[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19742-19744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10494]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Case No. DH-011]
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of
the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for
Waiver of Fireplace Manufacturers Incorporated From the Department of
Energy Vented Home Heating Equipment Test Procedure
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 Fireplace
Manufacturers Incorporated from the Department of Energy (Department)
test procedure for vented home heating equipment. The Interim Waiver
concerns pilot light energy consumption for Fireplace Manufacturers
Incorporated's (Fireplace) models DVF30, DVF36, DVF42, DVF36PNL, GW30,
and GW30P vented heaters.
Today's notice also publishes a ``Petition for Waiver'' from
Fireplace. Fireplace's Petition for Waiver requests the Department to
grant relief from the Department of Energy vented home heating
equipment test procedure relating to the use of pilot light energy
consumption in calculating the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency
(AFUE). Specifically, Fireplace seeks to delete the required pilot
light measurement (Qp) in the calculation of AFUE when the
pilot is off. The Department solicits comments, data, and information
respecting the Petition for Waiver.
DATES: The Department will accept comments, data, and information not
later than May 23, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements shall be sent to: Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Case No.
DH-011, Mail Stop EE-43, Room 1J-018, Forrestal Building, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202)
586-7140, Fax: (202) 586-4617.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Hui, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail Stop EE-
43, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC,
20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-9145, Fax: (202) 586-4617, E-Mail:
[email protected] or;
Mr. Eugene Margolis, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
Counsel, Mail Stop GC-72, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW, Washington, DC, 20585-0103. Telephone: (202) 586-9507, Fax: (202)
586-4116, E-Mail: [email protected]
[[Page 19743]]
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 the Department to prescribe standardized test procedures
to measure the energy consumption of certain consumer products,
including vented home heating equipment. The intent of the test
procedures is to provide a comparable measure of energy consumption
that will assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions,
and will determine whether a product complies with the applicable
energy conservation standard. These test procedures appear at Title
10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B.
The Department amended the test procedure rules to provide for a
waiver process by adding Sec. 430.27 to Title 10 CFR Part 430. 45 FR
64108, September 26, 1980. Subsequently, the Department amended the
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
the Department for a waiver of such prescribed test procedures. Title
10 CFR Part 430, Sec. 430.27(a)(2).
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 will be granted if 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, and/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. Title 10 CFR
Part 430, Sec. 430.27(g). An Interim Waiver remains in effect for a
period of 180 days, or until the Department issues a determination on
the Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and may be extended for
an additional 180 days, if necessary.
On December 31, 1996, Fireplace filed an Application for Interim
Waiver and a Petition for Waiver regarding pilot light energy
consumption.
Fireplace seeks an Interim Waiver from the Department test
provisions in section 3.5 of Title 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix
O, which requires measurement of energy input rate of the pilot light
(QP), and in section 4.2.6, which requires the use of this
data for the calculation of AFUE, where:
AFUE=[4400SSuQin-max
] /
[4400SSQin-max+2.5(4600)u
Qp]
Instead, Fireplace requests that it be allowed to delete QP
and accordingly, the [2.5(4600)uQP]
term in the calculation of AFUE. Fireplace states that instructions to
turn off the transient pilot by the user when the heater is not in use
are in the User Instruction Manual and on a label adjacent to the gas
control valve. Since the current Department of Energy test procedure
does not address pilot light energy savings, and since others have
received the same waiver under the same circumstances, Fireplace asks
that the Interim Waiver be granted.
Previous Petitions for Waiver to exclude the pilot light energy
input term in the calculation of AFUE for vented heaters with a manual
transient pilot control have been granted by the Department to
Appalachian Stove and Fabricators, Inc., 56 FR 51711, October 15, 1991;
Valor Incorporated, 56 FR 51714, October 15, 1991; CFM International
Inc., 61 FR 17287, April 19, 1996; Vermont Castings, Inc., 61 FR 17290,
April 19, 1996; Superior Fireplace Company, 61 FR 17885, April 23,
1996; Vermont Castings, Inc., 61 FR 57857, November 8, 1996; HEAT-N-GLO
Fireplace Products, Inc., 61 FR 64519, December 5, 1996; CFM Majestic
Inc., 62 FR 10547, March 7, 1997; Hunter Energy and Technology Inc., 62
FR 14408, March 26, 1997; and Wolf Steel Ltd., 62 FR 14409, March 26,
1997.
Thus, it appears likely that Fireplace's Petition for Waiver
concerning pilot light energy consumption for vented heaters will be
granted. In those instances where the likely success of the Petition
for Waiver has been demonstrated based upon the Department 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, the Department is granting Fireplace
an Interim Waiver for its models DVF30, DVF36, DVF42, DVF36PNL, GW30,
and GW30P vented heaters. Fireplace shall be permitted to test these
models of its vented heaters on the basis of the test procedures
specified in Title 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix O, with the
following modifications:
(i) Delete paragraph 3.5 of Appendix O.
(ii) Delete paragraph 4.2.6 of Appendix O and replace with the
following paragraph:
4.2.6 Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. For manually controlled
vented heaters, calculate the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE)
as a percent and defined as:
AFUE=u
where u is defined in section 4.2.5 of this
appendix.
(iii) With the exception of the modification set forth above,
Fireplace Manufacturers Incorporated shall comply in all respects with
the procedures specified in Appendix O of Title 10 CFR Part 430,
Subpart B.
This Interim Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of all
statements and allegations submitted by the company. This Interim
Waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that
the factual basis underlying the Application is incorrect.
This Interim Waiver is effective on the date of issuance by the
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy. The Interim Waiver shall remain in effect for a period of 180
days or until the Department acts on the Petition for Waiver, whichever
is sooner, and may be extended for an additional 180-day period, if
necessary.
Fireplace's Petition for Waiver requests the Department to grant
relief from the portion of the Department of Energy test procedure for
vented home heating equipment that relates to measurement of energy
consumption by the pilot light. Specifically, Fireplace seeks to
exclude the pilot light energy consumption from the calculation of
AFUE. Pursuant to paragraph (b) of Title 10 CFR Part 430.27, the
Department 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.
[[Page 19744]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 17, 1997.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Fireplace Manufacturers Incorporated
2701 South Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, California 92704, (714) 549-7782,
Fax No. (714) 549-4723
December 31, 1996.
The Honorable Christine Ervin,
Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy, United
States Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585
Subject: Petition for Waiver to Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations
Sec. 430.27
Dear Secretary Ervin: This Petition for Waiver from test
procedures appearing in 10 CFR Sec. 430.27 subpart B, Appendix O--
Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Vented
Home Heating Equipment. The sections for which this waiver is
requested are detailed in section 3.5--Pilot Light Measurement; and
section 4.2.6--Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). The
sections require the measurement of energy input to the pilot light
and the inclusion of this data in the calculation of the AFUE for
the appliance even when the pilot light is turned off and not
consuming any energy.
We are requesting this Waiver for our appliance models: DVF30,
DVF36, DVF42; DVF36PNL; GW30 and GW30P room heater models
respectively, using a millivolt controlled ignition system.
The above mentioned room heaters, are certified to use either
natural, or liquefied propane gases, respectively.
The combination of gas control valves used on these appliances
can be manually turned off when the heater is not in use. In the
``OFF'' position, both the main burner and the pilot burner are
extinguished. When the gas control knob is set to the ``ON''
position, the main burner and the pilot light are operating. The
Instruction Manual and a label adjacent to the gas control valve
will require the user to turn the gas control valve to the ``OFF''
position when the heater is not in use.
Requiring the inclusion of pilot energy input in the AFUE
calculations does not allow for the additional energy savings
realized when the pilot light is turned off. We request that the
requirement of including the term involving the pilot energy
consumption be waived from the AFUE calculations for our heaters
noted above. These models meet the conditions described in the
previous paragraph.
Waivers for deleting pilot energy consumption in AFUE
calculations have previously been granted by U.S.D.O.E. to other
manufacturers. We are petitioning the U.S.D.O.E. to grant Fireplace
Manufacturers, Incorporated, this same waiver.
Please contact Fireplace Manufacturers, Incorporated, with any
questions, comments, and or requirements for additional information
we can provide. Thank you for your help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Garrick D. Augustus,
Manufacturing Engineer.
[FR Doc. 97-10494 Filed 4-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
