8238 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 

1For editorial reasons, upon codification in the 

U.S. Code, Part B was re-designated Part A. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated:February 8, 2011. 

Cornelia S. Orr, 

Executive Director, National Assessment 

Governing Board, U.S. Department of 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3314 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

[Case No. RF–023] 

Notice of Petition for Waiver of GE 

Appliances From the Department of 

Energy Residential Refrigerator and 

Refrigerator-Freezer Test Procedure, 

and Grant of Interim Waiver 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for waiver, 

notice of grant of interim waiver, and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt 

of and publishes the GE Appliances 

(GE) petition for waiver (hereafter, 

‘‘petition’’) from specified portions of 

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 

test procedure for determining the 

energy consumption of certain specific 

electric refrigerators and refrigeratorfreezers. In its petition, GE provides an 

alternate test procedure and DOE 

solicits comments, data, and 

information concerning GE’s petition 

and the suggested alternate test 

procedure. Today’s notice also grants 

GE an interim waiver from the electric 

refrigerator and refrigerator-freezer test 

procedure, subject to use of the 

alternative test procedure set forth in 

this notice. 

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, 

and information with respect to the GE 

Petition until March 15, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by case number ‘‘RF–023,’’ by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov. 

Include the case number [Case No. RF– 

023] in the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J/ 

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 the 

U.S. Department of Energy, 950 L’Enfant 

Plaza SW., Washington, DC, 20024; 

(202) 586–2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. Available documents 

include the following items: (1) This 

notice; (2) public comments received; 

(3) the petition for waiver and 

application for interim waiver; and (4) 

prior DOE waivers and rulemakings 

regarding similar refrigerator-freezer 

products. Please call Ms. Brenda 

Edwards at the above telephone number 

for additional information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Program, 

Mail Stop EE–2J, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–0371. E-mail: 

AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

Mail Stop GC–71, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7796. E-mail: 

Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Authority 

Title III, Part B of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), 

Public Law 94–163 (42 U.S.C. 6291– 

6309, as codified), established the 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products Other Than 

Automobiles, a program covering most 

major household appliances, which 

includes the electric refrigerators and 

refrigerator-freezers that are the focus of 

this notice.1 Part B includes definitions, 

test procedures, labeling provisions, 

energy conservation standards, and the 

authority to require information and 

reports from manufacturers. Further, 

Part B authorizes the Secretary of 

Energy to prescribe test procedures that 

are reasonably designed to produce 

results that measure the energy 

efficiency, energy use, or estimated 

annual operating costs of a covered 

product, and that are not unduly 

burdensome to conduct. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(3)) The test procedure for 

automatic electric refrigerators and 

refrigerator-freezers is contained in 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix A1. 

The regulations set forth in 10 CFR 

430.27 contain provisions that enable a 

person to seek a waiver from the test 

procedure requirements for covered 

products under certain conditions. In 

particular, the Assistant Secretary for 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (the Assistant Secretary) may 

grant a waiver if it is determined that (1) 

the basic model for which the petition 

for waiver was submitted contains one 

or more design characteristics that 

prevents testing of the basic model 

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 

characteristics as to provide materially 

inaccurate comparative data. 10 CFR 

430.27(l). 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 430.27(b)(1)(iii). 

The Assistant Secretary may grant the 

waiver subject to conditions, including 

adherence to alternate test procedures. 

10 CFR 430.27(l). Waivers remain in 

effect pursuant to the provisions of 10 

CFR 430.27(m). 

Any interested person who has 

submitted a petition for waiver may also 

file an application for interim waiver of 

the applicable test procedure 

requirements. 10 CFR 430.27(a)(2). The 

Assistant Secretary may grant an interim 

waiver request if it is determined that 

the applicant will experience economic 

hardship if the 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. 10 CFR 430.27(g). If granted, 

an interim waiver remains in effect for 

180 days or until DOE issues its 

determination on the petition for 

waiver, whichever is sooner. DOE may 

extend an interim waiver for an 

additional 180 days. 10 CFR 430.27(h). 

II. Petition for Waiver of Test Procedure 

and Application for Interim Waiver 

On January 26, 2012, GE submitted a 

petition for waiver from the test 

procedure applicable to residential 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 8239 

freezers set forth in 10 CFR part 430, 

Subpart B, Appendix A1. GE is 

designing new refrigerator-freezers that 

incorporate multiple defrost cycles. In 

its petition, GE seeks a waiver from the 

procedure provided in Appendix A1 

because that test procedure does not 

account for products that use multiple 

defrost cycles. Therefore, GE has asked 

to use an alternate test procedure that is 

the same as the test procedure 

provisions for products with long time 

or variable defrost DOE published in an 

interim final rule (75 FR 78810, 

December 16, 2010). On January 27 and 

July 19, 2011, Samsung submitted 

similar petitions for waiver and requests 

for interim waiver for basic models of 

refrigerator-freezers that incorporate 

multiple defrost cycles. After initially 

granting these interim waiver requests, 

DOE ultimately granted Samsung with a 

waiver for the products specified in 

those petitions through a final decision 

and order that adopted a modified 

version of the interim final rule’s 

procedure. 77 FR 1474 (Jan. 10, 2012). 

That modified procedure was also 

adopted by DOE as part of a recently 

published rule that finalized the test 

procedures that electric refrigerator and 

refrigerator-freezer manufacturers must 

use starting in 2014. See 77 FR 3559 

(Jan. 25, 2012). 

GE also requests an interim waiver 

from the existing DOE test procedure. 

An interim waiver may 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 of the petition 

for waiver. (10 CFR 430.27(g). 

DOE has determined that GE’s 

application for interim waiver does not 

provide sufficient market, equipment 

price, shipments and other 

manufacturer impact information to 

permit DOE to evaluate the economic 

hardship GE might experience absent a 

favorable determination on its 

application for interim waiver. DOE has 

determined, however, that it is likely 

GE’s petition will be granted, and that 

it is desirable for public policy reasons 

to grant GE relief pending a 

determination on the petition. 

Previously, DOE granted a waiver to 

Samsung for other basic models 

incorporating multiple defrost 

technology (77 FR 1474, Jan. 10, 2012), 

and DOE has determined that it is 

desirable to have similar basic models 

tested in a consistent manner. 

GE’s petition requested an alternate 

test procedure to account for the energy 

consumption of its refrigerator-freezer 

models with multiple defrost cycles. 

The alternate test procedure requested 

by GE is the same as the test procedure 

published in the interim final rule 

referenced above. As noted above, DOE 

recently published a final test procedure 

for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, 

and freezers (77 FR 3559, Jan. 25, 2012). 

The alternate test procedure sought by 

GE is identical to the interim final rule 

test procedure provisions for products 

with long-time or variable defrost 

adopted in the final test procedure rule. 

Because DOE has finalized a test 

procedure that accounts for products 

that employ these long-time or variable 

defrost control strategies, DOE is 

granting GE’s request but requiring that 

the company use the more recently 

finalized procedure in order to ensure 

testing consistency for all manufacturers 

when measuring the energy 

consumption of these types of products. 

For the reasons stated above, DOE 

grants GE’s application for interim 

waiver from testing of its refrigeratorfreezer product line containing multiple 

defrost cycles. Therefore, it is ordered 

that: 

The application for interim waiver 

filed by GE is hereby granted for the 

specified GE refrigerator-freezer basic 

models that incorporate multiple defrost 

cycles, subject to the specifications and 

conditions below. GE shall be required 

to test or rate the specified refrigeratorfreezer products according to the 

alternate test procedure as set forth in 

section III, ‘‘Alternate Test Procedure.’’ 

The interim waiver applies to the 

following basic model groups: 

CYE24T****** 

CFE29T****** 

DFE29J****** 

GNE26G****** 

GFE27G****** 

GFE27H****** 

GFE29H****** 

PWE23K****** 

PYE24K****** 

PYE24P****** 

PFE27K****** 

PFE29P****** 

PFH29P****** 

DOE makes decisions on waivers and 

interim waivers for only those models 

specifically set out in the petition, not 

future models that may be manufactured 

by the petitioner. GE may submit a 

subsequent petition for waiver and 

request for grant of interim waiver, as 

appropriate, for additional models of 

refrigerator-freezers for which it seeks a 

waiver from the DOE test procedure. In 

addition, DOE notes that grant of an 

interim waiver or waiver does not 

release a petitioner from the 

certification requirements set forth at 10 

CFR part 429. 

III. Alternate Test Procedure 

EPCA requires that manufacturers use 

DOE test procedures to make 

representations about the energy 

consumption and energy consumption 

costs of products covered by the statute. 

(42 U.S.C. 6293(c)) Consistent 

representations are important for 

manufacturers to use in making 

representations about the energy 

efficiency of their products and to 

demonstrate compliance with 

applicable DOE energy conservation 

standards. Pursuant to its regulations 

applicable to waivers and interim 

waivers from applicable test procedures 

at 10 CFR 430.27, DOE will consider 

setting an alternate test procedure for 

GE in a subsequent Decision and Order. 

During the period of the interim 

waiver granted in this notice, GE shall 

test the products listed above according 

to the test procedures for residential 

electric refrigerator-freezers prescribed 

by DOE at 10 CFR art 430, Subpart B, 

Appendix A1, except that, for the GE 

products listed above only, include: 

1. In section 1, Definitions, the 

following definition: 

‘‘Defrost cycle type’’ means a distinct 

sequence of control whose function is to 

remove frost and/or ice from a 

refrigerated surface. There may be 

variations in the defrost control 

sequence such as the number of defrost 

heaters energized. Each such variation 

establishes a separate distinct defrost 

cycle type. However, defrost achieved 

regularly during the compressor ‘‘off’’ 

cycles by warming of the evaporator 

without active heat addition is not a 

defrost cycle type. 

2. In section 4, Test Period, the 

following: 

4.2.1 Long-time Automatic Defrost. 

If the model being tested has a long-time 

automatic defrost system, the two-part 

test described in this section may be 

used. The first part is a stable period of 

compressor operation that includes no 

portions of the defrost cycle, such as 

precooling or recovery, that is otherwise 

the same as the test for a unit having no 

defrost provisions (section 4.1). The 

second part is designed to capture the 

energy consumed during all of the 

events occurring with the defrost 

control sequence that are outside of 

stable operation. 

4.2.1.1 Cycling Compressor System. 

For a system with a cycling compressor, 

the second part of the test starts at the 

termination of the last regular 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle. The average 

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8240 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 

temperatures of the fresh food and 

freezer compartments measured from 

the termination of the previous 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle to the 

termination of the last regular 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle must both be 

within 0.5 °F (0.3 °C) of their average 

temperatures measured for the first part 

of the test. If any compressor cycles 

occur prior to the defrost heater being 

energized that cause the average 

temperature in either compartment to 

deviate from its average temperature for 

the first part of the test by more than 0.5 

°F (0.3 °C), these compressor cycles are 

not considered regular compressor 

cycles and must be included in the 

second part of the test. As an example, 

a ‘‘precooling’’ cycle, which is an 

extended compressor cycle that lowers 

the temperature(s) of one or both 

compartments prior to energizing the 

defrost heater, must be included in the 

second part of the test. The test period 

for the second part of the test ends at the 

termination of the first regular 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle after both 

compartment temperatures have fully 

recovered to their stable conditions. The 

average temperatures of the 

compartments measured from this 

termination of the first regular 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle until the 

termination of the next regular 

compressor ‘‘on’’ cycle must both be 

within 0.5 °F (0.3 °C) of their average 

temperatures measured for the first part 

of the test. See Figure 1. 

4.2.4 Systems with Multiple Defrost 

Frequencies. This section applies to 

models with long-time automatic or 

variable defrost control with multiple 

defrost cycle types, such as models with 

single compressors and multiple 

evaporators in which the evaporators 

have different defrost frequencies. The 

two-part method in 4.2.1 shall be used. 

The second part of the method will be 

conducted separately for each distinct 

defrost cycle type. 

3. In section 5, Test Measurements, 

the following: 

5.2.1.5 Long-time or Variable Defrost 

Control for Systems with Multiple 

Defrost cycle Types. The energy 

consumption in kilowatt-hours per day 

shall be calculated equivalent to: 


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Where: 

1440 is defined in 5.2.1.1 and EP1, T1, and 

12 are defined in 5.2.1.2; 

i is a variable that can equal 1, 2, or more 

that identifies the distinct defrost cycle 

types applicable for the refrigerator or 

refrigerator-freezer; 

EP2i = energy expended in kilowatt-hours 

during the second part of the test for 

defrost cycle type i; 

T2i = length of time in minutes of the second 

part of the test for defrost cycle type i; 

CTi is the compressor run time between 

instances of defrost cycle type i, for longtime automatic defrost control equal to a 

fixed time in hours rounded to the 

nearest tenth of an hour, and for variable 

defrost control equal to 

(CTLi × CTMi)/(F × (CTMi ∼ CTLi) + CTLi); 

CTLi = least or shortest compressor run time 

between instances of defrost cycle type 

i in hours rounded to the nearest tenth 

of an hour (CTL for the defrost cycle type 

with the longest compressor run time 

between defrosts must be greater than or 

equal to 6 but less than or equal to 12 

hours); 

CTMi = maximum compressor run time 

between instances of defrost cycle type 

i in hours rounded to the nearest tenth 

of an hour (greater than CTLi but not 

more than 96 hours); 

For cases in which there are more than one 

fixed CT value (for long-time defrost 

models) or more than one CTM and/or 

CTL value (for variable defrost models) 

for a given defrost cycle type, an average 

fixed CT value or average CTM and CTL

values shall be selected for this cycle 

type so that 12 divided by this value or 

values is the frequency of occurrence of 

the defrost cycle type in a 24 hour 

period, assuming 50% compressor run 

time. 

F = default defrost energy consumption 

factor, equal to 0.20. 

For variable defrost models with no values 

for CTLi and CTMi in the algorithm, the 

default values of 6 and 96 shall be used, 

respectively. 

D is the total number of distinct defrost cycle 

types. 

IV. Summary and Request for 

Comments 

Through today’s notice, DOE 

announces receipt of GE’s petition for 

waiver from certain parts of the test 

procedure that apply to clothes washers 

and grants an interim waiver to GE. DOE 

is publishing GE’s petition for waiver in 

its entirety pursuant to 10 CFR 

430.27(b)(1)(iv). The petition contains 

confidential information. The petition 

includes a suggested alternate test 

procedure to measure the energy 

consumption of refrigerator-freezer basic 

models that incorporate multiple defrost 

cycles. 

DOE solicits comments from 

interested parties on all aspects of the 

petition. Pursuant to 10 CFR 

430.27(b)(1)(iv), 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: David N. Baker, 

Counsel, Government Regulations & 

Regulatory Compliance, GE Appliances, 

Appliance Park, AP2–225, Louisville, 

KY 40225. 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). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 7, 

2012. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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[FR Doc. 2012–3371 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–C 


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