AMERICAN PUBLIC GAS ASSOCIATION

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

201 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite C-4  Washington, DC 20002 202.464.2742  202.464.0246 (fax)

September 12, 2013

Ms. Brenda Edwards

U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Program

1000 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20585-0121

RE: Proposed Determination of Natural Draft Commercial Packaged Boilers as Covered 

Equipment [Docket No. EERE-2013-BT-STD-0030-0001]

Dear Ms. Edwards: 

The American Public Gas Association (“APGA”) is pleased to submit comments in response to 

the Notice of Proposed Determination of Natural Draft Commercial Packaged Boilers as 

Covered Equipment (the “NOPD”) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), Office of 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“EERE”), in the Federal on August 13, 2013.

1

APGA is the national association for publicly-owned natural gas distribution systems. There are 

approximately 1,000 public gas systems in 37 states and over 700 of these systems are APGA 

members. Publicly-owned gas systems are not-for-profit, retail distribution entities owned by, 

and accountable to, the citizens they serve. They include municipal gas distribution systems, 

public utility districts, county districts, and other public agencies that have natural gas 

distribution facilities. For more information, please visit www.apga.org. 

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (“EPCA”), 42 U.S.C, § 6293, sets forth criteria and 

procedures that DOE must follow when prescribing or amending energy conservation standards 

for various consumer products, including microwave ovens. EPCA requires that any amendment 

to an energy efficiency standard for certain consumer products (such as microwave ovens) result 

in the maximum improvement in energy efficiency, and be determined by the Secretary to be 

both technologically feasible and “economically justified.”

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (“EPACT 1992”), Public Law 102−486, amended EPCA to add 

commercial packaged boilers as a type of covered equipment. EPACT 1992 also amended EPCA 

with respect to packaged boilers by providing a definition, as well as provisions setting forth 

applicable requirements for energy conservation standards, test procedures, labeling, and 

compliance certification. (42 U.S.C. 6311(11)(B); 6313(a)(4); 6314(a)(4); 6315(e); 6316(a)-(b)).

DOE should promulgate the definition for “natural draft commercial packaged boiler” as 

proposed in the NOPD. 

 

1

Energy Conservation Program for Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment: Proposed Determination of 

Natural Draft Commercial Packaged Boilers as Covered Equipment; Proposed determination of coverage. 78 FR

49202 (August 13, 2013). 
2

In the NOPD, DOE proposes the following definition of “natural draft commercial packaged 

boiler” to provide clarity for interested parties as it continues its analyses:

Natural draft commercial packaged boiler means a commercial packaged boiler 

designed to operate with negative pressure in the firebox and in the flue 

connection created by a chimney or the height of the unit itself, up to the draft 

control device. Such boilers do not require mechanical drafting equipment to vent 

combustion gases, but may include mechanical devices such as mechanical flue or 

stack dampers to limit the heat losses through the flue vent during off-cycle.

APGA supports the promulgation of the the definition for “natural draft commercial packaged 

boiler” as proposed in NOPD. In the NOPD, DOE noted that according its current interpretation 

of the relevant statutory provisions, natural draft commercial packaged boilers are currently

included as covered equipment with standards at 10 CFR part 430, subpart E. However, as 

observed in the NOPD, there is currently no statutory definition of “natural draft commercial 

packaged boiler.” Minimum efficiency standards coverage of these products without a formal 

definition is a clear deficiency in the formal standards process, especially since ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1, the origin of the minimum efficiency requirements, does not itself present a 

robust definition to cover these products.

Defining natural draft commercial packaged boilers as a separate product class will promote 

conservation of energy and provide a more level playing field to the variety of commercial 

packaged boilers on the market, thereby discouraging potential substitution effects. The large 

market presence of natural draft commercial packaged boilers, representing 41% of models 

among commercial packaged boilers overall and a DOE-estimated 36,000 units shipped 

annually, suggests the continued importance of separate rulemaking treatment of these products.

APGA believes DOE’s concerns relating to potential substitution effects from a lack of explicit 

coverage of natural draft commercial packaged boilers are justified. Promulgation of efficiency

standards for “commercial packaged boilers” (i.e., without differentiation of product class 

according to venting system type) would likely lead to elimination of natural draft commercial 

packaged boilers in pursuit of highest minimum efficiency levels and violate EPCA prohibitions 

against Federal minimum efficiency standards that would result in the unavailability in the U. S. 

of any covered equipment type “of performance characteristics (including reliability), features, 

sizes, capacities, and volumes that are substantially the same as those currently on the market (42 

U.S.C. 6295(o)(4)...” With respect to differentiating aspects of natural draft commercial 

package boilers, venting system type is a key “feature” with respect to this EPCA language since 

venting systems are outside of the direct regulation of equipment efficiency standards and yet 

have significant importance in the costs of equipment installation and building design. These 

negative substitution effects should be avoided. Maintaining differentiation of natural draft 

commercial packaged boilers is key to that end. 
3

DOE Should Adopt Full-Fuel-Cycle Metrics 

APGA believes that energy descriptors for appliances should reflect full-fuel-cycle energy

metrics that allow for the comparison of products for which there is a choice of fuels. A source 

or full-fuel-cycle analysis examines all impacts associated with energy use, including those from 

extraction/production, conversion/generation, transmission, distribution, and ultimate energy

consumption. The current DOE practice of using site (or point-of-use) measurement fails to 

account for the energy losses expended between the processes of energy extraction through 

delivery to the point of final consumption, when comparing energy use intensity of optional 

fuels. Site-based measurement of energy consumption and efficiency favors technologies that 

result in the consumption of greater quantities of raw energy, and therefore, emission of greater 

quantities of pollutants. 

Full-fuel-cycle metrics enable a more comprehensive analysis of the total energy usage and 

environmental impacts associated with of appliance energy efficiency standards. Full-fuel-cycle 

metrics would also level the playing field for appliances that can use different fuels by providing 

a proper basis for comparing energy usage and efficiency. By way of example, for appliances 

that use natural gas most of the energy losses and emissions occur at the point of use. The overall 

natural gas delivery system, from extraction and production, through processing, transportation, 

and delivery to end use is relatively efficient – approximately 92% of the energy produced

reaches the consumer as usable energy, where electricity is only about 32% efficient, with about 

64% lost in generation.2

For these reasons, The National Academies (of Science, of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 

and the National Research Council), in a report dated May 15, 2009, recommended that the DOE 

consider moving over time to the use of a full-fuel-cycle measure of energy consumption in its 

conservation standard program. In particular, the National Academies recommended that for 

appliances for which there is a choice of fuel, efficiency ratings should be calculated using an 

extended site energy metric pending a transition to the use of full-fuel-cycle energy metrics.3In

response to the National Academies’ report, DOE issued a Statement of Policy (SOP) 

announcing its plans to adopt full-fuel-cycle energy analyses into their Energy Conservation 

Standards Program.4Specifically, DOE stated its intention to use full-fuel-cycle energy measures 

of energy use and emissions, rather than site energy measures. 

Natural gas is the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all fossil fuels. The inherent cleanliness of 

natural gas compared to other fossil fuels, as well as strong domestic supply projections and 

superior efficiency of natural gas equipment, means that substituting gas for the other fuels will 

 

2

 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2011, Table 2.1b.

3

The National Academies Press, 2009. National Academy of Sciences Letter dated May 15, 2009 at p. 12 

(“Recommendation 3: For appliances for which there is a choice of fuel, such as storage water heaters and heating 

equipment, efficiency ratings should be calculated using the extended site measure of energy consumption until 

DOE/EERE can consider and complete a transition to the use of the full-fuel-cycle measure of energy 

consumption.”). 

4

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment; 

Statement of Policy for Adopting Full-Fuel-Cycle Analyses Into Energy Conservation Standards Programs, 76 Fed. 

Reg. 51281 (Aug. 18, 2011).
4

reduce the emissions of the air pollutants that produce smog, acid rain and exacerbate the 

"greenhouse" effect. Natural gas is the lowest CO2 emission source per BTU delivered of any 

fossil fuel. Using gas-fired appliances for homes instead of electric ultimately reduces 

greenhouse gas emissions by one-half to two thirds. Simply put, increasing the direct-use of 

natural gas is the surest, quickest, and most cost-effective avenue to achieve significant 

reductions in greenhouse gases and therefore should be a critical component of any green 

buildings certification program. One consequence of using a site-based metric is to promote fuel 

switching in the design decision away from more full-fuel-cycle energy efficient and lower 

greenhouse gas emitting gas technologies toward more site energy efficient electric technologies. 

To promote energy efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions, a full-fuel-cycle metric 

should be used. 

It is the position of APGA that DOE should follow-through on its commitment to incorporate a 

meaningful use of full-fuel-cycle measures of energy use and emissions. To overcome the sitebased shortcomings identified the National Academies and to remedy the disconnect between 

DOE’s current methodology and the robust full-fuel cycle approach recommended, APGA 

strongly urges DOE to employ a secondary energy descriptor to capture full-fuel cycle efficiency

in line with the recommendations from the National Academies. 

While The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 42 U.S.C, § 6293, requires the measurement of 

energy use on a “site” basis, it does not preclude the use of additional or secondary energy

descriptors that provide useful information to consumers on the energy consumption and 

environmental impacts of their appliance choices. Moreover, implementing an extended site or 

full-fuel-cycle energy descriptor would not require alteration of any test methods for appliances. 

Rather, a simple calculation can be done using the primary (site-based) energy descriptor as an 

independent variable. 

APGA thanks the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for its consideration of 

these comments. 

Respectfully submitted,

Bert Kalisch, CEO

American Public Gas Association 

202.464.2742

bkalisch@apga.org