## 55FR51487

Federal Register / Vol. 55, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 1990 / Notices



### Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy

[Case No. F-023)

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products ; Decision and Order Granting ; Waiver from Furnace Test Procedures to Inter-City Products Corporation

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-023) granting Inter-City Products Corporation (Inter-CitX) a waiver for its model NUGV(-) condensing gas furnaces-from existing Department of Energy (DOE) test procedures regarding blower time delay for determining the model's energy efficiency.
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-12, ForrestalBuilding, 1000 Independence AvenueSW., 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 Inter-City has been granted a waiver for its model NUGV(-) condensing gas furnaces, permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE).

Issued in Washington, DC, December 10, 1990. 1. Michael Davis,
Assistant Secretary; Conservation and Renewable Energy.



### Decision and Order
In the matter of. Inter-City Products Corporation (Case No. F-023). 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. Inter-City filed a "Petition for Waiver" dated May 1, 1990 , in accordance with § 430.27 of 10 CFR part 430. DOE published in the Federal Register on July 31, 1990, Inter-City 's petition and solicited comments , data and information respecting the petition. 55 FR 31099. Inter-City also filed an "Application for Interim Waiver" under § 430.27(g) which DOE granted on July 23, 1990. 55 FR 31099, July 31, 1990.
No comments were received concerning either the "Petition for Waiver" or the "Interim Waiver." DOE consulted with Federal TradeCommission (FTC) concerning the InterCity petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of a waiver to Inter-City.

Assertions and Determinations
Inter-City's petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions that 

### 51487

require a 1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and the starting of the circulating air blower. Inter-City requests the allowance to test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its NUGV(-) series condensing gas furnaces. Inter-City states that since the 30-second delay is indicative of how this model actually operates and since such a delay results in an improvement in efficiency of approximately 1.0 percent, the waiver 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. Inter-City indicates that it is unable to take advantage of any of these exceptions for the NUGY(-) series.
Since the blower controls incorporated on the Inter-City furnace are designated to imposes a 30-secondblower delay in every instance of startup, 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 inter-City NUGV(-) series furnace. Accordingly, with regard to testing the NUGV(-) series furnace only, today's Decision and Order exempts Inter-City 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 the Inter-City Products Corporation (Case No. F-023) is hereby granted set forth in paragraph (2) below, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3), (4) and (5). (2) Not withstanding any contrary provisions of appendix N of 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, the Inter-City Products Corporation shall be permitted to test its NUGV(-) series condsening gas furnace on the basis of the test procedure specified in 10 CFR part 430, with modifications 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 a 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. The following paragraph is in lieu of the requirement specified in section 9.3.1 in ANSI/ASHRAE 103-82. After equilibrium conditions are

## 55FR51487

51488 Federal Register / Vol. 55, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 1990 / Notices

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) come 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 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 in. of water gauge of the manufacturer's recommended on-period draft. (iii) With the exception of the modification set forth in subparagraph (ii) above, Inter-City Products Corporation 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 NUGV(-) series condensing gas furnace manufactured by Inter-City Products Corporation. (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 (Insert Date of Issuance). this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver Granted Inter-City Products on July 23, 1990. 55 FR 31099, July 31, 1990. (Case No. F-023).

Issued In Washington. DC. December 10.
1990.
1. Michael Davis,
Assistant Secretory, Conservation and
Renewable Energy.

MFR Doc. 90-29302 Filed 12-13-90; B:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-07-M