[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 189 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50812-50813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24809]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Case No. F-086]
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Bard
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-086)
granting a Waiver to Bard Manufacturing Company (Bard) from the
existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for
furnaces. The Department is granting Bard's Petition for Waiver
regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization
Efficiency (AFUE) for its TU and TDU 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, Bard has been granted a Waiver for
its TU and TDH series furnaces permitting the company to use an
alternate test method in determining AFUE.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 19, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Decision and Order
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.
Bard filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated April 4, 1996, in
accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department
published in the Federal Register on June 25, 1996, Bard's Petition and
solicited comments, data and information respecting the Petition. 61 FR
32790, June 25, 1996. Bard also filed an ``Application for Interim
Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which DOE granted on June 13,
1996. 61 FR 32790, June 25, 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 Bard
Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of the
waiver to Bard.
Assertions and Determinations
Bard's Petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions that
require a
[[Page 50813]]
1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and the
starting of the circulating air blower. Bard requests the allowance to
test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its TU and TDH
series furnaces. Bard states that since the 30-second delay is
indicative of how these models actually operate, and since such a delay
results in an improvement in AFUE of an average 0.4 to 0.6 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. Bard indicates that it is unable to take
advantage of any of these exceptions for its TU and TDH series
furnaces.
Since the blower controls incorporated on the Bard 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 Bard
TU and TDH series furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to testing the TU
and TDH series furnaces, today's Decision and Order exempts Bard 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 Bard Manufacturing Company
(Case No. F-086) 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, Bard Manufacturing Company, shall be permitted to
test its TU and TDH 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, Bard
Manufacturing Company 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 TU and TDH series furnaces manufactured by Bard Manufacturing
Company.
(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 September 19, 1996, this Waiver supersedes the
Interim Waiver granted Bard Manufacturing Company on June 13, 1996. 61
FR 32790, June 25, 1996 (Case No. F-086).
Issued In Washington, DC, on September 19, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-24809 Filed 9-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
