleted and replaced with the
following paragraph:
3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and measurements shall be as specified
in Section 9 in ANSI/ASHRAE 103-82 with the exception of Sections
9.2.2, 9.3.1, and 9.3.2, and the inclusion of the following additional
procedures:
(ii) Add a new paragraph 3.10 in Appendix N as follows:
3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. After equilibrium
conditions are achieved following the cool-down test and the required
measurements performed, turn on the furnace and measure the flue gas
temperature, using the thermocouple grid described above, at 0.5 and
2.5 minutes after the main burner(s) comes on. After the burner start-
up, delay the blower start-up by 1.5 minutes (t-) unless: (1) The
furnace employs a single motor to drive the power burner and the indoor
air circulation blower, in which case the burner and blower shall be
started together; or (2) the furnace is designed to operate using an
unvarying delay time that is other than 1.5 minutes, in which case the
fan control shall be permitted to start the blower; or (3) the delay
time results in the activation of a temperature safety device which
shuts off the burner, in which case the fan control shall be permitted
to start the blower. In the latter case, if the fan control is
adjustable, set it to start the blower at the highest temperature. If
the fan control is permitted to start the blower, measure time delay
(t-) using a
[[Page 57856]]
stop watch. Record the measured temperatures. During the heat-up test
for oil-fueled furnaces, maintain the draft in the flue pipe within
0.01 inch of water column of the manufacturer's recommended
on-period draft.
This Interim Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of
statements and all allegations submitted by the company. This Interim
Waiver may be removed or modified at any time upon a determination that
the factual basis underlying the application is incorrect.
The Interim Waiver shall remain in effect for a period of 180 days
or until DOE acts on the Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and
may be extended for an additional 180-day period, if necessary.
Consolidated's Petition for Waiver requested DOE to grant relief
from the DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time delay
specification. Consolidated seeks to test using a blower delay time of
30 seconds for its USA and UCA series furnaces instead of the specified
1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time. Pursuant to
paragraph (b) of 10 CFR 430.27, DOE is hereby publishing the ``Petition
for Waiver'' in its entirety. The Petition contains no confidential
information. The Department solicits comments, data, and information
respecting the Petition.
Issued in Washington, DC, November 13, 1995.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
April 26, 1995.
Assistant Secretary of Conservation and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington,
D.C. 20585.
Gentlemen: This Petition for Waiver and Application for Interim
Waiver is submitted in compliance with Title 10 CFR 430.27. This
request is for modification to the Test Procedures for Measuring the
Energy Consumption of Furnaces found in Appendix N to Subpart B of
Part 430.
The current test procedure uses a 1.5 minute time delay between
the burner start-up and the blower start-up. Consolidated
Industries' USA series and UCA series furnaces utilize a 30 second
nonadjustable fixed time delay between the burner ignition and
blower start-up. For the USA series and UCA series furnaces,
Consolidated Industries is requesting that the fixed time delay be
substituted for the current test procedures' 1.5 minute time delay.
We submit that the test procedure using 1.5 minute blower start-
up time delay requires a bypass of the furnace safety limit switch
and does not represent the true product performance and efficiency.
The USA and UCA series furnaces have lightweight, compact heat
exchangers that were designed to heat up very quickly with an
ensuing blower start-up time optimized at 30 seconds. The advanced
heat exchanger design along with improved operating controls has
improved the efficiency of this furnace in such a way that the
current standard does not credit Consolidated Industries for the
true efficiency improvements to this furnace. The product
performance will be more accurately depicted using the proposed
ASHRAE Standard 103-1993 that accounts for the design flexibility
and improvement without the penalty incurred by using the current
test procedure. The test results show an average of 1.0% improvement
in AFUE using the 30 second fixed time delay.
Other manufacturers have been granted similar waivers for
similar reasons.
Data and documentation can be supplied at your request.
This waiver request letter has been sent to GAMA and gas furnace
manufacturers that market similar products.
Sincerely,
Gerald K. Gable,
Vice President of Engineering.
[FR Doc. 95-28552 Filed 11-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
