[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 73 (Friday, April 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22252-22255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08750]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Case No. BLR-007]
Notice of Petition for Waiver From Cleaver-Brooks From the
Department of Energy Commercial Packaged Boiler Test Procedure
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of petition for waiver and request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of a petition for waiver from
Cleaver-Brooks seeking an exemption from specified portions of the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure applicable to commercial
packaged boilers. Cleaver-Brooks contends that some of their commercial
packaged boilers cannot be accurately tested using the currently
applicable DOE test procedure and, as a result, seeks to use an
alternate test procedure to test these basic models. DOE solicits
comments, data, and information
[[Page 22253]]
concerning Cleaver-Brooks' petition and the suggested alternate test
procedure.
DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information with respect to
the Cleaver-Brooks petition until May 16, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by case number ``BLR-
007,'' by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include the case
number [Case No. BLR-007] in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2B, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. Please
submit one signed original paper copy.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Suite
600, Washington, DC 20024. Please submit one signed original paper
copy.
Docket: For access to the docket to review the background documents
relevant to this matter, you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
Available documents include the following items: (1) This notice; (2)
public comments received; and (3) the petition for waiver.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department
of Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mail Stop EE-2B, Forrestal
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121.
Telephone: (202) 586-0371. Email: [email protected].
Mr. Peter Cochran, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General
Counsel, Mail Stop GC-33, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0103. Telephone: (202) 586-9496. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a petition received July 24, 2015,
Cleaver-Brooks requested that the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'')
grant a waiver to certain models of larger commercial package boilers
that cannot be tested under the existing DOE test procedure. The models
of commercial packaged boilers at issue are models with higher input
capacities that typically require higher steam pressure and alternative
instrumentation due to the large quantities of fluids being measured.
I. Background and Authority
Title III, Part C of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975
(EPCA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), established the Energy
Conservation Program for certain industrial equipment, which includes
commercial packaged boilers.\1\ Part C specifically includes
definitions (42 U.S.C. 6311), energy conservation standards (42 U.S.C
6313), test procedures (42 U.S.C. 6314), labeling provisions (42 U.S.C.
6315), and the authority to require information and reports from
manufacturers (42 U.S.C. 6316). Part C authorizes the Secretary of
Energy (the Secretary) to prescribe test procedures that are reasonably
designed to produce results that measure energy efficiency, energy use,
and estimated annual operating costs, and that are not unduly
burdensome to conduct. (42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(2)) With respect to
commercial packaged boilers, Part C requires DOE to use industry test
procedures developed or recognized by the Air-Conditioning, Heating,
and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) or the American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), as referenced
in ASHRAE/IES \2\ Standard 90.1, ``Energy Standard for Buildings Except
Low-Rise Residential Buildings.'' (42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)(A)) Further, if
such an industry test procedure is amended, DOE is required to amend
its test procedure to be consistent with the amended industry test
procedure, unless it determines, by rule published in the Federal
Register and supported by clear and convincing evidence, that the
amended test procedure would be unduly burdensome to conduct or would
not produce test results that reflect the energy efficiency, energy
use, and estimated operating costs of that equipment during a
representative average use cycle. (42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)(B)). The test
procedure for commercial packaged boilers is contained in 10 CFR part
431, subpart E.
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\1\ For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code,
Part C was re-designated Part A-1.
\2\ Illuminating Engineering Society.
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DOE's regulations for covered products and equipment permit a
person to seek a waiver from the test procedure requirements for
covered commercial equipment if at least one of the following
conditions is met: (1) The petitioner's basic model contains one or
more design characteristics that prevent testing according to the
prescribed test procedures; or (2) 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. 10 CFR 431.401(a)(1). Petitioners must include in their petition
any alternate test procedures known to the petitioner to evaluate the
basic model in a manner representative of its energy consumption. 10
CFR 431.401(b)(1)(iii).
DOE may grant a waiver subject to conditions, including adherence
to alternate test procedures. 10 CFR 431.401(f)(2). As soon as
practicable after the granting of any waiver, DOE will publish in the
Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its
regulations so as to eliminate any need for the continuation of such
waiver. As soon thereafter as practicable, DOE will publish in the
Federal Register a final rule. 10 CFR 431.401(l).
II. Petition for Waiver of Test Procedure
On July 24, 2015, Cleaver-Brooks submitted a petition for waiver
from the DOE test procedure for certain basic models of its commercial
packaged boilers. The DOE test procedure for commercial packaged
boilers is set forth at 10 CFR 431.86 and incorporates by reference
Hydronics Institute (HI) BTS-2000, ``Method to Determine Efficiency of
Commercial Space Heating Boilers'' (BTS-2000).
According to Cleaver-Brooks, there are several issues that make
BTS-2000 incompatible with larger commercial packaged boilers,
including those identified in its petition for waiver. Cleaver-Brooks
stated that the requirements to use test conditions specified in BTS-
2000 and the instrumentation requirements are outdated. Specifically,
Cleaver-Brooks indicated the following regarding the test conditions:
The 0 to 2 psig test pressure for steam boilers may be
adequate for residential and small commercial (cast iron) boilers sized
[commercial packaged] boilers, however such steam pressures are not
compatible with large [commercial packaged] boilers as it will cause
water carryover in large quantities, and an inability to meet design
water flow rates and firing rates;
Typically test steam pressures in the range of 10 to 12
psig are required; and
Test temperatures defined for hot water [commercial
packaged] boilers cause thermal shock problems in large [commercial
packaged] boilers.
Cleaver-Brooks also indicated the following regarding the
instrumentation chart in Table 1 of section 6.0, ``Instruments,'' of
BTS-2000:
Steam pressure cannot be measured by mercury manometer as
the use of
[[Page 22254]]
mercury in instruments and controls is banned; the correct instrument
is a Bourdon Tube Gauge for pressures of 0 to 30 psig;
Large boilers typically fire into a positive pressure
combustion chamber, thus gas pressure, firebox pressure and vent/flue
pressure instruments all need to reflect this;
The use of scales to measure water/condensate/moisture
flow rates is incompatible with the volume of these fluids being used
or generated by large [commercial packaged] boilers;
Water flow meters should be used and in the case of
moisture content, current practice is to use a throttling calorimeter;
The measurement of carbon dioxide as a means of
calculating excess air or oxygen is considered obsolete in the large
[commercial packaged] boiler industry; direct measurement of excess
oxygen is the preferred method as modern oxygen meters can easily be
calibrated against the oxygen in the ambient air;
Carbon Monoxide levels are no longer measured as a
percentage; the current preferred unit is parts per million (ppm).
To address these concerns, Cleaver-Brooks proposes to use the newly
published American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Air-
Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 1500-2015,
``Standard for Performance Rating of Commercial Space Heating Boilers''
(ANSI/AHRI Standard 1500-2015) in place of BTS-2000. AHRI developed
ANSI/AHRI Standard 1500-2015 as a replacement for BTS-2000 in order to
make the test procedure suitable for use with larger commercial
packaged boilers, as well as improve and clarify the test method.
Cleaver-Brooks claims that use of this ANSI/AHRI Standard 1500-2015 is
necessary as it is compatible with the size of commercial packaged
boilers they manufacture.
Additionally, for the large commercial packaged boilers capable of
supplying either steam or hot water identified in this petition,
Cleaver-Brooks requests that, when determining the combustion
efficiency in hot water mode based on testing in steam mode only, the
combustion efficiency rating be determined based on an adjusted
combustion efficiency. Cleaver-Brooks requests that an adjustment be
made to the measured stack temperature to be used in calculating
combustion efficiency based on the relative difference between the flue
gas temperature and the bulk fluid temperature when operating in steam
mode as opposed to hot water using the following relationship:
Tstack, hw = (Tstack, steam - Tsat) +
Tbulk, hw
where Tstack, hw is the stack temperature to be used to
determine the combustion efficiency in hot water mode,
Tstack, steam is the measured stack temperature when
testing on steam, Tsat is the saturation temperature of
steam at the test pressure, and Tbulk, hw is the
temperature of the outlet water when testing in hot water mode and
is equal to 180 [deg]F. According to Cleaver-Brooks, using this
adjusted stack temperature to calculate combustion efficiency is a
more accurate representation of the actual efficiency when operating
as a hot water commercial packaged boiler than simply using
combustion efficiency value for steam mode.
The following basic models are included in Cleaver-Brooks'
petition: CBEX-E, CBEX-P, 4WI/4WG, CBLE, CBR, CBL, CB, CFC, CFLC, CFW,
CFH, FLX and M5.
DOE notes that it has published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(March 2016 CPB TP NOPR) to amend its test procedure for commercial
packaged boilers prescribed in 10 CFR part 431 subpart E. 81 FR 14641
(Mar. 17, 2016). The proposed amended test procedure addresses, among
other changes, the issues raised in this waiver request by
incorporating by reference ANSI/AHRI Standard 1500-2015 as a
replacement for BTS-2000 in the DOE test procedure for commercial
packaged boilers. In addition to adopting ANSI/AHRI Standard 1500-2015
as a replacement for BTS-2000, DOE further proposes several
modifications to its test procedure that are not captured in ANSI/AHRI
Standard 1500-2015 in order to improve repeatability, add
clarification, and accommodate testing of some equipment that has
experienced difficulty in testing to the existing DOE test procedure.
Among these changes, DOE proposes to adopt the stack temperature
adjustment described by Cleaver-Brooks when using the tested combustion
efficiency of large steam commercial packaged boilers to represent the
combustion efficiency of large commercial packaged boilers in hot water
mode.
III. Summary and Request for Comments
Through this notice, DOE is publishing Cleaver-Brooks' petition for
waiver pursuant to 10 CFR 431.401(b)(1)(iv). The petition contains no
confidential information. The petition includes a suggested alternate
test procedure applicable to measurement of energy efficiency of
certain models of commercial packaged boilers manufactured by Cleaver-
Brooks.
DOE solicits comments from interested parties on all aspects of the
petition, including the suggested alternate test procedure. Pursuant to
10 CFR 431.401(d), any person submitting written comments to DOE must
also send a copy of such comments to the petitioner. The contact
information for the petitioner is: Peter A. Molvie, P.E., Manager,
Codes & Standards, Cleaver-Brooks Product Development, 3232 W.
Lancaster Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209. All submissions received must
include the agency name and case number for this proceeding. Submit
electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Portable Document
Format (PDF), or text (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII)) file format and avoid the use of special
characters or any form of encryption. Wherever possible, include the
electronic signature of the author. DOE does not accept telefacsimiles
(faxes).
According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that
he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public
disclosure should submit two copies: One copy of the document including
all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the
document with the information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE
will make its own determination about the confidential status of the
information and treat it according to its determination.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2016.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
From: Peter Molvie
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2015 2:44 p.m.
To: AS_Waiver_Request
Subject: RE: Test Procedure Waiver
In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Federal
Regulations Part 431, paragraph 431.401, Cleaver-Brooks is hereby
petitioning for a waiver from the following test procedures specified
for Commercial Packaged Boilers:
1. Paragraph 431.86 Uniform test method for the measurement of
energy efficiency of commercial packaged boilers. This section requires
the boilers be tested using the provisions of HI BTS-2000. We propose
to use the newly published AHRI 1500, 2015 Standard for Performance
Rating of Commercial Space Heating Boilers. There are several issues
that make BTS 2000 incompatible with the larger boilers that were
identified in previous waiver requests. AHRI has worked diligently over
the past year to revise BTS-2000 in order to address those issues and
make BTS-
[[Page 22255]]
2000 suitable for use with larger boilers. AHRI Standard 1500 is the
result of that work. Use of this new standard is required as it is
compatible with the size boilers we manufacture.
2. Paragraph 431.86(c)(1)(iv) The requirement to use test
conditions specified in BTS-2000 specifically the requirements for the
test pressure for steam boilers, the required water temperatures for
hot water boilers and instrumentation requirements seem to refer back
to the middle of the last century rather than the present day, for
example:
The 0 to 2 psig test pressure for steam boilers may be
perfectly adequate for residential and small commercial (cast iron)
boilers sized boilers, however is not compatible with large boilers as
it will cause water carryover in large quantities, and an inability to
meet design water flow rates and firing rates. Typically test pressures
in range 10 to 12 psig are required.
Test temperatures defined for hot water boilers are
guaranteed to cause thermal shock problems in large boilers.
The instrumentation chart, Table 1, has several problem
areas, as follows:
[cir] Steam pressure cannot be measured by mercury manometer as the
use of mercury in instruments and controls is banned. The correct
instrument is a Bourdon Tube Gauge 0 to 30 psig
[cir] Large boilers typically fire into a positive pressure
combustion chamber, thus gas pressure, firebox pressure and vent/flue
pressure instruments all need to reflect this.
[cir] The use of scales to measure water/condensate/moisture flow
rates is incompatible with the sheer volume of these fluids being used
or generated by large boilers. Water flow meters should be used and in
the case of moisture content, current practice is to use a throttling
calorimeter.
[cir] The measurement of carbon dioxide as a means of calculating
excess air or oxygen is considered obsolete in the large boiler
industry. Direct measurement of excess oxygen is the preferred method
as modern oxygen meters can easily be calibrated against the oxygen in
the ambient air.
[cir] Carbon Monoxide levels are no longer measured as a
percentage. The current preferred unit is ppm.
AHRI 1500 has taken into account these changes.
3. Paragraph 431.86(c)(2)(iii)(B) Rating. This paragraph specifies
that for boilers capable of supplying either steam or hot water, that
they are tested on steam only, the hot water efficiency shall be based
on the testing in the steam mode. We propose to use an adjusted steam
efficiency for hot water when testing on steam only. The adjustment is
made to the measured stack temperature to be used in calculating
efficiency based on the relative difference between the flue gas
temperature and the bulk fluid temperature when operating on steam v
hot water using the following relationship:
Tstackhw = (Tstacksteam-Tsat) +
Tbulkhw
Where:
Tstackhw = Stack temperature to be used to determine the
efficiency on hot water
Tstacksteam = Measured stack temperature when testing on
steam
Tsat = Saturation temperature of steam at the test pressure
Tbulkhw = 180 [deg]F
The dominant heat transfer variable for both steam and hot water
boilers is the gas side coefficient and there is very little difference
in the overall heat transfer coefficient between steam and hot water
boilers. It is possible therefore to determine what a hot water boiler
stack temperature will be, based on a steam test and the bulk fluid
temperature difference within the boiler. We believe that using this
adjusted stack temperature to calculate efficiency is a more accurate
representation of the actual efficiency when operating as a hot water
boiler than simply using the steam efficiency value.
The basic models that this request is applicable to are as follows:
CBEX-E, CBEX-P, 4WI/4WG, CBLE, CBR, CBL, CB, CFC, CFLC, CFW, CFH, FLX
and M5.
Other known Manufacturers of similar products are listed below.
These manufacturers will be notified by Cleaver-Brooks of this waiver,
if and when the deviation is granted, in accordance with paragraph
431.401(c).
AESYS Technologies, LLC
Bryan Steam
Burnham Commercial
Easco
Fulton Boiler Works
Hurst
Johnston Boiler Company
Lattner Boiler Company
Miura
Precision Boilers LLC
Superior Boiler Works
Unilux
Vapor Power International LLC
Victory Energy Operations LLC
Williams & Davis
Peter A. Molvie, P.E.
Manager, Codes & Standards
Cleaver-Brooks Product Development
3232 W. Lancaster Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53209
414-438-5465
[FR Doc. 2016-08750 Filed 4-14-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P