242811 Federal Register / Vol. 50, No. 111 / Monday, June 10, 1985 / Notices

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products; Petition for

Waiver of Furnace Test Procedures

From the Magic Chef Company, Inc.

(F-014)

AGENCY: Conservation and Renewable

Energy Office, Energy.

SUMMARY: Today's notice publishes a

"Petition for Waiver" from The Magic

Chef Air Conditioning Company, Inc.

(Magic Chef) of Columbus, Ohio,

requesting a waiver from the existing

Department of Energy (DOE) test

procedures for furnaces. Magic Chef

manufactures residential and

commercial heating appliances. The

petition requests DOE to grant relief

from the test procedure relating to the

blower time delay specification for

Magic Chefs Ultra series gas furnaces.

Magic Chef seeks to test using a blower

delay time of 20 seconds instead of the

specified 1.5 minutes. DOE is soliciting

comments, data. and information

respecting the petition.

DATa: DOE will accept comments, data

and information not later than July 10,

1955.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

statements shall be sent to: Department

of Energy, Office of Conservation and

Renewable Energy, Case No. F-014., Mail

Stop CE-112, Forrestal Building. 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC. 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael J. McCabe, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Conservation and

Renewable Energy, Mail Station, CE112, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC. 20585, (202) 252-9127

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department

of Energy, Office of General Counsel,

Mail Station, GC-12, Forrestal

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC. 20585, (202)

252-9513

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (EPCA). Pub. L. 94-163,89 StaL 917,

as amended by the National Energy

Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), Pub.

L. 95-619, 92 Stat. 3266, 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.

DOE has amended the prescribe test

procedures by adding 10 CFR 430.27,

Petitions for Waiver, to allow the

Assistant Secretary for Conservation

and Renewable Energy temporarily to

waive test procedures for a particular

basic model. 45 FR 64108 (September 26,

1980). Waivers may be granted when

one or more design characteristics of a

basic model either prevent testing of the

basic model according to the prescribed

test procedures or lead to results so

unpresentative of the model's 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.

Magic Chefs 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.

Instead, Magic Chef requests the.

allowance to test using a 20 second

blower time delay when testing its Ultra

series gas furnaces. Magic Chef states

that since the 20 second delay is

indicative of how the Ultra series gas

furnaces actually operate and since such

a delay results in an improvement in

efficiency of approximately 0.5%, the

waiver should be granted.

Pursuant to paragraph (b) of 10 CFR

430.27, DOE is hereby publishing the

"Petition for Waiver" in its entirety. The

petition contains no confidential

information. DOE solicits comments,

data, and information respecting the

petition.

Issued in Washington, D.C., May 23, 1985.

Donna R . Fitzpatrick,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

March 14, 1085.

Assistant Secretary for Conservation & Solar

Energy,

United States Department of Energy, 1000

Independence Ave. SW, Washington,

D.C.

Re: Petition for Waiver

Gentlemen: This is a petition for waiver

which is being submitted pursuant to Title 10

CFR 430.27. Waiver is requested from the

condensing furnace test procedure found at

Appendix N to Subpart B of Part 430 which

requires a 1.5 minute time delay between

burner on and circulating air blower on. This

is a request for authorization to use a delay

of 20 seconds instead of 1.5 minutes.

M<:gic Chef Air Conditioning manufactures

several lines of condensing furnaces

comprising the Ultra Series. In order to

achieve maximum energy efficiency from

these units. the circulating air blower is

activated 20 seconds after burner on. This

change of state occurs approximately when

the stack temperature reaches thermal

equilibrium and saves a substantial amount

of heat energy. Under the Appendix N

procedures, stack temperature in the Ultra

Series models is allowed to overshoot

thermal equilibrium and a substantial amount

of heat energy escapes out the vent. This

energy waste would never occur in an actual

installation. If this petition is granted, the true

blower on delay time (t-) would be used in

the calculations.

The standard test procedures do not give

Magic Chef credit for this energy savings

which averages approximately 0.5%. A 0.5%

improvement is a reduction of 5% of the

energy loss and we are of the opinion that

this 5% savings is significant and that the

prescribed test procedures, by prohibiting

Magic Chef Air Conditioning from taking

credit for the saved energy, distort the facts

so as to provide materially inaccurate

comparative data.

Confidential test data is available which

confirms the 5% waste energy savings

claimed above. That data can be made

available to you so long as it is protected by

the Department of Energy from disclosure to

othere.

Please contact me for additional

information.

Very truly yours,

Magic Chef Air Conditioning.

Charles G. Santangelo,

Vice President of Engineering.

[FR Doc. 85-13848 Filed 6-7-85; 8:45 am]

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