[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8178-8179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3375]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 8178]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 430
[Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-TP-0038]
Test Procedures for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps:
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is holding a public
meeting to discuss methodologies and gather comments on testing
residential central air conditioners and heat pumps designed to use
hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (R-22) refrigerant.
DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, February 14, 2012,
from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE plans to
conduct the public meeting via webinar. To participate via webinar,
participants must sign up by following the instructions in the Web
site. Registration information, participant instructions, and
information about the capabilities available to webinar participants
will be published on the following Web site https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/141337089. Participants are responsible
for ensuring that their systems are compatible with the webinar
software.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8E-089, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0121. To attend, please notify Ms. Brenda Edwards
at (202) 586-2945. Please note that foreign nationals visiting DOE
Headquarters are subject to advance security screening procedures. Any
foreign national wishing to participate in the public meeting should
advise DOE as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards at
(202) 586-2945 to initiate the necessary procedures.
Docket: The docket is available for review at www.regulations.gov.
All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. However, not all documents in the index may be publicly
available, such as information that is exempt from public disclosure. A
link to the docket web page can be found at www.regulations.gov. The
www.regulations.gov web page contains a link to the docket for this
notice, along with simple instructions on how to access all documents,
including public comments, in the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Armstrong, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building
Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585-0121. Phone: (202) 586-6590. Email: [email protected]
or Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General
Counsel, GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121. Phone: (202) 586-7796. Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title III, Part B of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA or the Act), Public Law 94-163 (42
U.S.C. 6291-6309, as codified), established the Energy Conservation
Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles, a program
covering most major household appliances, including the residential
central air conditioners and heat pumps that are single phase with
rated cooling capacities less than 65,000 British thermal units per
hour (Btu/h) that are the focus of this notice.\1\ (42 U.S.C. 6291(1)-
(2), (21) and 6292(a)(3))
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\1\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code,
Part B was re-designated Part A.
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Under EPCA, the program consists of four activities: (1) Testing;
(2) labeling; and (3) Federal energy conservation standards, and also
(4) certification, compliance, and enforcement. The testing
requirements consist of test procedures that manufacturers of covered
products must use as the basis for certifying to DOE that their
products comply with applicable energy conservation standards adopted
pursuant to EPCA and for representing the efficiency of those products.
(42 U.S.C. 6293(c); 42 U.S.C. 6295(s)) Similarly, DOE must use these
test procedures in any enforcement action to determine whether covered
products comply with these energy conservation standards. (42 U.S.C.
6295(s))
DOE's existing test procedures for residential central air
conditioners and heat pumps adopted pursuant to these provisions appear
under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 430,
subpart B, appendix M (``Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy
Consumption of Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps''). These
procedures establish the currently permitted means for determining
energy efficiency and annual energy consumption of these products.
DOE regulations require that residential split system central air
conditioners and heat pumps be tested using ``the evaporator coil that
is likely to have the largest volume of retail sales with the
particular model of condensing unit.'' 10 CFR 430.24(m)(2). Effective
January 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned
the sale and distribution of those central air conditioning systems and
heat pump systems manufactured after January 1, 2010, that are designed
to use R-22 refrigerant. 74 FR 66450 (Dec. 15, 2009). EPA's rulemaking
included an exception for the manufacture and importation of
replacement components, as long as those components are not pre-charged
with R-22. Id. at 66459-66460. In light of EPA's rulemaking, DOE
received numerous inquiries regarding the sale of R-22 systems and the
applicability of our regulations with respect to these types of
systems.
Because complete R-22 systems can no longer be distributed per
EPA's regulations, manufacturers inquired how to test and rate
condensing units and outdoor units using R-22 refrigerant. DOE has
issued two guidance documents surrounding testing central air
conditioner and heat pump systems utilizing R-22 refrigerant. See
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/guidance/default.aspx?pid=2&spid=1 for
additional information. The Department is holding this public meeting
and webinar to gather information on the testing of central air
conditioners and heat pumps designed to use R-22. Among other things,
DOE seeks
[[Page 8179]]
information on the characteristics of the coil-only indoor unit for
testing and rating purposes to satisfy the requirement that the highest
volume sales unit combination be tested. 10 CFR 429.16(a)(2)(ii).
DOE will conduct the public meeting in an informal, facilitated,
conference style. There shall be no discussion of proprietary
information, costs or prices, market shares, or other commercial
matters regulated by U.S. antitrust laws. A court reporter will record
the minutes of the meeting, after which a transcript will be available
for purchase from the court reporter and placed on the DOE Web site.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the public meeting, receive
meeting materials, or be added to the DOE mailing list to receive
future notices and information about wine chillers and miscellaneous
refrigeration products should contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-
2945.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2012.
Kathleen Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2012-3375 Filed 2-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P