[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4262-4263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2349]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Case No. F-082]
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Consolidated
Industries
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Decision and Order.
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SUMMARY: Notice is given of the Decision and Order (Case No. F-082)
granting a Waiver to Consolidated Industries (Consolidated) from the
existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for
furnaces. The Department is granting Consolidated's Petition for Waiver
regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization
Efficiency (AFUE) for its USA and UCA series furnaces.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail Station EE-431, Forrestal
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121,
(202) 586-9138
Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
Counsel, Mail Station GC-72, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(j), notice
is hereby given of the issuance of the Decision and Order as set out
below. In the Decision and Order, Consolidated has been granted a
Waiver for its USA and UCA series furnaces permitting the company to
use an alternate test method in determining AFUE.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 30, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
DECISION AND ORDER
In The Matter of: Consolidated Industries. (Case No. F-082)
BACKGROUND
The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products (other than
automobiles) was established pursuant to the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act, Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat. 917, 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 Department amended the prescribed test procedures by adding 10
CFR 430.27 to create a waiver process. 45 FR 64108, September 26, 1980.
Thereafter, DOE further amended its appliance test procedure waiver
process to 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. 51 FR 42823, November
26, 1986.
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.
[[Page 4263]]
Consolidated filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated April 26, 1995,
in accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department
published in the Federal Register on November 22, 1995, Consolidated's
Petition and solicited comments, data and information respecting the
Petition. 60 FR 57854, November 22, 1995. Consolidated also filed an
``Application for Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which
DOE granted on November 13, 1995. 60 FR 57854, November 22, 1995.
No comments were received concerning either the ``Petition for
Waiver'' or the ``Application for Interim Waiver.'' The Department
consulted with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning the
Consolidated Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the
issuance of the waiver to Consolidated.
Assertions and Determinations
Consolidated's Petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions
that require a 1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner
and the starting of the circulating air blower. Consolidated requests
the allowance to test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing
its USA and UCA series furnaces. Consolidated states that since the 30-
second delay is indicative of how these models actually operate, and
since such a delay results in an average furnace AFUE improvement of
1.0 percent, the Petition should be granted.
Under specific circumstances, the DOE test procedure contains
exceptions which allow testing with blower delay times of less than the
prescribed 1.5-minute delay. Consolidated indicates that it is unable
to take advantage of any of these exceptions for its USA and UCA series
furnaces.
Since the blower controls incorporated on the Consolidated furnaces
are designed to impose a 30-second blower delay in every instance of
start up, and since the current test procedure provisions do not
specifically address this type of control, DOE agrees that a waiver
should be granted to allow the 30-second blower time delay when testing
the Consolidated USA and UCA series furnaces. Accordingly, with regard
to testing the USA and UCA series furnaces, today's Decision and Order
exempts Consolidated from the existing test procedure provisions
regarding blower controls and allows testing with the 30-second delay.
It is, therefore, ordered That:
(1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Consolidated Industries.
(Case No. F-082) is hereby granted as set forth in paragraph (2) below,
subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5).
(2) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of Appendix N of 10 CFR
Part 430, Subpart B, Consolidated Industries, shall be permitted to
test its USA and UCA series furnaces on the basis of the test procedure
specified in 10 CFR Part 430, with modifications set forth below:
(i) Section 3.0 of 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 Standard 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 to Appendix N as follows:
3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. The following paragraph
is in lieu of the requirement specified in section 9.3.1 of ANSI/ASHRAE
Standard 103-82. 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 circulating 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 stopwatch. 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.
(iii) With the exception of the modifications set forth above,
Consolidated Industries shall comply in all respects with the test
procedures specified in Appendix N of 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B.
(3) The Waiver shall remain in effect from the date of issuance of
this Order until DOE prescribes final test procedures appropriate to
the USA and UCA series furnaces manufactured by Consolidated
Industries.
(4) This Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of statements,
allegations, and documentary materials submitted by the petitioner.
This Waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination
that the factual basis underlying the Petition is incorrect.
(5) Effective 1/30/96, this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver
granted Consolidated Industries on November 13, 1995. 60 FR 57854,
November 22, 1995 (Case No. F-082).
Issued In Washington, DC, on January 30, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-2349 Filed 2-2-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
