[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34048-34049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16383]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Rheem (Case No. F-089)]
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Rheem
Manufacturing Company
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-089)
granting a Waiver to Rheem Manufacturing Company (Rheem) from the
existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for
furnaces. The Department is granting Rheem's Petition for Waiver
regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization
Efficiency (AFUE) for its GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-
fired furnaces.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 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, or Mr. 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, Rheem has been granted a Waiver for
its GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces
permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining
AFUE.
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13, 1997.
Joseph J. Romm,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Decision and Order
Rheem (Case No. F-089).
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.
Rheem filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated January 29, 1997, in
accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department
published in the Federal Register on April 4, 1997, Rheem's Petition
and solicited comments, data, and information respecting the Petition.
62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997. Rheem also filed an ``Application for
Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which DOE granted on March
31, 1997. 62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997.
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 Rheem
Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of the
waiver to Rheem.
The Department on February 28, 1997, issued the Final Rule on test
procedures for furnaces/boilers, vented home heating equipment, and
pool heaters. 62 FR 26140, May 12, 1997. This Final Rule incorporates
test procedure Waivers granted to different manufacturers for air
circulation blower delay time at start-up for furnaces with unvarying
control on blower delay time. This Waiver granted to Rheem expires on
November 10, 1997, the date when the final test procedure rule becomes
effective, resolving the issue necessitating this Waiver.
Assertions and Determinations
Rheem'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. Rheem requests the
allowance to test using a 20-second blower time delay when testing its
GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces. Rheem
states that since the 20-second delay is indicative of how these models
actually operate, and since such a delay results in an average of
approximately 2.0 percent increase in AFUE, 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. Rheem indicates that it is unable to take
advantage of any of these exceptions for its GFD upflow residential,
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces.
Since the blower controls incorporated on the Rheem furnaces are
designed to impose a 20-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 20-second blower time delay when testing the Rheem
GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces.
Accordingly, with regard to testing the GFD upflow residential,
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces, today's Decision and Order exempts
Rheem from the existing test procedure provisions regarding blower
controls
[[Page 34049]]
and allows testing with the 20-second delay.
It is, therefore, ordered that:
(1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Rheem Manufacturing
Company (Case No. F-089) 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, Rheem shall be permitted to test its GFD upflow
residential, modulating type, gas-fired 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/ASHRAM 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/ASHRAM
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,
Rheem 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 November 10, 1997, the date when the Department's
final test procedure appropriate to the GFD upflow residential,
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces manufactured by Rheem goes into
effect.
(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 6-13-97, this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver
granted Rheem on March 31, 1997. 62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997 (Case No.
F-089).
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13, 1997.
Joseph J. Romm,
Acting Assistant Secretary,
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 97-16383 Filed 6-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
