Federal Register / Vol. 57, No. 6 f Thursday, January 9, 1992 / Notices 903

[Case No . F-034I

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products ; Decision and Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedures to Thermo Products, Inc.

AGENCY : Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Decision and Order.

SUMMARY : Notice is given of the Decision and Order (Case No. F-034) granting a Waiver to Thermo Products, Inc. (Thermo) from the existing Department of Energy (DOE) test procedures for furnaces. The Department is granting Thermo its Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) for its GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Conservation andRenewable Energy, Mail Station CE43, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9127. Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, Mail Station GC-41, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202)
586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(g), notice is hereby given of the issuance of the
Decision and Order as set out below. In the Decision and Order, Thermo has been granted a Waiver for its GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces, permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining
AFUE.

Issued in Washington, DC, December 30,
1991. J. Michael Davis, Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy.

Background
The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products (other than automobiles) established pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat. 917, as amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), Public Law 95-619,92 Stat. 3266, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA), Public Law 100-12, and the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988 (NAECA 1988), Public Law 100-357, 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 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 Conservation 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. The Interim Waiver provisions, added by the 1986 amendment, allow the Assistant Secretary to grant an Interim Waiver when it is determined that the applicant will experience economic hardship if the Application for Interim Waiver is denied, if it appears likely that 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. 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. Thermo filed a "Petition for Waiver", dated May 2

. 1991

, with supplemental information presented by letter of June 4,1991

, in accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR part 430. DOE published in the Federal Register on July 15, 1991

. Thermo ' s Position and solicited

comments

, data and information respecting the Petition

. 56 FR 32205.
Thermo also filed an "Application for Interim Waiver" under section 430.27(g), which DOE granted on July 9,1991. 56 FR 32205, July 15,1991. No comments were received concerning either the' "Petition for Waiver" or the "Interim Waiver." DOE consulted with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), concerning the Thermo Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of the waiver to Thermo.

Assertions and Determinations

Thermo's Petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions that require a 1.5-minute time delay between theFederal Register / Vol. 57, No. 6 / Thursday, January 9, 1992 / Notices

ignition of the burner and the starting of the circulating air blower. Thermo requests the allowance to test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces. Thermo 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 efficiency of approximately 1.5 percent, the Petition should be granted. Under specific circumstances, the DOE test procedures contain exceptions which allow testing with blower delay times of less than the prescribed 1.5- minute delay. Thermo indicates that it is unable to take advantage of any of these exceptions for its GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces. Since the blower controls incorporated on the Thermo furnaces are designed to impose a 30-second blower delay in every instance of start up, and since the current 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 Thermo GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces . Accordingly, with regard to testing the GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces, today's Decision and Order exempts Thermo from the existing provisions regarding blower controls and allows testing with the 30-second delay. It is therefore, ordered that: (1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by Thermo Products, Inc. (Case No. F-034) 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, Thermo Products, Inc. shall be permitted to test its GLC and GHC condensing gas 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 measuremennts 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 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 103-82. After equilibrium conditions are achieved following the cool-down test and the required measurements performed, turn on the furnaces 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 stop
watch. Record the measured temperatures. During the heat-up test for oil-fueled furnaces, maintain the draft in the flue pipe within t0.01 inch of water
column of the manufacturer's recommended on-period draft.

(iii) With the exception of the modification set forth above, Thermo Products, Inc. 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 GLC and GHC condensing gas furnaces manufactured by Thermo Products, Inc.
(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 January 9, 1992, this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver granted Thermo Products, Inc. On July 9, 1991. 58 FR 32205, July 15, 1991 (Case No. F-034).

Issued in Washington, DC, December 30,

1991.

1. Michael Davis, Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 92-528 Filed 1-8-92 ; 8:45 aml

BtLUKO CODE 645O-at-M