[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17887-17888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9949]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Case No. F-083]
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Thermo
Products Inc.
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-083)
granting a Waiver to Thermo Products Inc. (Thermo) from the existing
Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for furnaces.
The Department is granting Thermo's Petition for Waiver regarding
blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency
(AFUE) for its CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas
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, Thermo has been granted a Waiver for
its CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas furnaces
permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining
AFUE.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Decision and Order, Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy
In the matter of: Thermo Products Inc. (Case No. F-083).
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 test procedure amendments
become effective, resolving the problem that is the subject of the
waiver.
Thermo filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated November 29, 1995, in
accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department
published in the Federal Register on January 30, 1996. Thermo's
Petition and solicited comments, data and information respecting the
Petition. 61 FR 3023, January 30, 1996. Thermo also filed an
``Application for Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which
DOE granted on January 24, 1996. 61 FR 3023, January 30, 1996.
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 Thermo
Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of the
waiver to Thermo.
Assertions and Determinations
Thermo'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. Thermo requests the
allowance to test using a 45-second blower time delay when testing its
CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas furnaces. Thermo
states that since the 45-second delay is indicative of how these models
actually operate, and since such a delay results in an increase in AFUE
improvement of up to 2.0 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. Thermo indicates that it is unable to take
advantage of any of these exceptions for its CHA-upflow and CGA-
downflow series of condensing gas furnaces.
Since the blower controls incorporated on the Thermo furnaces are
designed to impose a 45-second blower delay in every instance of start
up, and since the current test procedure
[[Page 17888]]
provisions do not specifically address this type of control, DOE agrees
that a waiver should be granted to allow the 45-second blower time
delay when testing the Thermo CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of
condensing gas furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to testing the CHA-
upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas furnaces, today's
Decision and Order exempts Thermo from the existing test procedure
provisions regarding blower control and allows testing with the 45-
second delay.
It is, therefore, ordered that:
(1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Thermo Products Inc. (Case
No. F-083) is hereby granted as set forth in paragraph (2) below,
subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), (4), and (5).
(2) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of Appendix N of 10 CFR
Part 430, Subpart B, Thermo Products Inc., shall be permitted to test
its CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas 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
section 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,
Thermo Products Inc. 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 CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series of condensing gas furnaces
manufactured by Thermo Products Inc.
(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 April 14, 1996, this Waiver supersedes the Interim
Waiver granted Thermo Products Inc. on January 24, 1996. 61 FR 3023,
January 30, 1996 (Case No. F-083).
Issued In Washington, DC, on April 4, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-9949 Filed 4-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-M
