[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32790-32792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16121]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of
the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for
Waiver of Bard Manufacturing Company From the DOE Furnace Test
Procedure. (Case No. F-086)
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 Bard Manufacturing
Company (Bard) from the existing Department of Energy (DOE or
Department) test procedure regarding blower time delay for the
company's TU and TDH series furnaces.
Today's notice also publishes a ``Petition for Waiver'' from Bard.
Bard's Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant relief from the DOE
furnace test procedure relating to the blower time
[[Page 32791]]
delay specification. Bard seeks to test using a blower delay time of 30
seconds for its TU and TDH series furnaces instead of the specified
1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time. The
Department is soliciting comments, data, and information respecting the
Petition for Waiver.
DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information not later than
July 25, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements shall be sent to: Department
of Energy, Office of Codes and Standards, Case No. F-086, Mail Stop EE-
43, Room 1J-018, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-7140.
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, D.C. 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, D.C. 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507
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
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 Title 10 CFR Part 430,
Subpart B.
The Department amended the test procedure rules to provide for a
waiver process by adding Section 430.27 to Title 10 CFR Part 430. 45 FR
64108, September 26, 1980. Subsequently, DOE 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 DOE for a
waiver of such prescribed test procedures. Title 10 CFR Part 430,
Section 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 DOE issues its determination on the
Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and may be extended for an
additional 180 days, if necessary.
On April 4, 1996, Bard filed an Application for Interim Waiver and
a Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay. Bard's Application
seeks an Interim Waiver from the DOE test provisions that require a
1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and starting
of the circulating air blower. Instead, Bard requests the allowance to
test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its TU and TDH
series furnaces. Bard states that the 30-second delay is indicative of
how these furnaces actually operate. Such a delay results in an average
0.4 to 0.6 percent increase in AFUE. Since current DOE test procedures
do not address this variable blower time delay, Bard asks that the
Interim Waiver be granted.
The Department has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
August 23, 1993, (58 FR 44583) to amend the furnace test procedure,
which addresses the above issue.
Previous Petitions for Waiver for this type of time blower delay
control have been granted by DOE to Coleman Company, 50 FR 2710,
January 18, 1985; Magic Chef Company, 50 FR 41553, October 11, 1985;
Rheem Manufacturing Company, 53 FR 48574, December 1, 1988, 56 FR 2920,
January 25, 1991, 57 FR 10166, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 34560, August 5,
1992; 59 FR 30577, June 14, 1994, and 59 FR 55470, November 7, 1994;
Trane Company, 54 FR 19226, May 4, 1989, 56 FR 6021, February 14, 1991,
57 FR 10167, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 22222, May 27, 1992, 58 FR 68138,
December 23, 1993, and 60 FR 62835, December 7, 1995; Lennox
Industries, 55 FR 50224, December 5, 1990, 57 FR 49700, November 3,
1992, 58 FR 68136, December 23, 1993, and 58 FR 68137, December 23,
1993; Inter-City Products Corporation, 55 FR 51487, December 14, 1990,
and 56 FR 63945, December 6, 1991; DMO Industries, 56 FR 4622, February
5, 1991, and 59 FR 30579, June 14, 1994; Heil-Quaker Corporation, 56 FR
6019, February 14, 1991; Carrier Corporation, 56 FR 6018, February 14,
1991, 57 FR 38830, August 27, 1992, 58 FR 68131, December 23, 1993, 58
FR 68133, December 23, 1993, 59 FR 14394, March 28, 1994, and 60 FR
62832, December 7, 1995; Amana Refrigeration Inc., 56 FR 27958, June
18, 1991, 56 FR 63940, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 23392, June 3, 1992, and
58 FR 68130, December 23, 1993; Snyder General Corporation, 56 FR
54960, September 9, 1991; Goodman Manufacturing Corporation, 56 FR
51713, October 15, 1991, 57 FR 27970, June 23, 1992, 59 FR 12586, March
17, 1994 and 61 FR 17289, April 19, 1996; The Ducane Company Inc., 56
FR 63943, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 10163, March 24, 1992, and 58 FR
68134, December 23, 1993; Armstrong Air Conditioning, Inc., 57 FR 899,
January 9, 1992, 57 FR 10160, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 10161, March 24,
1992, 57 FR 39193, August 28, 1992, 57 FR 54230, November 17, 1992, and
59 FR 30575, June 14, 1994; Thermo Products, Inc., 57 FR 903, January
9, 1992, and 61 FR 17887, April 23, 1996; Consolidated Industries
Corporation, 57 FR 22220, May 27, 1992, and 61 FR 4262, February 5,
1996; Evcon Industries, Inc., 57 FR 47847, October 20, 1992, and 59 FR
46968, September 13, 1994; Bard Manufacturing Company, 57 FR 53733,
November 12, 1992, and 59 FR 30578, June 14, 1994; and York
International Corporation, 59 FR 46969, September 13, 1994, 60 FR 100,
January 3, 1995, 60 FR 62834, December 7, 1995, and 60 FR 62837,
December 7, 1995.
Thus, it appears likely that this Petition for Waiver for blower
time delay will be granted. In those instances where the likely success
of the Petition for Waiver has been demonstrated based upon DOE 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, DOE is granting Bard an Interim
Waiver for its TU and TDU series furnaces. Bard shall be permitted to
test its TU and TDH series furnaces on the basis of the test procedures
specified in Title 10 CFR
[[Page 32792]]
Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix N, with the modification set forth below:
(i) Section 3.0 in 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 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 in Appendix N as follows:
3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. 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 circulation 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 stop watch. 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.
This Interim Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of
statements and all allegations submitted by the company. This Interim
Waiver may be removed or modified at any time upon a determination that
the factual basis underlying the Application is incorrect.
The Interim Waiver shall remain in effect for a period of 180 days
or until DOE acts on the Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and
may be extended for an additional 180-day period, if necessary.
Bard's Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant relief from the
DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time delay
specification. Bard seeks to test using a blower delay time of 30
seconds for its TU and TDH series furnaces instead of the specified
1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time. Pursuant to
paragraph (b) of Title 10 CFR Part 430.27, DOE 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.
Issued in Washington, D.C. June 13, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
April 4, 1996.
Ms. Christine A. Ervin
Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
Forrestal Building
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20585
Subject: Petition for Waiver and Application for Interim Waiver
Dear Assistant Secretary: Petition for Waiver and Application
for Interim Waiver are requested pursuant to Title 10 CFR Part
430.27.
Waiver is requested from test procedures for measuring the
energy consumption of furnaces that are found in Appendix N of
Subpart B to 10 CFR Part 430. Presently the test procedure requires
a 1.5 minute delay between burner ignition and the start of the
circulating air blower.
Bard Manufacturing Company is requesting to use a 30 second
delay instead of the specified 1.5 minutes. Furnace Series TU and
TDH use an electronic fixed time blower control set at 30 seconds.
Test results for these furnaces indicate an average .4-.6 percent
increase in AFUE.
We are confident that this Waiver will be granted, and request
Interim Waiver until a final ruling is made. Bard has been granted
previous waivers 57 FR 53733 and 59 FR 30578, and many other
manufacturers have been granted similar waivers.
Copies of confidential test data will be provided to you at your
request. Please contact the undersigned if you have any questions or
require additional information.
Sincerely,
Richard Hanna,
Manager, Heating and Application Engineering.
[FR Doc. 96-16121 Filed 6-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P