EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Wednesday, 

August 9, 2000 

Part II 

Department of 

Energy 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

10 CFR Part 431 

Energy Efficiency Program for Certain 

Commercial and Industrial Equipment: 

Test Procedures and Efficiency Standards 

for Commercial Air Conditioners and 

Heat Pumps, Commercial Packaged 

Boilers, Commercial Water Heaters, Hot 

Water Supply Boilers and Unfired Hot 

Water Storage Tanks; Proposed Rules 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

48852 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154 I Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

operation according to sections 7.2.2.4, 

7.8 and 9.2 of ASHRAE Standard 103-

1993 under the rated input conditions. 

Conduct the measurement during an 

additional 30 minutes of steady state 

operation after completing the steady 

state combustion efficiency test in 

paragraph (d)(l)(i) of this section. 

(iii) Steam and Hot Water Boilers. 

Test a steam and hot water boiler as a 

steam boiler for its combustion 

efficiency. Optionally, you may also test 

this boiler as a hot water boiler to obtain a combustion efficiency rating when the 

boiler is operated as a hot water boiler. 

(2) Test measurements for Packaged 

High Pressure Steam and High 

Temperature Water Boilers, and 

Optional Test Procedure for Packaged 

Low Pressure Boilers. Use the test 

procedure from Section 5. Efficiency by 

Heat Loss Method. of ASME PTC 4.1. 

(e) Calculations. (1) Calculations for 

Packaged Low Pressure Steam and Hot 

Water Boilers. (iJ Combustion 

Efficiency. Use the calculation 

procedure for combustion efficiency test 

specified in section 11.2 of the 1989 

Hydronics Institute Testing and Rating 

Standard for Heating Boilers (except 

that for gas fuel. do not calculate Item 

9 of sec. 11.2.1 which is for oil fuel 

only). For gas-fired boilers. instead of 

using section 11.2 of the 1989 HI 

Standard to calculate the flue loss, you 

may calculate the flue loss by the 

procedure specified in Exhibit D of the 

ANSI Standard Z21.13a-1993. 

(ii) Procedure for the Calculation of 

the Additional Heat Gain and Heat loss, 

and Adjustment to the Combustion 

Efficiency. for a Condensing Boiler. 

(A) Procec.ure for the Calculation of 

the Additional Heat Gain and Heat loss. 

After following the procedure for the 

measurement of flue condensate of 

paragraph (d)(1)(ii) of this section. 

calculate the latent heat gain from the 

condensation of the water vapor in the 

flue gas and heat loss due to the flue 

condensate down the drain according to 

section 11.3.7.1 and 11.3.7.2 of 

ASHRAE Standard 103-1993, with the 

exception that in the equation for the 

heat loss due to hot flue condensate 

flowing down the drain in section 

11.3.7.2, replace the indoor temperature 

of 70°F and the temperature term TOA 

by the mearured room ambient 

temperature as determined in section 

8.4.3 of the 1989 Hydronics Institute 

Testing and Rating Standard for Heating 

Boilers. 

(B) Adjustment to the Combustion 

Efficiency for a Condensing Boiler. 

Adjust the combustion efficiency 

calculated in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this 

section by adding the latent heat gain 

from the condensation of the water 

vapor in the flue gas, and by subtracting 

the heat loss (due to the flue condensate 

down the drain) as calculated in 

(e)(1)(ii)(A) of this section, to obtain the 

combustion efficiency of a condensing 

boiler. 

(2) Calculations for Packaged High 

Pressure Steam and High Temperature 

Water Boilers, and for the Alternative 

Test Procedure (paragraph (C)(l)(v) of 

this section) for Packaged Low Pressure 

Boilers. Use the Abbreviated Efficiency 

Test by the heat loss method for gas or 

oil fuel as specified in section 7.3 and 

the Test Forms for the Abbreviated 

Efficiency Test, PTC 4.1-8 (Summary 

Sheet) and PTC 4.1-h (Calculation 

Sheet), of ASME PTC 4.1 to determine 

the combustion efficiency, except that 

you must set the following specific heat 

loss terms (as listed in section 7.3 of 

ASME PTC 4.1) to 0: sections 7.3.2.03 

(moisture in fuel), 7.3.2.01 (combustible 

in dry refusel. 7.3.2.10 (radiation to 

surroundings). 7.3.2.05 through 7.3.2.09 

and 7.3.2.11 through 7.3.2.14 

(unmeasured losses). 

Energy Efficiency Standards 

§431.371 Energy conservation standards 

and effective dates. 

Each commercial packaged boiler 

manufactured on or after January 1. 

1994 must meet the following energy 

efficiency standard levels: 

(a) For a gas-fired packaged boiler 

with a capacity of 300.000 Btu per hour or more, the combustion efficiency at 

the maximum rated capacity must be 

not less than 80 percent. 

(b) For an oil-fired packaged boiler 

with a capacity of 300,000 Btu per hour or more, the combustion efficiency at 

the maximum rated capacity must be 

not less than 83 percent. 

[FR Doc. 00-19721 Filed 8-8-00; 8:45 am] 

81LUNG CODE M50-01-P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

10 CFR Part 431 

[Docket No. EE-RMITP-99-480) 

R1N 1904-AA95 

Energy Efficiency Program for Certain 

Commercial and Industrial Equipment: 

Test Procedures and Efficiency 

Standards for Commercial Water 

Heaters, Hot Water Supply Boilers and 

Unfired Hot Water Storage Tanks 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Proposed rule and public 

hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA). 

establishes energy efficiency standards 

and test procedures for certain 

commercial products, including 

commercial water heaters, hot water 

supply boilers and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. The Department of Energy 

(we. DOE. or the Department) proposes 

regulations to implement the standards 

and test procedures for these 

commercial water heaters. hot water 

supply boilers and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. 

DATES: The Department will accept 

comments, data. and information 

regarding the proposed rule until 

October 23.2000. Please submit a signed original and ten (10) copies. In 

addition, we request that you provide an 

electronic copy (3'

12" diskette) of the 

comments in WordPerfectTM 8. 

We will hold a public hearing 

(workshop) on September 20,2000, in 

Washington. DC. Please send reyuests to 

speak at the workshop so that \\'p 

receive them by 4:00 p.m .• on 

September 6. 2000. Send ten Jpies 

of your statements for the put 

workshop so that we receive tl,ull by 

4:00 p.m., on September 13, 2000. We 

also request a computer diskette 

(WordPerfectTM 8) of each statr'ment. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit " ~n 

comments, oral statemenc· ~quests 

to speak at the workshop t, 1a 

EdwardS-Jones, U.S. Depa' 

Energy. Office of Energy F and 

Renewable Energy. EE-4 '10. 

EE-RMf'1"P-99-4BO,100 -once Avenue. -::V\'. Wadlingto, 

You rna, ,,,nd email to: 

brenda.6l. \'ards-jones@ec The 

workshop will beein at 9:; ., on September 20.2000, in R. ;-245 at 

the U.S. Department of EJ \' Forrestal 

Building, 1000 Independ. r::e .• venue. 

SW. Washington. DC. You can find 

more information concerning public 

participation in this rulemaking 

proceeding in section IV, "Public 

Comment," of this notice. 

You can read the transcript of the 

public workshop and public comments 

received in the Freedom of Information 

Reading Room (Room No. 1E-190) at the 

U.S. Department of Energy. Forrestal 

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW .• Washington, DC 20585, between 

the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. except Federal 

holidays. 

You can obtain the latest information 

regarding the public workshop from the 

Office of Building Research and 

Standards world wide web site at the 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 48853 

following address: http:// 

www.eren.doe.govlbuildings! 

codes_standards! 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cyrus H. Nasseri. U.S. Department of 

Energy. Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Mail Station. EE-41. 

1000 Independence Avenue. SW .• 

Washington. D.C. 20585. (202) 586-

9138. FAX (202) 586-4617. e-mail: 

Cyrus.Nasseri@ee.doe.gov. or Edward 

Levy. Esq, US. Department of Energy, 

Office of General Counsel, Mail Station. 

GC-72. 1000 Independence Avenue. 

SW., Washington. D.C. 20585, (202) 

586-9507. e-mail: 

Edward.LeVY@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMAnoN: The 

proposed rule incorporates. by 

reference. certain test procedures 

contained in an industry standard 

referenced by the American Society of 

Heating. Refrigerating, and AirConditioning Engineers. Inc. (ASHRAE) 

Standard 90.1 (ASHRAE or ASHRAEI 

IES Standard 90.1) for commercial water 

heaters. The industry standard is 

American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) Standard Z21.10.3-1998. "Gas 

Water Heaters Volume III Storage Water 

Heaters. with Input Ratings above 

75.000 Btu per Hour. Circulating and 

Instantaneous." We propose to 

incorporate by reference the "Method of 

Test" subsections of sections 2.9 and 

2.10 and the sections referenced there. 

including sections 2.1.7 and 2.30. 

You can view copies of this standard 

at the Department of Energy's Freedom 

of Information Reading Room at the 

address stated above. You can obtain 

copies of the ASHRAE and ANSI 

Standarde from the American Society of 

Heating. Refrigerating. and AirConditioning Engineers. Inc .• 1971 

Tullie Circle. NE. Atlanta. GA 30329. 

http://www.ashrae.org; and Global 

Engineering Documents. 15 Inverness 

Way East. Englewood. CO 80112. http:! 

!global.ihs.com/, respectively. 

L Introduction 

A. Authority 

B.Background 

1. General 

2. Issues Concerning Water Heaters. Hot 

Water Supply Boilers and Unfired Hot 

Water Storage Tanks. 

C. The Proposed Rule 

n.Discussion 

A. General 

B. Commercial Water Heaters and Hot Water 

Supply Boilers-Definitions and 

Coverage 

1. Instantaneous water heaters 

2. Hot water supply boilers R. Types of water heating products 

b. Standards and test procedures in EPCA 

and ASHRAE Standard 90.1 

c. The proposed rule for hot water supply 

boilers 

i. Product definition 

ii. Energy effiCiency standards 

ill. Test procedures 

iv. Effective date 

d. Alternative Proposals 

3. Heat pump water heaters 

4. Waste heat recovery water heaters 

C. Commercial Water Heaters-Test 

Procedures for the Measurement of 

Energy Efficiency 

1. Gas-fired water heaters 

2. Oil-fired water heaters 

3. Electric water heaters 

D. Commercial Unfired Hot Water Storage 

Tanks 

1. Exemption From and Application of 

Maximum Heat Loss Requirement 

2. Unfired Hot Water Storage Tank Test 

Procedure 

m. Procedural Requirements 

A. Review Under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 

B. Review Under Executive Order 12866. 

"Regulatory Planning and Review'" 

C. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act 

D. Review Under Executive Order 13132. 

"Federalism" 

E. Review Under Executive Order 12630. 

"Governmental Actions and Interference 

with Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights" 

F. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act 

G. Review Under Executive Order 12988. 

"Civil Justice Reform" 

H. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

1. Review Under Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995 

J. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999 

K. Plain Language Directive 

IV. Public Comment 

A. Written Comment Procedures 

B. Public Workshop 

1. Procedures for Submitting Requests to 

Speak 

2. Conduct of Workshop 

C. Issues on which Comments are Requested 

L Introduction 

A. Authority 

Part B of Title III of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975. 

Pub. L. 94-163, as amended, by the 

National Energy Conservation Policy 

Act of 1978 (NECPA). Pub. L. 95-619. 

the National Appliance Energy 

Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA). 

Pub. L. 100-12. the National Appliance 

Energy Conservation Amendments of 

1988 (NAECA 1988), Pub. L. 100-357, 

and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 

(EPACT). Pub. L. 102-486, established 

the "Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products other than 

Automobiles." Part 3 of Title IV of 

NECP A amended EPCA to add "Energy 

Efficiency of Industrial Equipment." 

which included commercial water 

heaters, hot water supply boilers. 

unfIred hot water storage tanks and 

other types of commercial products. 

EP ACT also amended EPCA with 

respect to commercial products. It 

provided definitions. test procedures, 

labeling provisions. energy conservation 

standards, and the authority to require 

information and reports from 

manufacturers. See 42 U.S.C. 6311-

6316. EPCA authorizes the Secretarv of 

Energy to prescribe test procedures "that 

are reasonably deSigned to produce 

results which reflect energy efficiency, 

energy use and estimated operating 

costs. and that are not unduly 

burdensome to conduct. 42 U.S.c. 6314. 

With respect to some commercial 

products for which EPCA prescribes 

energy conservation standards, 

including commercial water heaters. hot 

water supply boilers. and unfIred hot 

water storage tanks, "the test procedures 

shall be those generally accepted 

industry testing procedures or rating 

procedures developed or recognized by 

the American Society of Heating. 

Refrigerating and Air Conditioning 

Engineers, as referenced in ASHRAEI 

IES Standard 90.1 and in effect on June 

30,1992." 42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)(A). 

Further. if such an industry testing or 

rating procedure gets amended, DOE 

must revise its test procedure to be 

consistent with the amendment, unless 

the Secretary determines, based on clear 

and convincing evidence. that to do so 

would not meet certain general 

requirements spelled out in the statute 

for test procedures. 42 U.S.C. 

6314(a)(4)(B). Before prescribing any 

test procedures for commercial 

products. the Secretary must publish 

them in the Federal Register and afford 

interested persons at least 45 days to 

present data, views and arguments. 42 

US.c. 6314(b). Effective 360 days after 

a test procedure rule applicable to a 

covered commercial product, such as a 

commercial water heater, hot water 

supply boiler, or unfired hot water 

storage tank. is prescribed, no 

manufacturer, distributor, retailer or 

private labeler may make any 

representation in writing or in broadcast 

advertisement respecting the energy 

consumption or cost of energy 

consumed by such a product, unless it 

has been tested in accordance with the 

prescribed procedure and such 

representation fairly discloses the 

results of the testing. 42 U.S.C. 6314(d). 

Finally, EP ACT extends certain powers, 

originally granted to the Secretary under 

NAECA, to require manufacturers of 

products covered by this proposed rule 

to submit information and reports for a 

variety of purposes, including insuring 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

48854 Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

compliance with requirements. See 42 

U.S.C. 6316(a). 

B. Background 

1. General 

The Department of Energy has an 

energy conservation program for 

consumer products, and a few 

commercial products, conducted under 

Part B of Title ill of EPCA, 42 U.S.C. 

6291-6309. Under EPCA, this program 

essentially consists of four parts: test 

procedures, Federal energy conservation 

standards. labeling. and certification 

and enforcement procedures. The 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is 

responsible for labeling. and we 

implement the remainder of the 

program as codified in Title 10 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations. Part 430-

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products. 

Since 10 CFR Part 430 covers 

consumer products, which differ from 

commercial and industrial products. we 

created a ne",.. Part 431 (10 CFR Part 

431) in the Code of Federal Regulations. 

entitled "Energy Conservation Program 

for Certain Commercial and Industrial 

Equipment." to implement our program 

for most commercial and industrial 

products covered under EPCA. These 

will include commercial heating. air 

conditioning and water heating 

products. This new program will consist 

of: test procedures. Federal energy 

conservation standards. labeling. and 

certification and enforcement 

procedures. EPCA directs us, rather than 

the FTC. to administer the statute's 

efficiency labeling provisions for 

commercial products. 

On April 14 and 15. 1998. we 

convened a public workshop to solicit 

views and information from interested 

parties that would aid in the 

development of rules for commercial 

heating. air conditioning and water 

heating products. We requested 

comment on a number of specific issues. 

including issues related to test 

procedures. as described below. 

Statements during the public workshop 

and written comments that were 

received afterwards helped refine the 

issues and provided useful information 

contributing to their resolution. We 

convened a second public workshop on 

October 18.1998. to obtain comments 

on the issues as they had been refined. 

and on approaches presented by the 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) for resolving them. 

We received additional comments at the 

October 1998 workshop. 

2. Issues Concerning Water Heaters. Hot 

Water Supply Boilers and Unfired Hot 

Water Storage Tanks 

During the April 1998 workshop. we 

sought comments on the following 

issues regarding commercial water 

heaters. hot water supply boilers. and 

unfired hot water storage tanks: 

(1) Which of the recognized test 

procedures should we prescribe for 

testing commercial water heaters? 

(2) What clarifications are needed 

concerning EPCA's coverage of 

commercial water heating products? 

(3) What should be the nature and 

content of our test procedure for unfired 

hot water storage tanks? 

Attendees at the April 1998 workshop 

provided comments and input on these 

issues. Section II. Discussion, will cover 

them in more detail. 

After the April 1998 workshop, we 

worked towards addressing the 

identified issues. A set of 

recommendations resulted from that 

work. and NIST developed a summary 

report of the recommendations. The 

summary report formed the basis for 

discussions during the October 1998 

workshop. which enabled us to elicit 

further views and information from 

interested parties. The summary report 

included draft rule language for 

commercial water heaters. hot water 

supply boilers. and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. The additional comments 

received at the October 1998 workshop 

will be discussed below. 

C. The Proposed Rule 

Today's proposed rule incorporates 

(1) energy efficiency test procedures for 

commercial hot water heaters, including 

hot water supply boilers, and unfired 

hot water storage tanks, (2) definitions 

that clarify EPCA's coverage of these 

products, and (3) energy conservation 

standards prescribed by EPCA. In 

preparing these proposals, we have 

considered both oral and written 

comments, and have incorporated 

recommendations where appropriate. 

Section II, Discussion, contains the 

reasons for incorporating or not 

incorporating any significant 

recommendations. 

n. Discussion 

A. General 

This section discusses the issues 

identified for commercial water heaters, 

hot water supply boilers, and unfired 

hot water storage tanks. Subsection lIB addresses the definitions and scope of 

coverage for commercial water heaters 

and hot water supply boilers, subsection 

II-C addresses "Commercial Water 

Heaters-Test Procedures for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency," and 

subsection II-D addresses the efficiency 

requirements and test procedures for 

commercial unfired hot water storage 

tanks. 

B. Commercial Water Heaters and Hot 

Water Supply Boilers-Definitions and 

Coverage 

1. Instantaneous Water Heaters 

The EPCA definitions for commercial 

and consumer water heaters neither 

explicitly address nor exclude 

instantaneous water heaters that are 

designed to raise the water temperature 

to 180 OF or higher, or have a storage 

volume of two gallons or more. See 

EPCA sections 321(27) and 340(12), 42 

U.S.C. 6291(27) and 6311(12). However. 

EPCA provides. in effect. that an 

instantaneous water heater would be 

considered to be a commercial product 

if it is not, to any significant extent. 

distributed for personal use or 

consumption by individuals, and if it is, 

to any significant extent, distributed for 

industrial or commercial use. EPCA 

sections 321(1) and 340(1)-(2), 42 V.S.c. 

6291(1) and 6311(1)-(2). 

During both the April 1998 and 

October 1998 workshops. GAMA stated 

that instantaneous water heaters 

designed to heat water to temperatures 

of 180 OF or higher are not designed or 

marketed for consumer/residential 

applications. regardless of the input 

ratings. (GAMA. April 1998 transcript. 

at 67. and GAMA. October 1998 

transcript. at 183-184.) Therefore, 

GAMA believes these products should 

be subject to the energy efficiency 

standards that apply to commercial 

water heaters. This would be consistent 

with the definition of gas-fired 

instantaneous water heaters contained 

in the DOE test procedure for consumer 

water heaters. Appendix E to Subpart B 

of 10 CFR Part 430. which excludes 

water heaters designed to deliver water 

at a controlled temperature of 180 OF or 

higher. or that have storage volumes of 

two gallons or more. Six manufacturers 

of commercial water heaters were 

contacted regarding these products, and 

they confirmed that these are marketed 

and sold primarily for commercial 

applications. Although the 

manufacturers did not provide exact 

numbers. they indicated that the size of 

the market for these products is 

relatively small. The product literature 

of three manufacturers of products in 

this category (j.e., instantaneous water 

heaters having storage volumes greater 

than 2 gallons. capable of delivering 

water at temperatures of 180 OF or 

higher) states that these are intended for 

use as booster water heaters for 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 48855 

commercial applications, such as warewashing in restaurant kitchens. 

Based on GAMA's statements. 

product literature and the definition of 

gas-fired instantaneous water heaters in 

DOE's test procedure for consumer 

water heaters. see 55 FR 42161, 42164 

(October 17. 1990), the Department 

concurs that these products are 

generally distributed for commercial or 

industrial use, and rarely if ever for use 

by individual consumers. Therefore, 

under the EPCA definition provisions 

summarized above-sections 321(1), 

and 340(1). (2) and (12)-such water 

heaters are subject to the applicable 

standards and test procedures set forth 

in sections 342(a)(5) and 343(a){4), 

respectively. for commercial water 

heaters. Today's proposed rule 

incorporates and implements these 

provisions of EPCA. Consequently, 

although the proposed rule does not 

specifically mention instantaneous 

water heaters designed to heat water to 

temperatures of 180 OF or higher. or 

having a storage volume of two gallons 

or more. we intend. and the proposed 

rule clearly contemplates. that they 

would be subject to the energy 

efficiency &tandards and test procedures 

for commercial products established by 

EPCA. 

2. Hot Water Supply Boilers 

One of the issues this rulemaking is 

addressing is the application of EPCA 

energy effiCiency standards and test 

procedures to hot water supply boilers. 

because such boilers perform functions 

that are also typically performed by 

water heaters. In the following 

discussion we present some background 

on the nature of these and related 

products. on how they were addressed 

by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989 before 

and after the publication of Addendum 

n to Standard 90.1-1989 ("Addendum 

n"). and on how we propose to treat 

them under EPCA. a. Types of water heating products: 

The following sets forth our 

understanding of the facts relevant to 

the proposals below for rating and 

testing commercial hot water supply 

boilers. 

The term "boiler" normally applies to 

a self-contained appliance for supplying 

steam or hot water. A "boiler" generally 

neither has a storage tank nor heats the 

water within the appliance unless there 

is a demand for hot water, i.e., it does 

not use its energy source to maintain the 

temperature of the water within the 

appliance when there is no demand. 

There are many types of boilers and 

they can be categorized according to a variety of characteristics including: 

Application. fuel-type, operating 

temperature and pressure. heat 

exchanger material and configuration. 

burners. and input ratings. However. 

within the building industry. boilers are 

typically categorized according to two 

fundamental applications: space and 

service water heating. Hydronic boilers 

usually supply water within a closed 

system that provides space heating. 

They typically employ a maximum 

temperature limit of about 250 OF. and 

a maximum pressure of 30 to 60 psig. 

Hot water supply boilers usually 

provide potable water to be used 

external to the water heating system. 

i.e., they provide service water heating. 

These boilers are typically limited to 

providing hot water (and no steam) at 

temperatures up to 210 OF, and to 

operate at pressures not to exceed 160 

psig. In addition. boilers used to provide 

service hot water employ heat 

exchangers made of materials that will 

not affect water potability (e.g., by 

rusting). whereas hydronic boilers can 

use water treatment that renders the 

water unpotable to prevent deterioration 

(e.g., rusting) of the heat exchanger 

components. 

A "water heater". on the other hand. 

is generally a self-contained appliance 

for heating water that is withdrawn for 

use external to the water heating system. 

for purposes other than space heating or 

process requirements. Water heaters are 

typically designed to operate at 

pressures not in excess of 160 psig. and 

temperatures that do not exceed 210 OF. 

The materials that come in contact with 

the service hot water provided by water 

heaters must not render the water 

unpotable. and must therefore be 

corrosion resistant. 

There are several means of classifying 

water heaters. Within this rulemaking, 

we deal with two basic categories of 

water heaters: storoge water heaters and 

instantaneous water heaters. Storage 

water heaters have storage tanks that are 

integrated with the energy source and 

maintain the stored water temperature 

based on thermostatic control. 

Instantaneous water heaters typically 

lack integral storage tanks. They usually 

heat water only when there is a demand 

for the water (i.e., water is being 

withdrawn from the system). and the 

temperature of the water within the 

appliance is not maintained when there 

is no demand. Instantaneous water 

heaters are also identified as having an 

input-to-volume ratio greater than 4.000 

Btulh per gallon of stored water. where 

input is the rate of heat input of the 

energy source. 

It is our understanding that. 

notwithstanding the features they have 

in common with instantaneous water 

heaters, commercial hot water supply 

boilers are constructed in accordance 

with boiler specifications and are still 

considered to be "boilers." Physically. 

many similarities exist between hot 

water supply and hydronic boilers. with 

the main differences being the 

temperature limiting controls and 

pressure or pressure/temperature relief 

valves with which they are typically 

equipped. We understand that these 

distinctions are not always evident 

when a product is manufactured. i.e., a 

boiler might not be outfitted with these 

features until a distributor is filling a 

specific order for one product or the 

other. In other words. some 

manufacturers provide the same boiler 

to be used either as a hydronic boiler or 

a hot water supply boiler. Other 

manufacturers sell essentially the same 

boiler. but with different temperature 

controls and pressure relief valves 

already installed. in both hot water 

supply and hydronic boiler models. 

And finally. other manufacturers 

provide only hot water supply boilers or 

only hydronic boilers. 

We understand that boiler 

manufacturers generally test and rate 

their products based on the uses for 

which they sell them. For example. 

manufacturers that market the same or 

similar boilers as both hot water supply 

boilers and hydronic boilers test and 

rate them as both. Manufacturers that 

provide only one type of product only 

test and rate as that type of product. 

b. Standards and test procedures in 

EPCA and ASHRAE Standard 90.1: 

EPCA covers commercial packaged 

boilers and defines a packaged boiler as 

"a boiler that is shipped complete with 

heating equipment, mechanical draft 

equipment. and automatic controls; 

usually shipped in one or more 

sections." 42 U.S.C. 6311(11)(B). Hot 

water supply boilers meet this statutory 

definition and are therefore covered by 

EPCA. 

The minimum energy efficiency 

standards prescribed in section 342(a)(4) 

of EPCA for commercial packaged 

boilers are shown in Table 1. 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

48856 Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

TABLE 1.-ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR PACKAGED BOILERS FROM EPCA AND ASHRAE STANDARD 1989 (PRE 

AND POST ADDENDUM N). 

Equipment Size or input rating Energy effiCiency standard 

Packaged Boiler (gas-fired) ............................... 300,000 Btu/h or more ..................................... 80% minimum combustion efficiency. 

Packaged Boiler (oil-fired) ................................. 300,000 Btulh or more ..................................... 83% minimum combustion efficiency. 

EPCA also requires uniform test 

procedures for detennining the 

efficiency of commercial packaged 

boilers. BaSically, section 343(a)(4) 

provides that the test procedures shall 

be those referenced in ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1 and in effect on June 30, 

1992, and may be amended if ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1 is amended. These test 

procedure provisions. as well as specific 

efficiency standards. also apply to 

commercial water heaters. 

Neither EPCA nor ASHRAE Standard 

90.1-1989 (as in effect on June 30. 1992) 

explicitly addressed the category of hot 

water supply boilers. However. an 

ASHRAE Interpretation (Interpretation 

IC 90.1-1989-18; June 26. 1995) 

provided that bot water supply boilers 

were to be considered packaged boilers 

under ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989. 

Thus. one or more of the five packaged 

boiler test procedures referenced in 

ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989 applied to 

hot water supply boilers. both under 

ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and EPCA. and 

under ASHRAE Standard 90.1 the 

efficiency standards for boilers applied . 

to this product. This was consistent 

with EPCA in that the statute's energy 

efficiency standards for packaged 

boilers. listed in Table 1. were the same 

as those in Standard 90.1 and applied to 

hot water supply boilers. 

In 1997. ASHRAE amended Standard 

90.1-1989 by adopting Addendum n. 

The foreword to ASHRAE Standard 

90.1-1989 contains the following 

statement: "Addendum 90.1-1997 

provides more equitable treatment for 

service water heating equipment by 

requiring hot water supply boilers to 

meet the same requirements as water 

heaters." The Addendum also added 

definitions for water heaters. hot water 

supply boilers and boilers. which 

previously were not defined in Standard 

90.1. Table 11.1 and section 11.4.2 of 

Standard 90.1. as revised in Addendum 

n. state that gas and oil-fired hot water 

supply boilers with input ratings 

between 300.000 and 12.500.000 Btuth, 

"and used solely for heating potable 

water," must meet the energy efficiency 

requirements presented in Table 2 and 

be tested according to ANSI Standard 

Z21.10.3-1993. The Department 

understands that Addendum n became 

effective on January 28. 1998. the date 

ANSI approved it. 

TABLE 2.-ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR HOT WATER SUPPLY BOILERS FROM ADDENDUM N OF ASHRAE 

STANDARD 90.1-1989. 

Equipment Input Volume Energy efficiency standard 

Hot water supply boiler (gas ~300,OOO Btuth and S12,500,OOO Btulh under 10 gallons ................ 80% minimum thermal efficiency. 

and oil-fired). and InputlVolume ~4,OOO Btuth per 

gallon. . . 10 gallons or more ............ 77% minimum thermal efficiency; 

The requirements presented in Table 

2 are the same as those prescribed for 

commercial instantaneous water heaters 

with the same ranges of storage 

volumes. and ANSI Z21.10.3-1993 is a 

testing standard for commercial water 

heaters. 

c. The proposed rule for hot water 

supply boilers: EPCA provisions require 

the Department to adopt amendments to 

the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 energy 

efficiency standards and test procedures 

for commercial products such as 

packaged boilers. except in certain 

circumstances. Addendum n amended 

ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989 with 

respect to hot water supply boilers (a 

type of packaged boiler). and the EPCA 

provisions apply to these amendments. 

We are proposing in this rulemaking to 

adopt these amendments. with limited 

modifications necessary to adapt them 

for use under EPCA. 

We propose to define a "hot water 

supply boiler" in terms of the intrinsic 

characteristics of such a boiler. as well 

as the way the manufacturer markets 

this product for use as a hot water 

supply boiler. Such hot water supply 

boilers would have to meet energy 

effiCiency requirements set forth in 

ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for water 

heaters. Further. the Department 

proposes that if a boiler is manufactured 

to be used as both a hot water supply 

boiler and a hydronic heating boiler. 

then it would have to meet the energy 

efficiency standards for. and be tested 

as. both types of products. In large part 

because we believe manufacturers are 

already following the provisions of 

Addendum n, these proposals would 

become effective 30 days after the final 

rule is promulgated. We also continue to 

consider other approaches. 

i. Product definition. ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1-1989. as amended by 

Addendum n. prescribes requirements 

for a hot water supply boiler according 

to the actual use of the appliance. 

Section 3.4 of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-

1989 defines "hot water supply boiler" 

(2.3+67tmeasured storage volume) 

maximum standby loss. 

as "a boiler used to heat water for 

purposes other than space heating." 

Section 11.4.2 further provides that the 

efficiency requirements applicable to 

water heaters shall apply to "[hlot water 

supply boilers with inputs from 300.000 

Btuth to 12.500,000 Btuth and used 

solely for heating potable water." These 

provisions remain unchanged in the 

recently adopted ASHRAE Standard 

90.1-1999. Thus. under Standard 90.1. 

the actual use of a boiler is a significant 

element in determining whether it must 

satisfy the requirements for water 

heaters or for boilers. 

EPCA requirements. however. apply 

to products as manufactured. EPCA 

defines "packaged boiler." for example. 

as a boiler with certain specified 

characteristics. and prescribes efficiency 

standards and test procedures that apply 

to "each * * * packaged boiler 

manufactured" after a specified date. 42 

U.S.C. 6313(a)(4) and 6314(a)(4)(A). A 

manufacturer can identify and comply 

with the requirements that apply to a 
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"packaged boiler" it manufactures, and 

other parties can monitor the 

manufacturer's compliance. If DOE were 

to adopt the above-quoted language of 

Sections 3.4 and 11.4.2 of Standard 

90.1, however, the applicable 

requirements under EPCA for hot water 

supply boilers would depend on a 

product's actual use: the standards and 

test procedures for packaged boilers 

would apply to a boiler used as a 

hydronic boiler, whereas the water 

heater requirements would apply to a 

boiler used as a hot water supply boiler. 

For manufacturers that do not know 

how their product will be used, the 

applicable requirements would be 

unknown, or at best uncertain, at the 

point of manufacture. This would be 

untenable for manufacturers and for 

monitoring compliance. In addition, 

adoption of the "use" criterion would 

appear to create uncertainty as to the 

applicable requirements even for boilers 

with features that identify them as 

hydronic or hot water supply boilers. 

As discussed, a manufacturer of 

boilers lacking such features often 

manufactures products with the intent 

that they will be used for hydronic 

heating and/or service water heating. 

Although the manufacturers may not 

foresee the actual end uses of their 

products, we understand that they 

normally provide information as to the 

intended use of the products in one or 

more of the following: product 

literature, product markings. product 

marketing. and product installation and 

operating instructions. This is 

consistent with Sections 10.3 and 11.3 

of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989. which 

require that when hydronic heating and 

service water heating equipment is 

supplied. information must be included 

to enable the determination of 

compliance with the applicable energy 

efficiency requirements of ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1. 

Based on the above discussion. we are 

proposing. for purposes of EPCA. to 

define a hot water supply boiler as 

follows: 

A packaged boiler that (a) has an input 

rating from 300.000 Btulh to 12.500,00 Btu! 

h and of at least 4.000 BtuIh per gallon of 

stored water, (h) is suitable for heating 

potable water. and (e) meets either or both of 

the following conditions: (1) It has 

temperature and pressure controls necessary 

for heating potable water for purposes other 

than space heating. or (2) the manufacturer's 

product literature. product markings. product 

marketing, or product installation and 

operation instructions indicate that the 

boiler's intended uses include heating 

potable water for purposes other than space 

heating. 

Finally. if a product meets the above 

definition of hot water supply boiler. 

and is also manufactured to provide 

space heating. then it must also meet the 

requirements established under EPCA 

for commercial packaged boilers and be 

tested accordingly. Standards and test 

procedures for commercial packaged 

boilers manufactured to be used for 

hydronic heating purposes are being 

addressed within a separate rulemaking 

for those products. 

In summary. we are proposing to 

adopt verbatim virtually all of the 

criteria in ASHRAE Standard 90.1 that 

define and delineate the hot water 

supply boilers to which efficiency 

requirements for water heaters will 

apply. But in lieu of the language 

concerning the actual use of the 

product. which DOE believes is not 

suitable for adoption under EPCA. we 

propose to adopt provisions that define 

a hot water supply boiler in terms of 

physical features that are a necessary 

part of the product. and of how the 

manufacturer intends that the product 

be used. We believe that our proposed 

definition implements the intent of 

Addendum n. which is to apply 

requirements for commercial water 

heaters to boilers that provide service 

water heating. 

ii. Energy efficiency standards. We are directed under EPCA Section 

342(a)(6)(A) to establish an amended 

uniform national energy efficiency 

standard for each covered commercial 

product at the level specified in the 

amended ASHRAE Standard 90.1. 

unless the Secretary determines. by rule 

published in the Federal Register and 

supported by clear and convincing 

evidence. that adoption of a more 

stringent standard for such product 

would result in significant additional 

conservation of energy and is 

technologically feasible and 

economically justified. Addendum n 

amended ASHRAE Standard 90.1 by 

providing. in part. that hot water supply 

boilers must meet the same efficiency 

standards that apply to commercial 

instantaneous water heaters. We intend 

to adopt that amendment in this 

rulemaking. Hence. today's proposed 

rule provides that any products that are hot water supply boilers, as defined in 

this notice. are to meet the requirements 

established for such products in Table 

11.1 of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989 as amended by Addendum n. The relevant 

portions of Table 11.1 are presented in 

Table 2 of this preamble. We are not 

proposing a more stringent standard at 

this time. However. an upcoming 

rulemaking will address this issue due 

to the recent publication of ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1-1999. which modifies 

Standard 90.1's energy efficiency 

standards for commercial water heating 

products. 

iii. Test procedures. As indicated in 

EPCA Section 343(a)(4)(A). the test 

procedures to be used to determine 

energy efficiency must be those 

preSCribed by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-

1989 as in effect on June 30. 1992. 

Section 343(a)(4)(B) ofEPCA further 

states that if such industry test 

procedures are amended. then the 

Secretary shall amend the DOE test 

procedure as necessary to be consistent 

with the amended industry test 

procedure unless the Secretary 

determines. by rule. published in the 

Federal Register and supported by clear 

and convincing evidence. that to do so would not meet the requirements for 

test procedUres described in sections 

343(a)(2) and (3). These latter sections 

basically state that the test procedure 

must be reasonably designed to produce 

test results that reflect the energy 

efficiency of the product. and not be 

unduly burdensome to conduct. 

Addendum n's amendments to ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1 include a requirement 

that hot water supply boilers use the test 

procedure that ANSI Standard 

Z21.10.3-1993 specifies for water 

heaters. As mentioned below in section 

II.C.l. of this document. this test 

procedure was amended in 1998. At the 

October 1998 workshop. stakeholders 

indicated that this amended test 

procedure is accepted by industry as 

being reasonably designed and not 

overly burdensome to conduct for hot 

water supply boilers (BR Laboratories. 

October 1998 transcript, at 143-149). As 

reflected in today's proposed rule. we intend to require that commercial hot 

water supply boilers be tested according 

to ANSI Z21.10.3-1998. and to 

incorporate relevant provisions by 

reference into DOE regulations. We do 

not intend to determine that ANSI 

Z21.10.3-1998 is either unduly 

burdensome to conduct or not 

reasonably designed to produce results 

that reflect the energy efficiency of such 

boilers. 

iv. Effective date. EPCA does not 

address specifically when the 

Department's adoption of an amendment to a test procedure in 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 can become 

effective. Section 342(a)(6)(C) ofEPCA. 

however. provides that our adoption of 

an efficiency standard contained in an 

amendment to Standard 90.1, for 

packaged boilers or instantaneous water 

heaters. shall become effective two years or more after the effective date of such 

amendment for purposes of Standard 

90.1. Thus. because Addendum n 

became effective as an amendment to 
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48858 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

Standard 90.1 on January 28, 1998, 

January 28, 2000 is the earliest date DOE 

could have made Addendum n's 

efficiency standards effective as a Federal requirement. 

The Department understands that 

manJ.facturers currently are, and for 

some time have been, observing 

Addendum n's test procedures and 

efficiency standards for hot water 

supply boilers. Imposing them 

immediately as Federal requirements, 

therefore, should not create any burdens 

or alter the status quo for manufacturers. 

Consequently, the Department intends 

to make its adoption of the above 

described provisions for hot water 

supply boilers effective 30 days after 

publication of the final rule. Today's 

proposed rule also provides that, for the 

most part, hot water supply boilers 

manufactured prior to such effective 

date, and subsequent to the date 

Addendum n became effective as a 

provision of Standard 90.1, could meet 

either the requirements of Addendum n 

or the applicable requirements for 

packaged boilers under EPCA, and that 

any products manufactured prior to 

Addendum n's becoming effective must 

meet the latter requirements. 

d. Alternative Proposals: In addition 

to the proposals set forth in today's 

notice, we are considering other 

possible approaches in applying energy 

efficiency standards and test procedures 

to hot water supply boilers. This is 

because we are concerned about 

whether basing efficiency requirements 

on product marketing could create too 

much uncertainty as to which 

requirements apply. or could cause 

manufacturers to alter their marketing 

strategies to fit their products into one 

category or another. 

Therefore, we continue to consider 

adoption of the following alternative 

approaches for rating and testing hot 

water supply boilers under EPCA, in 

lieu of the approach outlined above: 

(1) Any packaged boiler that is 

capable of providing potable water must 

meet the energy effiCiency standards for, 

and be tested as, both a hydronic boiler 

and a hot water supply boiler!water 

heater. 

(2) Any hot water supply boiler must 

meet the ehergy efficiency standards for, 

and be tested only as, a packaged boiler. 

(3) Any packaged boiler that is 

capable of providing potable water must 

meet the energy efficiency standards for, 

and be tested as, a hot water supply 

boiler. 

We seek comments regarding both the 

proposal in this notice and these three 

alternative approaches. 

3. Heat Pump Water Heaters 

The October 1998 workshop 

generated both oral and written 

comments with respect to the 

application of EP ACf energy efficiency 

test procedures to commercial heat 

pump water heaters. Workshop . participants commented that a varIety of 

heat pump water heaters sold in the 

market exceed the size threshold to be 

considered consumer products under 

the NAECA amendment to EPCA, and 

appear to fall within the scope of the 

EP ACf amendment to EPCA. In written 

comments, the American Gas 

Association advocated that "commercial 

heat pump water heaters should be 

covered by DOE test procedures * * * 

based on the commercial availability 

and extensive commercial and utility 

promotion of this technology." LaClede 

Gas Company of St. Louis, Missouri 

expressed the same opinion. (Written 

comments number 11 and 12, Public 

Workshop, October 13, 1998) . American National Standard InstItute 

(ANSI) standard Z21.10.3 is the test 

procedure presently referenced in 

ASHRAEIIES Standard 90.1-1989 for 

testing commercial water heaters. Heat 

pump water heaters are not within the 

scope of this standard, nor can the 

procedure be readily adapted to 

measure their performance. 

Furthermore, the existing DOE 

residential water heater test procedure 

is not suitable for commercial heat 

pump water heaters for the following 

reasons: 

• The water draw rates are not 

representative of commercial 

applications. 

• The small tank sizes used in testing are not representative of commercial 

installations. and the disparity could 

adversely affect test results of large heat 

pump water heaters. 

• Water temperatures are higher, and 

ambient air temperatures are lower than 

those typically found in commercial 

applications. 

Therefore, we do not consider either 

the existing ANSI Z21.10.3 standard or 

our residential water heater test 

procedure to be reasonably designed to 

produce results which refl.ect energy 

efficiency of the commercial product as required under EPCA Section 343(a)(2). 

ASHRAE is currently developing a 

new Standard ASHRAE 118.1-1993R, 

Method of Testing for Rating 

Commercial Service Water Heating 

Equipment, which is currently 

undergoing public review. Its current 

draft covers commercial heat pump 

water heaters explicitly. The ASHRAE 

development process is expected to lead 

to an approved standard that would be 

referenced in revised versions of 

ASHRAE Standard 90.1. 

Since a new test procedure would 

need to be developed for commercial 

heat pump water heaters, and because 

ASHRAE has already made progress in 

developing one, the Department is 

postponing action within the current 

rulemaking to consider a test procedure 

for these products. The Department 

anticipates considering such a test 

procedure after ASHRAE develops! 

publishes it. 

4. Waste Heat Recovery Water Heaters 

According to the Commercial Water 

Heating Applications Handbook (EPRl 

TR-I00212 December 1992) published 

by the Electric Power Research Institute 

(EPRl), waste heat recovery water 

heaters use simple heat exchangers to 

recover useful heat, from fluid streams 

leaving commercial facilities. The ~eat 

that is recovered by these systems IS 

often that which would have otherwise 

been lost to the environment. Often a 

heat recovery water heater is used to 

preheat incoming cold service ~·,ater 

before it is heated by a convenb'~lil 

water heater. One workshop r ipant 

pointed out that these device ld 

not be confused with heat eXl ,gers 

used to heat water via a dedicated heat 

source such as a hot water supply boiler 

that provides a stream of hot fluid for 

indirectly heating the servicf' 'ater 

within the heat exchanger. ( 'p,de Gas 

Company, October 1998 Lc :, at 

187-191.) In this case boll 'lit 

source (the boiler) and thf' t 

contains the heat exchanr De 

covered under EPCA. So '3at 

recovery systems emplo: ~at 

are cons; : ~red EF'CA-cm ~cts. 

For exan le, a het water '1.k 

might cOIltam a h,3at excl; ·l,~. 

supplemental electric res' . heating 

elements used as a backu 'Lil the 

heat recovery capabilities 1- heat 

exchanger are temporaril~ .naoequate. 

EPCA does not provide energy 

conservation standards or test 

procedures for waste heat recovery 

water heaters. Therefore, we do not 

address these products within today's 

proposed rule. However, the fact that an 

EPCA-covered product is used as part of 

a waste heat recovery system does not 

exclude the product from coverage. 

C. Commercial Water Heaters-Test 

Procedures for the Measurement of 

Energy Efficiency 

1. Gas-Fired Water Heaters 

As quoted above. EPCA states that 

"the test procedures shall be those 

generally accepted industry testing 

procedures or rating procedures 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 48859 

developed or recognized by the Airconditioning and Refrigeration Institute 

or by [ASHRAEJ. as referenced in 

ASHRAE/lES Standard 90.1 and in 

effect on June 30. 1992." EPCA section 

343(a)(4)(A). 42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)(A). 

EPCA also provides that if such industry 

test procedure is amended. the Secretary 

must adopt the amended procedure 

unless the Secretary determines. in 

essence. that the amended procedure is 

unduly burdensome to conduct or is not 

reasonably designed to produce results 

which reflect the energy efficiency of 

the product. EPCA section 343(a)(4)(B). 

42 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)(B). 

ASHRAEIIES Standard 90.1-1989 

with Addendum b was in effect on June 

30.1992 and the referenced test 

procedure for commercial water heaters 

was ANSI Z21.10.3-1990. Since then. 

ANSI Z21.10.3 has been amended 

several times. Table 3 lists the 

amendments. their dates. and a brief 

summary of changes to the portions 

related to energy efficiency test 

procedures. 

TABLE 3.-LlsT OF AMENDMENTS TO ANSI Z21.10.3 

Document version ANSI approval date Summary of changes to efficiency test portions 

ANSI Z21.10.3a-1990 ..................... 4 October 1990.............................. Correction to equation for standby loss. 

ANSI Z21.10.3b-1992 ..................... 27 January 1992 ............................ None. 

ANSI Z21.10.3-1993 ....................... 8 April 1993 ................................... None. 

ANSI Z21.10.3a-1994 ..................... 14 February 1994 .......................... None. 

ANSI Z21.10.3b-1994 ..................... 5 December 1994 .......................... None. 

ANSI Z21.10.3c-1996 ..................... 29 March 1996 .............................. None. 

ANSI Z21.10.3-1998 ....................... 19 March 1998 .............................. -Specifies accuracy of measurement devices. 

Some of the discussion at the October 

13,1998 workshop related to whether 

we should adopt the latest version of 

this test procedure. The stakeholders at 

the workshop agreed that the test for 

thermal efficiency contained in the 1998 

version of ANSI Z21.10.3 has not 

changed from previous versions. 

However. as some stakeholders 

acknowledged, the standby loss portion 

of this test procedure, which has been 

slightly modified from the previous 

version, could yield slightly different 

results and thus affect compliance with 

standby loss requirements. In versions 

of ANSI Z21.10.3 prior to the 1998 

version. the standby loss test procedure 

called for the water heater to undergo 

one cutout period prior to the initiation 

of data collection, and the standby test 

loss duration was at least 48 hours from 

the initiation of data collection. The test 

terminated at the end of 48 hours unless 

the water heater was in the heating 

mode at that tima. in which case the test 

continued until the thermostat acted to 

reduce ilie gas supply to a minimum. 

The 1998 version of the test procedure 

calls for the water heater to undergo two 

cutout periods prior to the initiation of 

data collection, and the standby loss test 

continues until the first cutout that 

occurs after 24 hours from the time that 

data collection is initiated. Two 

workshop participants with experience 

in the field of testing these appliances, 

Bodh Subherwal of B.R. Laboratories, 

Inc. and Mark Taylor of Bradford-White 

Corporation, commented that this is not 

likely to have a significant effect on 

results. While no data has yet been 

provided in support of these comments. 

there is also no data to contradict them. 

-Requires two full cutout periods prior to initiation of standby loss 

measurement period. 

-Changes the requirements for the duration of the standby loss test. 

(Various participants, October 1998 

transcript, at 138-149.) 

The Department recognizes the 

differences between the 1998 and 1990 

versions of the ANSI test procedure. 

However, we are aware of no evidence 

which would establish that the newer 

version would significantly alter the 

standby loss measurements. 

In accordance with EPCA section 

343(a)(4)(B). the Department intends to 

adopt, through incorporation by 

reference, those portions of the ANSI 

Z21.10.3-1998 that address thermal 

effiCiency and standby loss testing. 

Specifically, we intend to adopt the 

subsections labeled "Method of Test" in 

sections 2.9 and 2.10, as well as sections 

2.1.7,2.3.3,2.3.4, and 2.30 and Figure 

3. The Department does not intend to 

determine that the 1998 version of ANSI 

Z21.10.3 is either unduly burdensome 

to conduct or not reasonably designed to 

produce results that reflect the energy 

efficiency of commercial water heaters. 

2. Oil-Fired Water Heaters 

ANSI Z21.10.3-1998 does not directly 

address the testing of oil-fired water 

heaters. However, footnote e to Table 

11.1 of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-

1989 Addendum n provides a means to 

adapt the ANSI Z21.10.3 test procedure 

for testing of oil-fired water heaters. The 

Department intends to incorporate these 

same adaptations for the purpose of 

testing commercial oil-fired water 

heaters. 

3. Electric Water Heaters 

ANSI Z21.10.3-1998 does not directly 

address the testing of electric water 

heaters. However, as in the case of oilfired water heaters, footnote e to Table 

11.1 of ASHRAE/JES Standard 90.1-

1989 Addendum n provides a means to 

adapt the ANSI Z21.10.3 test procedure 

for testing of electric water heaters. The 

Department intends to incorporate these 

same adaptations for the purpose of 

testing commercial electric water 

heaters. Also. today's proposed test 

procedure will provide additional 

instructions related to the adjustment of 

multiple thermostats for those electric 

water heaters that utilize them. 

D. Commercial Unfired Hot Water 

Storage Tanks 

1. Exemption From and Application of 

Maximum Heat Loss Requirement 

EPCA Sections 342(a)(5)(F) and 

342(a)(5)(G) provide that the maximum 

heat loss of an unfired hot water storage 

tank must be 6.5 Btu per hour per 

square foot (Btu/h-ft2) of tank surface 

area. unless the tank has more than 140 

gallons of storage capacity and its 

surface area is thermally insulated to R12.5. 

We believe the latter criterion does 

not contemplate that the tank be 

insulated to an "effective R-value" of R12.5. Heat losses occur both through the 

actual surface area of a tank (the surface 

that has not been eliminated by pipe 

penetrations and tank supports) and 

through the areas that have such 

penetrations and supports. The latter 

areas cannot be insulated. An "effective 

R-value" ofR-12.5 would mean that the 

product as a whole would have to be 

insulated to R-12.5. and as a practical 

matter. that the insulation of the actual 

surface area would have to be greater 

than R-12.5. Such a requirement would 

appear to be at odds with the language 
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48860 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154 I Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

of the statute, and a statement at the 

April 1998 workshop that such a 

requirement was not intended went 

uncontested. The Department has 

therefore tentatively concluded that 

only the actual surface area of a tank 

larger than 140 gallons must be covered 

by R-12.5 insulation in order for the 

tank to be exempt from the requirement 

to have a maximum heat loss of 6.5 Btu/ 

h-fF of tank surface area. As indicated, this heat loss 

requirement applies to all storage tanks 

having capacities of 140 gallons or less. 

It was suggested at the October 1998 

workshop that, since R-12.5 insulation 

is roughly equivalent to a heat loss of 

6.5 Btu/h-fF, for these storage tanks the 

Department's regulations could permit 

use of such insulation as an alternative 

to testing for heat 10ss.1 (BR 

Laboratories, October 1998 transcript, at 

156-158.) Because only the actual 

surface area of a tank is insulated, such 

an approach would be problematic. On 

the one hand. it could imply that the 

heat loss requirement applies only to 

losses from the actual surface area. 

Section 342(a)(5)(F) of EPCA appears to 

provide. however. that losses from the 

entire tank shall be 6.5 Btu/h-ft2 of 

surface area. In other words. all losses, 

not just losses from the insulated 

portion of the surface area. must be 

divided by the tank surface area. On the 

other hand, to allow R-12.5 insulation 

in lieu of heat loss testing would in 

effect decrease the efficiency 

requirement for tanks smaller than 140 

gallons, by allowing a heat loss of more 

than 6.5 Btulh-ft2 of surface area. This 

is because the heat losses from areas 

with pipe penetrations and supports. 

which are not insulated. would 

necessarily result in a heat loss per 

square foot of actual surface area. and even of "nominal surface area" (the 

actual surface area plus the surface area 

that would exist absent the penetrations 

and supports). in excess of 6.5 Btulh. 

But EPCA does not authorize the 

Department to lower efficiency levels 

prescribed by the statute and. in any 

event. the Department does not seek in 

this rulemaking to alter the level EPCA 

prescribes for unfired storage tanks. 

Finally, under such an approach, the 

efficiency requirements for tanks 

1 We assume for purposes of this discussion that. 

at a temperature difference of 80°F. an insulation 

level of R-12.5 is equivalent to a heat loss rate of 

6.5 Btulh-ft· of covered surface. We note that 

ideally. however. for a flat surface insulated to R12.5 h·oF·ft2!Btu having a temperature difference 

across it of 80 OF. the heat loss would be 

approximately 6.4 Btulh-ft·. For the walls of a 

cylinder. the heat loss would vary depending on the 

radius of the cylinder and would likely be greater 

than 6.5 Btulh-ft2 unless the cylinder was quite 

large-e.bout 16 feet in diameter. 

smaller than 140 gallons would be 

virtually identical to those for the larger 

tanks. EPCA specifies different 

requirements. however, for hot water 

storage tanks and storage water heaters 

in these two categories. in effect 

requiring the smaller products to be 

more efficient. 

Consequently, the proposed rule 

provides that unfired hot water storage 

tanks having capacities of 140 gallons or 

less must be tested for heat loss. 

Moreover, the proposed test procedure 

takes the approach that all losses must 

be included in determining the heat loss 

per square foot of surface area. The 

proposed test procedure also requires 

calculation of the heat loss per square 

foot of tank surface area that would exist 

if the tank had no pipe penetrations or 

supports, i.e. of the "nominal surface 

area." As presented previously, the 

nominal surface area is used here, 

because it includes the entire area of the 

tank through which heat loss can occur. 

The Department believes that this 

approach is consistent with section 

342(a)(5)(F) ofEPCA. 

2. Unfired Hot Water Storage Tank Test 

Procedure 

As indicated above, EPCA specifies in essence that the test procedures for the 

products covered by this notice shall be 

those referenced in ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1. But since Standard 90.1 

references no test procedure for unfired 

hot water storage tanks, none is 

prescribed in EPCA. 

At the October 1998 workshop, two 

methods were presented for determining 

the heat loss of unfired hot water storage 

tanks. The first method involves 

performing the standby loss test 

procedure on an electric storage water 

heater utilizing an identical tank with 

identical insulation and jacketing as that 

of the unfired storage tank model, and 

performing the necessary calculations to 

determine heat loss per square foot of 

tank surface area. The second method 

utilizes a separate water heater 

connected to the unfired storage tank to 

charge the storage tank before and after 

a standby loss test period. Stakeholders 

present at the October 1998 workshop 

responded that they favored the first 

method, and that the second method 

was unnecessary. 

We agree with the comments from the 

October 1998 workshop attendees, and 

are proposing the first method as the 

DOE test procedure for determining the 

rate of heat loss per square foot oftank 

surface area of unfired hot water storage 

tanks. We understand that typically a 

manufacturer will sell a tank as an 

unfired storage tank. and also use the 

same tank as part of an electric water 

heater. Therefore, it makes sense to 

require the tank to be tested as part of 

a water heater. Indeed, it appears that 

the same test used to rate the standby 

loss of the water heater could be used 

to rate the heat loss of the unfired 

storage tank. Thus. the proposed rule 

provides that the method of testing an 

unfired storage tank would be to test an 

electric storage water heater utilizing 

electric resistance heating as the energy 

source, using the standby loss test 

procedure of ANSI Z21.10.3-1998. 

m. Procedural Requirements 

A. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

EPCA prescribes energy efficiency 

standards and test procedures for 

commercial products, and we propose 

to implement these requirements for 

commercial water heaters, hot water 

supply boilers. and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. We have reviewed the 

proposed rule under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), 42 U.S.c. 4321 et seq., the 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality, 40 CFR parts 

1500-1508, our regulations for 

compliance with NEPA. 10 CFR Part 

1021, and the Secretarial Policy on the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Uune 1994). Implementation of the 

proposed rule would not result in 

environmental impacts. We have 

therefore determined that the proposed 

rule is covered under the Categorical 

Exclusion found at paragraph A6 of 

appendix A to subpart D of the 

Department's regulations. which applies 

to rulemakings that are strictly 

procedural. Accordingly, neither an 

environmental assessment nor an 

environmental impact statement is 

required. 

B. Review Under Executive Order 12866, 

"Regulatory Planning and Review" 

We have determined that today's 

proposed rule is not a "significant 

regulatory action," as defined in section 

3(f) of Executive Order 12866, 

"Regulatory Planning and Review." 58 

FR 51735 (October 4,1993). 

Accordingly, this action is not subject to 

review under the Executive Order by the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). 

C. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980,5 U.S.C. 603, requires the 

preparation of an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis for every rule which. 

by law, an agency must propose for 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

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public comment, unless it certifies that 

the rule. if promulgated. will not have a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. A 

regulatory flexibility analysis examines 

the impact of the rule on small entities 

and considers alternative ways of 

reducing negative impacts. 

The Small Business Administration 

considers an entity to be a small 

business if. together with its affiliates. it 

employs fewer than a threshold number 

of workers specified in 13 CFR Part 121. 

The threshold number for SIC 

classification 3589. which includes 

commercial water heaters. hot water 

supply boilers, and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. along with other service 

industry machinery not elsewhere 

classified. is 500. We estimate that 

approximately 25 firms manufacture 

water heaters. hot water supply boilers, 

and unfired hot water storage tanks. and 

the majority of these are small 

businesses. The number of small 

businesses that manufacture 

commercial-sized equipment covered by 

the EP ACT standards could be smaller. 

EPCA establishes efficiency standards 

for covered commercial products and 

requires us to prescribe test procedures 

that are accepted by industry and 

referenced in ASHRAE Standard 90.1. 

As EPCA specifies the standards and 

virtually all of the test procedures 

incorporated in today's proposed rule, 

the costs of complying with them are 

imposed by EPCA and not the rule. 

Moreover. today's proposed rule simply 

codifies testing procedures that are 

already generally employed by 

manufacturers, both large and small. 

The cost of meeting the requirements 

of the rule as proposed will depend on the number of basic models a 

manufacturer produces and the number 

of these models that do not comply with 

the efficiency standards imposed by 

EPCA and would consequently need to 

be redesigned or removed from the 

market. Since most of the efficiency 

standards have been in force by statute 

since 1994, we expect that a negligible 

number of products presently 

manufactured would need to be 

redesigned or discontinued. The cost of 

performing the proposed test procedures 

depends on unit size, but could amount 

to several thousands of dollars per basic 

model. Those manufacturers who 

already test their products for efficiency 

to assure that they meet the existing 

statutory efficiency standards, or for any 

other reason, will not incur new costs in 

complying with today's proposed rule. 

We believe that any significant 

economic impact will fall only on 

companies which do not now routinely 

test their products. We further believe 

that testing is a widely accepted 

practice, and that companies that do not 

test are rare and do not represent a substantial number of small entities. 

We have no discretion to apply 

different requirements to small 

manufacturers. EPCA mandates uniform 

standards and test procedures for 

commercial and industrial products, 

irrespective of the size of a business. In 

this regard, it is noteworthy that 

although EPCA contains a "small 

manufacturer exemption" for consumer products (42 U.S.C. 6295 (t)), it includes 

no such exemption for commercial and 

industrial products. 

Based on the above. we certify that 

this proposed rule would not impose a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small businesses. 

D. Review Under Executive Order 

13132, "Federalism" 

Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255. 

August 4.1999) imposes certain 

requirements on agencies formulating 

and implementing policies or 

regulations that have federalism 

implications. Agencies are required to 

examine the constitutional and statutory 

authority supporting any action that 

would limit the policymaking discretion 

of the States and carefully assess the 

necessity for such actions. Agencies 

must have an accountable process to 

ensure meaningful and timely input by 

state and local officials in the 

development of regulatory policies that 

have federalism implications. DOE 

published its intergovernmental 

consultation policy on March 14. 2000 

(65 FR 13735). The proposed rule 

published today would not regulate the 

States. It would primarily codify energy 

efficiency standards and test procedures 

already established by EPCA for 

commercial water heaters. hot water 

supply boilers. and unfired hot water 

storage tanks. We have determined that 

today's proposed rule would not have a 

substantial direct effect on the States. on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the States. or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. No further action 

is required by Executive Order 13132. 

E. Review Under Executive Order 12630, 

"Governmental Actions and 

Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights" 

We have determined under Executive 

Order 12630. "Governmental Actions 

and Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights." 52 FR 8859 

(March 18. 1988). that this proposed 

regulation would not result in any 

takings which might require 

compensation under the Fifth 

Amendment to the United States 

Constitution. 

F. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act 

Today's proposed rule would 

primarily codify energy efficiency 

standards and test procedures already 

established by EPCA for commercial 

water heaters. hot water supply boilers. 

and unfired hot water storage tanks. The 

proposed rule would not require any 

additional reports or record-keeping. 

Accordingly. this action does not 

contain a collection of information 

subject to OMB review under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq. 

G. Review Under Executive Order 

12988, "Civil Justice Reform" 

With respect to the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations. Section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988. "Civil Justice 

Reform." 61 FR 4729 (February 7. 1996). 

imposes on executive agencies the 

general duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; and 

(3) provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard and promote simplification 

and burden reduction. With regard to 

the review required by Section 3(a). 

Section 3(b) of the Executive Order 

specifically requires that Executive 

agencies make every reasonable effort to 

ensure that the regulation: (1) Clearly 

specifies the preemptive effect. if any; 

(2) clearly specifies any effect on 

existing Federal law or regulation; (3) 

provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct while promoting 

simplification and burden reduction; (4) 

specifies the retroactive effect. if any; (5) 

adequately defines key terms; and (6) 

addresses other important issues 

affecting clarity and general 

draftsmanship under any guidelines 

issued by the Attorney General. Section 

3 (c) of the Executive Order requires 

agencies to review regulations in light of 

applicable standards Section 3(a) and 

Section 3(b) to determine whether they 

are met or it is unreasonable to meet one 

or more of them. 

We reviewed today's proposed rule 

under the standards of Section 3 of the 

Executive Order and determined that. to 

the extent permitted by law. it meets the 

requirements of those standards. 
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48862 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

H. Review Under Section 32 of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974 

Under section 301 of the Department 

of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-

91), we must comply with section 32 of 

the Federal Energy Administration Act 

of 1974, as amended by the Federal 

Energy Administration Authorization 

Act of 1977. 15 U.S.c. 788. Section 32 

provides in part that, where a proposed 

rule contains or involves use of 

commercial standards, the notice of 

proposed rulemaking must inform the 

public of the use and background of 

such standards. 

The rule proposed in this notice 

incorporates a commercial testing 

standard referenced by ASHRAE/IES 

Standard 90.1-1989 for measuring the 

efficiency of commercial water heaters 

and hot water supply boilers, which 

EPCA requires be used. Because we 

have very limited discretion to depart . 

from a standard referenced in ASHRAEI 

IES 90.1, Section 32 of the FEAA does 

not apply to it. 

ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 does not, 

however, reference a test procedure to 

measure the heat loss of unfired hot 

water storage tanks. DOE proposes to 

require use of portions of ANSI 

Standard Z21.10.3-1998 to test this 

product. The Department has evaluated 

this standard and is unable to conclude 

whether it fully complies with the 

requirements of section 32(b) of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act, i.e., 

that it was developed in a manner that 

fully provides for public participation, 

comment and review. 

As required by section 32(c) of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act, we 

will consult with the Attorney General 

and the Chairman of the Federal Trade 

Commission, prior to prescribing a final 

rule, concerning the impact on 

competition of requiring use of this 

standard to test unfired hot water 

storage tanks. 

1. Review Under Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 

Section 202 of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

("Unfunded Mandates Act") requires 

that we prepare an impact statement 

before promulgating a rule that includes 

a Federal mandate that may result in 

expenditure by state, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in anyone year. The impact statement 

must include: (i) Identification of the 

Federal law under which the rule is 

promulgated; (ii) a qualitative and 

quantitative assessment of antiCipated 

costs and benefits of the Federal 

mandate and an analysis of the extent to 

which such costs to state, local. and 

tribal governments may be paid with 

Federal financial assistance; (iii) if 

feasible, estimates of the future 

compliance costs and of any 

disproportionate budgetary effects the 

mandate has on particular regions, 

communities, non-Federal units of 

government, or sectors of the economy; 

(iv) iffeasible, estimates of the effect on 

the national economy; and (v) a 

description of our prior consultation 

with elected representatives of state, 

local. and tribal governments and a 

summary and evaluation of the 

comments and concerns presented. DOE 

published a policy statement on 

intergovernmental consultation under 

the unfunded mandates act on March 

18,1997 (62 FR 12820). 

We have determined that the action 

proposed today does not include a 

Federal mandate that may result in 

estimated costs of $100 million or more 

to state, local or to tribal governments in 

the aggregate or to the private sector. 

Therefore. the requirements of Sections 

203 and 204 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Act do not apply to this action. 

J. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. No. 105-277) requires 

federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any 

proposed rule or policy that may affect 

family well-being. Today's proposal 

would not have any impact on the 

autonomy or the integrity of the family 

as an institution. Accordingly, we have 

concluded that it is not necessary to 

prepare a Family Policymaking 

Assessment. 

K. Plain Language Directive 

The President's Memorandum on 

"Plain Language in Government 

Writing," 63 FR 31885 (June 10, 1998) 

directs each Federal agency to write all 

published rulemaking documents in 

plain language. The Memorandum 

includes general guidance on what 

constitutes "plain language." Plain 

language requirements will vary from 

one document to another, depending on 

the intended audience, but all plain 

language documents should be logically 

organized and clearly written. 

We have tried to make this proposed 

rule easy to understand. We are also 

requesting suggestions on how to 

improve its readability further. 

IV. Public Comment 

A. Written Comment Procedures 

We invite interested persons to 

participate in the proposed rulemaking 

by submitting data, comments. or 

information with respect to the issues 

set forth in today's rule to Ms. Brenda 

Edward-Jones, at the address indicated 

at the beginning of the notice. We will 

consider all submittals received by the 

date specified at the beginning of this 

notice in developing the final rule. 

According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 

person submitting information which he 

o~ she believes to be confidential and 

exempt by law from public disclosure 

should submit one complete copy of the 

document and ten (10) copies, if 

possible, from which the information 

believed to be confidential has been 

deleted. We will make our own 

determination with regard to the 

confidential status of the information 

and treat it according to that 

determination. 

Factors of interest to us. when 

evaluating requests to treat as 

confidential information that has been 

submitted. include: 

(1) A description of the items; 

(2) An indication as to whether and 

why such items are customarily treated 

as confidential within the industry; 

(3) Whether the information is 

generally known by or available from 

other sources; 

(4) Whether the information has 

previously been made available to 

others without obligation concerning its 

confidentiality; 

(5) An explanation of the competitive 

injury to the submitting person which 

would result from public disclosure; 

(6) An indication as to when such 

information might lose its confidential 

character due to the passage of time; and 

(7) Why disclosure of the information 

would be contrary to the public interest. 

B. Public Workshop 

1. Procedures for Submitting Requests 

To Speak 

You will find the time and place of 

the public workshop listed at the 

beginning of this notice of proposed 

rulemaking. We invite any person who 

has an interest in today's notice of 

proposed rulemaking. or who is a representative of a group or class of 

persons that has an interest in these 

proposed issues, to make a request for 

an opportunity to make an oral 

presentation. If you would like to attend 

the public workshop, please notify Ms. 

Brenda Edwards-Jones at (202) 586-

2945. You may hand deliver requests to 

speak to the address indicated at the 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 48863 

beginning of this notice between the 

hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays, or send them by mail. 

The person making the request should 

state why he or she, either individually 

or as a representative of a group or class 

of persons, is an appropriate 

spokesperson, briefly describe the 

nature of the interest in the rulemaking, 

and provide a telephone number for 

contact. We request each person 

selected to be heard to submit an 

advance copy of his or her statement at 

least two weeks prior to the date of this 

workshop as indicated at the beginning 

of this notice. At our discretion. we may 

still permit any person who cannot do 

this to participate if that person has 

made alternativ13 arrangements with the 

Office of Building Research and 

Standards in advance. The request to 

give an oral presentation should ask for 

such alternative arrangements. 

2. Conduct of Workshop 

The Department will designate a 

Department official to preside at the 

workshop, and we may also use a 

professional facilitator to facilitate 

discussion. The workshop will not be a 

judicial or evidentiary-type hearing, but 

the Department will conduct it in 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553 and 

Section 336 of the Act and a court 

reporter will be present to record the 

transcript of the workshop. We reserve 

the right to schedule the presentations 

by workshop participants, and to 

establish the procedures governing the 

conduct of the workshop. 

The Department will permit each 

participant to make a prepared general 

statement, limited to five (5) minutes, 

prior to the discussion of specific topics. 

The general statement should not 

address these specific topics, but may 

cover any other issues pertinent to this 

rulemaking. The Department will permit 

other participants to briefly comment on 

any general statements. We will divide 

the remainder of the hearing into 

segments, with each segment consisting 

of one or more of the following specific 

topics covered by this notice: 

Commercial Water Heaters and Hot 

Water Supply Boilers-Definitions and 

Coverage 

• Instantaneous water heaters • Hot water supply boilers • Heat pump water heaters • Waste heat recovery water heaters 

Commercial Water Heaters-Test 

Procedures for the Measurement of 

Energy Efficiency 

• Gas-fired water heaters • Oil-fired water heaters 

• Electric water heaters 

Commercial Unfired Hot Water Storage 

Tanks 

• Exemption from and application of 

maximum heat loss requirement 

• Unfired hot water storage tank test 

procedure 

Other Topics 

The Department will introduce each 

topic with a brief summary of the 

relevant provisions of the proposed rule, 

and the significant issues involved. We 

will then permit participants in the 

hearing to make a prepared statement 

limited to five (5) minutes on that topic. 

At the end of all prepared statements on 

a topic, we will permit each participant 

to briefly clarify his or her statement 

and comment on statements made by 

others. Participants should be prepared 

to answer questions by us and by other 

participants concerning these issues. 

Our representatives may also ask 

questions of participants concerning 

other matters relevant to the hearing. 

The total cumulative amount of time 

allowed for each participant to make 

prepared statements will be 20 minutes. 

The official conducting the hearing 

will accept additional comments or 

questions from those attending, as time 

permits. The presiding official will 

announce any further procedural rules, 

or modification of the above procedures, 

needed for the proper conduct of the 

hearing. 

We will make the entire record of this 

rulemaking, including the transcript, 

available for inspection in the 

Department's Freedom of Information 

Reading Room. Any person may 

purchase a copy of the transcript from 

the transcribing reporter. 

C. Issues on Which Comments Are 

Requested 

We are interested in receiving 

comments and! or data concerning the 

feasibility, workability and 

appropriateness of the test procedures 

proposed in today's rulemaking. Also, 

we welcome discussion on 

improvements or alternatives to the 

proposed approaches. We also invite 

comments on how to make this 

proposed rule easier to understand. For 

example: 

• Are the requirements in the rule 

clearly stated? 

• Have we organized the material to 

suit your needs, or would a different 

organization be better? 

• Can we improve the rule's format? 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 431 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Energy conservation, 

Incorporation by reference. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 18, 

2000. 

Dan W. Reicher, 

Assistant Secretmy, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, Title 10, Part 431 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is proposed to be 

amended as set forth below: 

PART 431-ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN 

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 

EQUIPM~NT 

1. The authority citation for Part 431 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6311-6316. 

2. Subpart L is added to read as 

follows: 

Subpart L-Commerclal Water Heaters, Hot 

Water Supply Boilers and Unfired Hot Water 

Storage Tanks 

Sec. 

431.451 Purpose and scope. 

431.452 Definitions for commercial water 

heaters, hot water supply boilers, and 

unfired hot water storage tanks. 

Test Procedures 

431.461 Materials incorporated by 

reference. 

431.462 Uniform Test Method for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency of 

Commercial Water Heaters and Hot 

Water Supply Boilers (Other than 

Commercial Heat Pump Water Heaters). 

431.463 Uniform Test Method for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency of 

Commercial Heat Pump Water Heaters 

[Reserved]. 

431.464 Uniform Test Method for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency of 

Commercial Unfired Hot Water Storage 

Tanks. 

Energy Co~rvation Standards 

431.471 Energy conservation standards and 

their effective dates. 

Subpart L-Commercial Water Heaters, 

Hot Water Supply Boilers and Unfired 

Hot Water Storage Tanks 

1431.451 Purpose and scope. 

This subpart contains energy 

conservation requirements for certain 

commercial water heaters, hot water 

supply boilers and unfired hot water 

storage tanks, pursuant to Part C of Title 

ill of the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C 

6311-6316. 
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48864 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154 I Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

§431.452 Definitions for commercial water 

heaters, hot water supply boilers, and 

unfired hot water storage tanks. 

For purposes of subparts I through P 

of this part. terms are defined as 

provided for elsewhere in this part, in 

section 340 of the Act, and as follows: 

ASTM-D-2156-80 means the test 

standard published in 1980 by the 

American Society of Testing and 

Measurements and titled Method for 

Smoke Density in Flue Gases from 

Burning Distillate Fuels. 

Gas means natural gas or propane as 

defmed by the Federal Power 

Commission. 

Hot water supply boiler means a packaged boiler that, 

(1) Has an input rating from 300,000 

Btulh to 12,500,00 Btulh and of at least 

4,000 Btulh per gallon of stored water, 

(2) Is suitable for heating potable 

water, and 

(3) Meets either or both of the 

following conditions: 

(i) It has the temperature and pressure 

controls necessary for heating potable 

water for purposes other than space 

heating. or 

(ii) The manufacturer's product 

literature. product markings, product 

marketing, or product installation and 

operation instructions indicate that the 

boiler's intended uses include heating 

potable water for purposes other than 

space heating. 

Instantaneous water heater means a 

water heater that has an input rating not 

less than 4,000 Btu per hour per gallon 

of stored water, and that is a commercial 

HV AC & WH product. 

Nominal tank surface area means the 

out ide surface area of an uninsulated 

tank or the jacket area of a jacketed 

storage tank. To determine this area, 

assume that there are no holes or 

protrusions within the main body of the 

tank or jacket. 

R-value means the thermal resistance 

of insulating material as determined 

based on ASTM Standard Test Method 

Cl77-97 or C518-91 and expressed in 

(OfOft 2°h/Btu). 

Standby loss means the average 

hourly energy required to maintain the 

stored water temperature, expressed as 

a percentage (per hour) of the heat 

content of the stored water and 

determinec.. by the formula for S given 

in Section 2.10 of ANSI Z21.10.3-1998. 

Storage water heater means a water 

heater that heats and stores water within 

the appliance at a thermostatically 

controlled temperature for delivery on 

demand and that is a commercial HV AC 

& WH product. Such term does not 

include units with an input rating of 

4,000 Btu per hour or more per gallon 

of stored water. 

Tank sUrface area means, for the 

purpose of determining portions of a 

tank requiring insulation, those areas of 

a storage tank, including hand holes and 

manholes. in its uninsulated or preinsulated state, that do not have pipe 

penetrations or tank supports attached. 

Thermal efficiency means the ratio of 

the heat transferred to the water flowing 

through the water heater to the amount 

of energy consumed by the water heater 

as measured during the thermal 

effiCiency test procedure prescribed in 

this subpart. 

Unfired hot water storage tank means 

a tank used to store water that is heated 

externally, and which is a commercial 

HV AC & WH product. 

Test Procedures 

§431.461 Materials incorporated by 

reference. 

(a) General. The Department 

incorporates by reference the following 

test procedures which are not otherwise 

set forth in this part 431. The Director 

of the Federal Register has approved the 

material listed in paragraph (b) of this 

section for incorporation by reference in 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 

CFR part 51. Any subsequent 

amendment to this material by the 

standard-setting organization will not 

affect the DOE test procedures unless 

and until DOE amends its test 

procedures. The Department 

incorporates the material as it exists on the date of the approval and a notice of 

any change in the material will be 

published in the Federal Register. 

(b) Test procedures incorporated by 

reference: American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI) Standard Z21.10.3-

1998, "Gas Water Heaters, Volume III, 

Storage Water Heaters with Input 

Ratings above 75,000 Btu per Hour, 

Circulating and Instantaneous", 

subsections entitled "Method of Test" of 

sections 2.9 and 2.10, sections 2.1.7, 

2.3.3, 2.3.4 and 2.30, and Figure 3. 

(c) Availability of references. (1) 

Inspection of test procedures. The test 

procedures incorporated by reference 

are available for inspection at: 

(i) Office of the Federal Register, 800 

North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 700, 

Washington, DC. 

(ii) U.S. Department of Energy, Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy, Hearings and Dockets, "Test 

Procedures and Efficiency Standards for 

Commercial Water Heaters, Hot Water 

Supply Boilers, and Unfired Hot Water 

Storage Tanks," Docket No. EE-RM/TP99-480,1000 Independence Avenue. 

SW, Washington, DC 20585. 

(2) Obtaining copies of Standards. 

Anyone can obtain a copy of standards 

incorporated by reference from the 

following sources: 

(i) Request copies of the ASHRAE 

Standards from the American Society of 

Heating. Refrigerating. and AirConditioning Engineers, Inc., 1971 

Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta. GA 30329, or 

http://www.ashrae.orglhook! 

bookshop.htrn. 

(ii) Request copies of the ANSI 

Standard from Global Engineering 

Documents, 15 Inverness Way West, 

Englewood, CO 80112. or http:// 

global.ihs.com/, or http:// 

webstore.ansLorgl ansidocstore/. 

(d) Reference standards. 

(1) General. The standards listed in 

this paragraph are referred to in the DOE 

test procedures. and elsewhere, in this 

subpart L, but they are not incOT:,orated 

by reference. These sources are given 

here for information and guidr 

(2) Ust of References. (il M 

Standard Test Method C518-\ 

"Standard Test Method for Sh __ 1'-State 

Heat Flux Measurements and Thermal 

Transmission Properties by Means of 

the Heat Flow Meter Apparatu'<." 

(ii) ASTM Standard Test r-' ~od 

Cl77-97, "Standard Test ~, 1 for 

Steady-State Heat Flux M?' lents 

and Thermal TransmissioL 'ies 

by Means of the Guarded-' 

Apparatus." 

(iii) ASTM Star:dard T 

D2156-e .. ) "Method for ~ ity 

in Flue C ,;':IS fron Burni te 

Fuels." 

§431.462 Uniform Test Me 

Measurement of Energy Eff 

Commercial Water Heaters . 

rthe _, of 

.. ~,~ Water 

Supply Boilers (Other than I. 'm; .. ~rcial 

Heat Pump Water Heaters). 

(a) Scope. This section covers the test 

procedures you must follow if, pursuant 

to EPCA, you are measuring the thermal 

efficiency or standby loss, or both. of a 

storage or instantaneous water heater or 

hot water supply boiler (other than 

commercial heat pump water heaters). 

(b) Testing and Calculations. 

Determine the energy efficiency of each 

covered product by conducting the test 

procedure(s), set forth in the two 

rightmost columns of the following 

table, that apply to the energy efficiency 

descriptor(s) for that product: 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

Federal Register/Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 48865 

Product Energy efficiency 

descriptor 

Use test setup, equipment 

and procedures in subsection labeled "Method of 

Test" of 

With these additional stipulations 

Gas-fired Storage and Instantaneous Thermal Efficiency ............. ANSI Z21.10.3-1998, §2.9 None. 

Water Heaters and Hot Water Supply 

Boilers. 

Standby Loss ..................... ANSI Z21.10.3-1998, 

§2.10. 

Oil-fired Storage and Instantaneous Water Thermal Efficiency ............. ANSI Z21.10.3-1998, §2.9 (1) Connect a vertical length of flue pipe 

to the flue gas outlet of sufficient 

height so as to meet the minimum 

draft specified by the manufacturer. 

Heaters and Hot Water Supply Boilers. 

Standby Loss ..................... ANSI Z21.10.3-1998, 

§2.10. 

Electric Storage and Instantaneous Water Standby Loss ..................... ANSI Z21.10.3-1998, 

Heaters. §2.10. 

§431.463 Uniform Test Method for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency of 

Commercicl Heat Pump Water Heaters. 

[Reserved] 

§431.464 Uniform Test Method for the 

Measurement of Energy Efficiency of 

Commercial Unfired Hot Water Storage 

Tanks. 

(a) Scope. 

This section covers the test 

procedures you must follow if, pursuant 

to EPCA. you are measuring the heat 

loss per square foot of tank surface area 

of an unfired hot water storage tank. 

(b) Test Method. You must use the test 

setup. equipment and procedures from 

the subsection entitled Method of Test 

of section 2.10 in ANSI Z21.10.3-1998. 

with the following additional 

stipulations: 

(1) Use an electric water heater whose 

size. thickness and type of insulation, 

and jacketing are identical to that of the 

unfired storage tank. 

(2) Maintain the electrical supply 

voltage to within ±1 % of the center of 

the voltage range specified on the water 

heater nameplate. 

(3) If the set up for that water heater 

includes multiple adjustable 

thermostats. set the highest one first to 

yield a maximum water temperature in 

the specified range as measured by the 

topmost tank thermocouple. Then set 

the lower thermostat(s) to yield a 

maximum mean tank temperature 

within the specified range. 

(4) Use the value of 98 percent for Etl 

for the calculation of the standby loss. 

(c) Calculations. (1) Calculate the 

difference in internal energy of the tank 

water volume based on the mean tank 

temperature. at the beginning and end of 

the test. ~iff. in Btu as follows: 

Qdiff =K,Va ·AT4 

Where. 

K = 8.25 Btu per gallon OF. the nominal 

specific heat of water. 

Va = tank capacity expressed in gallons. 

as determined under section 2.30 of 

ANSI Z21.10.3-1998. and 

(2) Adjust the burner rate so that (a) the 

hourly Btu input rate lies within ±2% of 

the manufacturer's specified input 

rate, (b) the CO2 reading shows the 

value specified by the manufacturer, 

(c) smoke in the flue does not exceed 

No.1 smoke as measured by the procedure in ASTM-D-2156-80, and (d) 

fuel pump pressure lies within ±1 % of 

manufacturer's specifications. 

(1) Assume that the thermal efficiency 

(E.) of electric water heaters with immersed heating elements is 98 percent. 

(2) Maintain the electrical supply voltage 

to within ±1 % of the center of the voltage range specified on the water heater nameplate. 

(3) If the set up includes multiple adjustable thermostats, set the highest one 

first to yield a maximum water temperature in the specified range as 

measured by the topmost tank thermocouple. Then set the lower thermostatts) to yield a maximum mean tank 

temperature within the specified 

range. 

~T4 = difference between the final and 

initial mean tank temperatures, OF. 

(2) Determine the rate of heat loss per 

square foot of nominal tank surface area. 

Oloss. in Btu/h-fF as follows: 

Where. 

E _ Qdiff 

C Tlt/ 

Q loss = 1'100 

As ·t 

Ec = electrical energy consumption as 

presented in section 2.10 of ANSI 

Z21.10.3-1998. 

A. = nominal tank surface area (ft2. 

111 = 98 percent. the assumed recovery 

efficiency for electric water heaters 

with immersed heating elements. 

and 

t = duration of standby loss test as 

defined in section 2.10 of ANSI 

Z21.10.3-1998. 
EE-RM-TP-99-480 COMMENT 01C

48866 Federal Register I Vol. 65, No. 154/Wednesday, August 9, 2000/Proposed Rules 

Energy Conservation Standards 

1431.471 Energy conservation standards 

and their effective dates. 

Each commercial storage water heater. 

instantaneous water heater. and unfired 

Product Size 

hot water storage tank manufactured on 

or after January 1,1994, and each hot 

water supply boiler manufactured 30 

days or more after (publication date of 

the final rulej,l must meet the 

Energy efficiency 

descriptor 

applicable energy conservation standard 

level(s) as follows: 

Energy conservation standard 

Electric storage water heat- All ....................................... Standby Loss' (in %/hr) .... Maximum of 0.30 + (27/Measured Storage Volume pn 

ers. gallons]). 

Gas-fired and oil-fired stor- S155.000 Btuth input ......... Standby Loss' (in %/hr) .... Maximum of 1.30 + (114/Measured Storage Volume 

age water heaters. pn gallons]). 

....................................... Thermal Efficiency ............. Minimum of 78%. 

>155.000 Btuth input ......... Standby Loss' (in %thr) .... Maximum of 1.30 + (95/Measured Storage Volume pn 

gallons]). 

••••••••• u ............................ Thermal Efficiency ............. Minimum of 78%. 

Instantaneous water heat- <10 gallons storage vol- Thermal Efficiency ............. Minimum of 80%. 

ers; or hot water supply ume. 

boilers. 

~10 gallons storage vol- Thermal Efficiency ............. Minimum of 77%. 

ume. 

....................................... Standby Loss· (in %/hr) .... Maximum of 2.30 + (67/Measured Storage Volume pn 

gallons]). 

Unfired hot water storage S140 gallons storage vol- Heat Loss .......................... Maximum of 6.5 Btuth per ft2 of the nominal tank surtank. ume. face area. 

>140 gallons b storage vol- Heat Lossb ........................ Maximum of 6.5 Btuth per ft2 of the nominal tank surume. face area. 

....................................... Thermal Insulation Level b Minimum of R-12.5 over the tank surface area. 

• Storage and instantaneous water heaters having more than 140 gallons of storage capacity need not meet the standby loss requirement if the 

tank surface area is thermally insulated to R-12.5 or more and if a standing pilot light is not used. 

bOnly one of the two requirements (i.e .. either the heat loss requirement or the thermal insulation requirement) must be met. 

[FR Doc. 00-19722 Filed 8-8-00; 8:45 amI 

BlLUNG CODE M50-01-P 

1 The following provisions apply to a hot water supply boiler manufactured before [publication date 

of the final rule]: (1) ifit was manufactured before 

January 28, 1998, it must meet the applicable 

requirements for a "commercial packaged boiler" 

under subpart K of this part; (2) if it was 

manufactured on or after January 28. 1998. and is a commercial packaged boiler. as defined in subpart 

K of this part. it must meet the requirements that 

apply to it under that subpart: (3) if it was 

manufactured on or after January 28, 1998, and is 

not a commercial packaged boiler, as defined in 

subpart K of this part. it must either meet the 

requirements listed in this section or the 

requirements for a "commercial packaged boiler" in 

subpart K of this part.