28674 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Parts 429 and 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2010–BT–TP–0010] 

RIN 1904–AC21 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Test Procedures 

for Residential Furnace Fans 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and announcement of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) proposes to establish test 

procedures for residential products that 

use electricity for purposes of 

circulating air through duct work, 

hereafter referred to as ‘‘furnace fans.’’ 

Specifically, this notice proposes to 

establish a test method for measuring 

the airflow performance and electrical 

consumption of these products. 

Concurrently, DOE is undertaking an 

energy conservation standards 

rulemaking to address the electrical 

energy used by these products for 

circulating air. Once these energy 

conservation standards are promulgated, 

the adopted test procedures will be used 

to determine compliance with the 

standards. DOE is also announcing a 

public meeting to discuss and receive 

comments on issues presented in this 

test procedure rulemaking. 

DATES: Meeting: DOE will hold a public 

meeting on Friday, June 15, 2012, from 

9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Washington, DC. The 

meeting will also be broadcast as a 

webinar. See section V, ‘‘Public 

Participation,’’ for webinar information, 

participant instructions, and 

information about the capabilities 

available to webinar participants. 

Comments: DOE will accept 

comments, data, and information 

regarding this notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NOPR) before and after the 

public meeting, but no later than July 

30, 2012. For details, see section V, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ of this NOPR. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 8E–089 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. To attend, 

please notify Ms. Brenda Edwards at 

(202) 586–2945. Please note that foreign 

nationals visiting DOE Headquarters are 

subject to advance security screening 

procedures. Any foreign national 

wishing to participate in the meeting 

should advise DOE as soon as possible 

by contacting Ms. Edwards at the phone 

number above to initiate the necessary 

procedures. Please also note that any 

person wishing to bring a laptop 

computer into the Forrestal Building 

will be required to obtain a property 

pass. Visitors should avoid bringing 

laptops, or allow an extra 45 minutes. 

Persons may also attend the public 

meeting via webinar. For more 

information, refer to section V, ‘‘Public 

Participation,’’ of this NOPR. 

Any comments submitted must 

identify the NOPR on Test Procedures 

for Residential Furnace Fans, and 

provide docket number EERE–2010– 

BT–TP–0010 and/or regulatory 

information number (RIN) number 

1904–AC21. Comments may be 

submitted using any of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: FurnFans-2010-TP0010@ee.doe.gov Include docket 

number EERE–2010–BT–TP–0010 and 

RIN 1904–AC21 in the subject line of 

the message. 

3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (CD), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. If possible, please 

submit all items on a CD, in which case 

it is not necessary to include printed 

copies. 

No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be 

accepted. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see section V of this document (Public 

Participation). 

Docket: The docket is available for 

review at www.regulations.gov, 

including Federal Register notices, 

public meeting attendee lists and 

transcripts, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

However, not all documents listed in 

the index may be publicly available, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure. 

A link to the docket web page can be 

found at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/

buildings/appliance_standards/

residential/furnace_fans.html. This web 

page contains a link to the docket for 

this notice on the www.regulations.gov 

site. The www.regulations.gov web page 

contains simple instructions on how to 

access all documents, including public 

comments, in the docket. See section V, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ for information 

on how to submit comments through 

www.regulations.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment, review other public 

comments and the docket, or participate 

in the public meeting, contact Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 or by 

email: Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. Mohammed Khan, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7892. Email: 

Mohammed.Khan@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–9507. Email: 

Eric.Stas@hq.doe.gov. 

For information on how to submit or 

review public comments, contact Ms. 

Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Program, 

EE–2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–2945. Email: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Authority and Background 

II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

III. Discussion 

A. Scope 

B. Definitions 

C. Reference Standard 

D. Rating Metric 

E. Reference System 

F. Performance Curves 

1. Number of Airflow-Control Settings 

2. Number of Determinations 

G. Standby Mode and Off Mode Energy 

Consumption 

1. Residential Furnaces and Central Air 

Conditioner Products 

2. Hydronic Air Handlers 

H. Methodology for Deriving the Fan 

Efficiency Rating 

I. Sampling Plans and Certification Report 

Requirements for Residential Furnace 

Fans 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act 

C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 28675 

1For editorial reasons, upon codification in the 

U.S. Code, Part B was redesignated Part A. 

2All references to EPCA in this rulemaking refer 

to the statute as amended through the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007, Public Law 

110–140. 

3 Given EISA 2007’s focus on comprehensively 

addressing standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption and in order to conserve limited 

resources, DOE believes it is appropriate to address 

these issues in this new test procedure, rather than 

needing to wait for a subsequent rulemaking to 

‘‘amend’’ the test procedure. 

4EISA 2007 directs DOE to also consider IEC 

Standard 62087 when amended its test procedures 

to include standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption. See 42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A). 

However, IEC Standard 62087 addresses the 

methods of measuring the power consumption of 

audio, video, and related equipment. Accordingly, 

the narrow scope of this particular IEC standard 

reduces its relevance to today’s proposal. 

H. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

J. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

K. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

L. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

V. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 

B. Procedure for Submitting Requests to 

Speak and Prepared General Statements 

for Distribution 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

D. Submission of Comments 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

1. Airflow-Control Setting Function 

Designations 

2. Operating Hour Values for Calculating 

the Fan Efficiency Rating 

3. Reference System ESP Values 

4. Multiple Reference System Method 

5. Standby Mode and Off Mode Electrical 

Energy Consumption for Furnace Fans 

Used in Hydronic Air Handlers 

6. Controlling ECM Motors for Testing 

7. Test Setup 

8. External Static Pressure 

9. Ambient Pressure Conditions 

10. Sampling Plan Procedures and 

Certification Report Requirements 

VI. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Authority and Background 

Title III, Part B1 of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA or 

the Act), Public Law 94–163 (42 U.S.C. 

6291–6309, as codified) sets forth a 

variety of provisions designed to 

improve energy efficiency and 

established the Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other 

Than Automobiles, a program covering 

most major household appliances.2

These include products that use 

electricity for the purposes of 

circulating air through duct work, 

hereinafter referred to as ‘‘residential 

furnace fans’’ or simply ‘‘furnace fans,’’ 

the subject of today’s notice. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(f)(4)(D)). 

Under the Act, this program consists 

essentially of four parts: (1) Testing; (2) 

labeling; (3) Federal energy conservation 

standards; and (4) certification and 

enforcement procedures. The testing 

requirements consist of test procedures 

that manufacturers of covered products 

must use as the basis for certifying to 

DOE that their products comply with 

the applicable energy conservation 

standards adopted pursuant to EPCA 

and for making representations about 

the efficiency of those products. (42 

U.S.C. 6293(c); 42 U.S.C. 6295(s)). 

Similarly, DOE must use these test 

procedures in any enforcement action to 

determine whether covered products 

comply with these energy conservation 

standards. (42 U.S.C. 6295(s)). 

General Test Procedure Rulemaking 

Process 

Under 42 U.S.C. 6293, EPCA sets forth 

the criteria and procedures DOE must 

follow when prescribing or amending 

test procedures for covered products. 

EPCA provides in relevant part that any 

test procedures prescribed or amended 

under this section shall be reasonably 

designed to produce test results which 

measure energy efficiency, energy use, 

or estimated annual operating cost of a 

covered product during a representative 

average use cycle or period of use and 

shall not be unduly burdensome to 

conduct. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)). In 

addition, if DOE determines that a test 

procedure amendment is warranted, it 

must publish proposed test procedures 

and offer the public an opportunity to 

present oral and written comments on 

them. (42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(2)). Finally, in 

any rulemaking to amend a test 

procedure, DOE must determine to what 

extent, if any, the proposed test 

procedure would alter the measured 

energy efficiency of a covered product 

as determined under the existing test 

procedure. (42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(1)). If DOE 

determines that the amended test 

procedure would alter the measured 

efficiency of a covered product, DOE 

must amend the applicable energy 

conservation standard accordingly. (42 

U.S.C. 6293(e)(2)). 

On December 19, 2007, the Energy 

Independence and Security Act of 2007 

(EISA 2007), Public Law 110–140, was 

enacted. The EISA 2007 amendments to 

EPCA, in relevant part, require DOE to 

amend the test procedures for all 

covered products to include measures of 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption.3 Specifically, section 310 

of EISA 2007 provides definitions of 

‘‘standby mode’’ and ‘‘off mode’’ (42 

U.S.C. 6295(gg)(1)(B)). The statute 

requires integration of such energy 

consumption into the overall energy 

efficiency, energy consumption, or other 

energy descriptor for each covered 

product, unless the Secretary 

determines that: (1) The current test 

procedures for a covered product 

already fully account for and 

incorporate the standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption of the 

covered product; or (2) such an 

integrated test procedure is technically 

infeasible for a particular covered 

product, in which case the Secretary 

shall prescribe a separate standby mode 

and off mode energy use test procedure 

for the covered product, if technically 

feasible. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A)). 

Under the statutory provisions adopted 

by EISA 2007, any such amendment 

must consider the most current versions 

of the International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC) Standard 62301, 

Household electrical appliances— 

Measurement of standby power, and IEC 

Standard 62087, Methods of 

measurement for the power 

consumption of audio, video, and 

related equipment.4

Pursuant to EPCA under 42 U.S.C. 

6295(f)(4)(D), DOE is currently 

conducting a rulemaking to consider 

new energy conservation standards for 

furnace fans. EPCA directs DOE to 

establish test procedures in conjunction 

with new or amended energy 

conservation standards, including 

furnace fans. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(3)(A). 

To fulfill these requirements, DOE is 

simultaneously initiating a test 

procedure rulemaking for furnace fans. 

DOE intends for the test procedure to 

include: (1) An annual electrical energy 

consumption metric normalized by total 

annual operating hours and airflow 

capacity in the maximum airflowcontrol setting; and (2) the methods 

necessary to measure the performance of 

the covered products. The metric will 

also account for the electrical energy 

consumption in standby mode and off 

mode for furnace fans used in heating 

ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) 

products for which consumption in 

those modes is not already fully 

accounted for in other DOE 

rulemakings. Manufacturers will be 

required to use these methods and this 

metric for the purposes of verifying 

compliance with the new energy 

conservation standards when they take 

effect. 

DOE does not currently have a test 

procedure for furnace fans. On June 3, 

2010, DOE published a Notice of Public 

Meeting and Availability of the 

Framework Document to initiate the 

energy conservation standard 

rulemaking for furnace fans. 75 FR 

31323. DOE posted the furnace fans 

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28676 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

framework document, hereinafter 

referred to as the June 2010 framework 

document, to its Web site. In the June 

2010 framework document, DOE 

requested feedback from interested 

parties on many issues related to test 

methods for evaluating the electrical 

energy consumption of furnace fans. 

DOE held the framework public meeting 

on June 18, 2010. DOE originally 

scheduled the framework comment 

period to close on July 6, 2010. 

However, due to the large number and 

broad scope of questions and issues 

raised in the June 2010 framework 

document (and during the public 

meeting), DOE subsequently published a 

notice in the Federal Register reopening 

the comment period from July 15, 2010 

until July 27, 2010, to allow additional 

time for interested parties to submit 

comments. 75 FR 41102 (July 15, 2010). 

II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

In this notice of proposed rulemaking, 

DOE proposes to establish a test method 

for measuring the electrical energy 

consumption of furnace fans, as well as 

airflow performance (which has a direct 

effect on efficiency), and the standby 

mode and off mode energy consumption 

of such fans. DOE intends for the 

proposed test procedure to be broadly 

applicable to electrically-powered 

devices used in residential central 

HVAC systems for the purposes of 

circulating air through duct work (i.e., 

furnace fans). Furnace fans include, but 

are not limited to, the air distribution 

fans used in weatherized and nonweatherized gas furnaces, oil furnaces, 

electric furnaces, modular blowers, and 

hydronic air handlers. The proposed 

test procedure is not intended to be 

applicable to any non-ducted products, 

such as whole-house ventilation 

systems without duct work, central airconditioning (CAC) condensing unit 

fans, room fans, and furnace draft 

inducer fans. 

Pursuant to EPCA, DOE must 

establish these test procedures in order 

to allow for the development of energy 

conservation standards that will address 

the electrical consumption of these 

products. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(3)(A)) As 

further required by EPCA, the NOPR 

also includes proposed methods for 

measuring the standby mode and off 

mode electrical energy consumption for 

furnace fans used in HVAC products, to 

the extent that electrical energy 

consumption in these modes is not 

already covered (i.e., the NOPR 

proposes standby mode and off mode 

test methods for hydronic air handlers). 

(42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A)) DOE proposes 

to integrate measurements for standby 

mode and off mode electrical energy 

consumption with the active mode 

energy consumption in the proposed 

metric for hydronic air handlers. DOE’s 

proposed approach to these test 

procedure issues is summarized below 

and addressed in further detail later in 

this notice. 

To rate the electrical efficiency of 

furnace fans (active mode energy 

consumption), DOE proposes to 

incorporate by reference into the test 

procedure specific provisions from 

American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI)/Air Movement and Control 

Association International, Inc. (AMCA) 

210–07 | ANSI/American Society of 

Heating, Refrigerating and Air 

Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 51– 

07, Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans 

for Certified Aerodynamic Performance 

Rating, hereinafter referred to as ‘‘ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07.’’ The specific provisions 

DOE proposes to include from ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07 are definitions, test setup 

and equipment, test conditions, and 

procedures for measuring airflow and 

external static pressure. In addition to 

these provisions, DOE proposes 

provisions for measuring electrical 

energy consumption using an electrical 

power meter. DOE also proposes to 

specify the methods for measuring 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption from the DOE residential 

furnaces test procedure to measure 

energy consumption in these modes for 

hydronic air handlers. (10 CFR part 430, 

subpart B, appendix N, section 8.0) In 

addition, DOE proposes calculations to 

derive the rating metric (i.e., fan 

efficiency rating) based on the measured 

values. 

DOE proposes to use as the furnace 

fan efficiency rating metric the 

‘‘estimated annual electrical energy 

consumption’’ normalized by: (a) The 

total number of annual operating hours, 

and (b) the airflow in the maximum 

airflow-control setting in standard cubic 

feet per minute. Standard cubic feet per 

minute (scfm) is a measure of airflow 

corrected for predetermined standard air 

conditions. The estimated annual 

electrical energy consumption, as 

proposed, is a weighted average of the 

input power (in Watts) measured 

separately for multiple airflow-control 

settings at different external static 

pressures (ESPs). These ESPs are 

determined by a reference system that 

represents national average duct work 

system characteristics. The airflowcontrol settings proposed to be rated 

correspond to operation in cooling 

mode, heating mode, and constantcirculation mode. Table II.1 illustrates 

the airflow-control settings that will be 

rated for various product types. 

TABLE II.1—PROPOSED RATED AIRFLOW-CONTROL SETTINGS BY PRODUCT TYPE

Product type Rated airflow-control setting 1 Rated airflow-control 

setting 2 

Rated 

airflow-control 

setting 3 

Single-stage Heating ............................................ Default constant-circulation ................................ Default heat .................. Maximum. 

Multi-stage or Modulating Heating ........................ Default constant-circulation ................................ Default low heat ........... Maximum. 

Heating-only .......................................................... Default constant-circulation ................................ None ............................. Maximum. 

For products with single-stage 

heating, the three proposed rating 

airflow-control settings are the 

maximum setting, the default heating 

setting, and the default constantcirculation setting. For products with 

multi-stage heating or modulating 

heating, the proposed rating airflowcontrol settings are the maximum 

setting, the default low heating setting, 

and the default constant-circulation 

setting. For products that are not 

designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil, hereinafter referred to 

as ‘‘heating-only products,’’ the 

proposed rating airflow-control settings 

are the maximum airflow-control setting 

(expected to be the default heat airflowcontrol setting) and the default constantcirculation setting. The lowest default 

airflow-control setting is used to 

represent constant circulation if a 

constant-circulation setting is not 

specified. DOE proposes to weight the 

Watt measurements using designated 

annual operating hours for each 

function (i.e., cooling, heating, and 

constant circulation) that are intended 

to represent national average operation. 

The specified operating hours for the 

heating mode for multi-stage heating or 

modulating heating products are 

modified to account for variation in 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 28677 

time spent in this mode associated with 

turndown of heating output. 

DOE also proposes to establish 

methods for measuring the standby 

mode and off mode electrical energy 

consumption of furnace fans for which 

consumption in these modes is not 

already covered by existing standards or 

currently proposed amendments to 

those standards (i.e., the NOPR proposes 

standby mode and off mode test 

methods for hydronic air handlers). 

EPCA requires that DOE integrate into 

the energy conservation standard the 

energy use associated with standby 

mode and off mode, unless the current 

standard already accounts for standby 

mode and off mode energy consumption 

or integration is not technically feasible. 

In the latter case, EPCA requires that 

DOE prescribe a separate efficiency 

standard to address standby mode and 

off mode energy use, unless that is not 

feasible. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(3)) DOE 

efficiency metrics for furnaces already 

fully account for the energy use 

associated with the standby mode and 

off mode of their furnace fans. (10 CFR 

part 430, subpart B, appendix N, section 

8.0) On September 13, 2011, DOE 

published a NOPR in the Federal 

Register proposing to update the DOE 

test procedure for furnaces through 

incorporation by reference of the latest 

edition of the relevant industry 

standard, specifically IEC Standard 

62301 (Second Edition). 76 FR 56339. 

For central air conditioners (CAC), DOE 

has proposed such metrics in a notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 75 FR 31224, 

31270 (June 2, 2010). Subsequently, 

DOE published two supplemental 

notices of proposed rulemaking 

(SNOPR). DOE published the first 

SNOPR on April 1, 2011 (76 FR 18105) 

and the second SNOPR on October 24, 

2011 (76 FR 65616). Hence, including 

standby mode and off mode energy use 

in the furnace fan efficiency metric for 

these HVAC products would not be 

appropriate, because it is already fully 

addressed. Products for which standby 

mode and off mode energy use is 

already accounted elsewhere include 

weatherized and non-weatherized gas 

furnaces, oil furnaces, electric furnaces, 

and modular blowers. However, test 

procedures that include measurement of 

furnace fan standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption have been neither 

established nor proposed for hydronic 

air handlers, so DOE proposes to do so 

in this rulemaking. 

III. Discussion 

A. Scope 

Under 42 U.S.C. 6295(f)(4)(D), EPCA 

directs DOE to consider and prescribe 

standards for electricity used for 

purposes of circulating air through duct 

work. Although the title of this statutory 

section refers to ‘‘furnaces and boilers,’’ 

this particular provision was written 

using notably broader language than the 

other provisions within the same 

section. Consequently, in the June 2010 

framework document for the energy 

conservation standards rulemaking, 

DOE tentatively interpreted this relevant 

statutory language to allow DOE to 

cover the electricity used by any 

electrically-powered device used in 

residential, central HVAC systems for 

the purpose of circulating air through 

duct work. 75 FR 31323 (June 3, 2010). 

Ultimately, the scope of applicability 

of the proposed test procedure will be 

determined by the scope of coverage of 

the energy conservation standards 

rulemaking for furnace fans. Therefore, 

DOE proposes a scope of applicability 

for this notice that is broad enough to 

cover the products currently under 

consideration for the energy 

conservation standards rulemaking, 

including single-phase, electricallypowered devices that circulate air 

through duct work in HVAC systems 

with heating input capacities less than 

225,000 Btu per hour, cooling capacities 

less than 65,000 Btu per hour, and 

airflow capacities less than 3,000 cfm. 

These specifications are consistent with 

the DOE definitions for residential 

‘‘furnace’’ and ‘‘central air conditioner’’ 

(10 CFR 430.2), and the airflow typically 

required to provide these levels of 

heating and cooling. DOE proposes to 

exclude from the scope of applicability 

of the test procedure any non-ducted 

products, such as whole-house 

ventilation systems without duct work, 

CAC condensing unit fans, room fans, 

and furnace draft inducer fans because 

these products do not circulate air 

through duct work. DOE believes this 

proposed scope of applicability is broad 

enough to anticipate the scope of 

coverage of the energy conservation 

standard. 

B. Definitions 

DOE proposes to incorporate by 

reference in section 2 of Appendix AA 

to Subpart B of Part 430, all definitions 

in section 3.1 of ANSI/AMCA 210–07. 

DOE also proposes to include in section 

2 of Appendix AA to Subpart B of Part 

430 the additional and modified 

definitions listed below: 

• Active mode means any mode in 

which the HVAC product is connected 

to the power source and circulating air 

through duct work. 

• Airflow-control settings are differing 

ranges of airflow that a fan motor is 

programmed or wired to achieve in a 

single control system configuration (i.e., 

without manual adjustments) often 

designated for performing a specific 

HVAC function (e.g., cooling, heating, or 

constant circulation). 

• ANSI/AMCA 210–07 means the test 

standard published by ANSI/AMCA 

210–07 | ANSI/ASHRAE 51–07 titled 

‘‘Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans for 

Certified Aerodynamic Performance 

Rating.’’ 

• Default airflow-control settings are 

the airflow-control settings that can be 

achieved in the factory-set control 

system configuration (i.e., without 

manual adjustment other than 

interaction with a user-operable control 

such as a thermostat). 

• External static pressure means the 

difference between the fan total pressure 

at the air outlet and the total pressure 

at the air inlet less velocity pressure at 

the air outlet of an HVAC product 

containing a furnace fan when operating 

and installed in accordance with the 

manufacturer’s instructions. External 

static pressure does not include the 

pressure drop across appurtenances 

internal to the HVAC product. 

• Hydronic air handler means a 

furnace designed to supply heat through 

a system of ducts with air as the heating 

medium, in which heat is generated by 

hot water flowing through a hydronic 

heating coil and the heated air is 

circulated by means of a fan or blower. 

• Off mode means the mode during 

which the HVAC product is not 

powered. 

• Residential furnace fan means an 

electrically-powered device used in 

residential central heating, ventilation, 

and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems 

for the purpose of circulating air 

through duct work. 

• Seasonal off switch means the 

switch on the HVAC product that, when 

activated, results in a measurable 

change in energy consumption between 

the standby and off modes. 

• Standby mode means the mode 

during which the HVAC product is 

connected to the power source and the 

furnace fan is not activated. 

C. Reference Standard 

In the June 2010 framework document 

for the furnace fans energy conservation 

standards rulemaking, DOE requested 

interested-party comments on the 

methods specified in the December 2009 

draft version of Canadian Standard CSA 

C823, Performance Standard for Air 

Handlers in Residential Space 

Conditioning Systems, which references 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 and ANSI/ 

ASHRAE Std 37–2005, Methods of 

Testing for Rating Electrically Driven 

Unitary Air-Conditioning and Heat 

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Pump Equipment. The December 2009 

draft CSA C823 test procedure specifies 

use of the methods described in the 

aforementioned industry standards to 

measure the electrical power 

consumption of a furnace fan at specific 

operating points in each of a furnace 

fan’s available airflow-control settings. 

The December 2009 draft of CSA C823 

includes a rating metric with units of 

kWh that is called the annual electricity 

consumption rating (AECR). This rating 

is a time-weighted sum of the energy 

use measurements. 

Rheem and the Air-Conditioning, 

Heating, and Refrigeration Institute 

(AHRI) stated that ANSI/AMCA 210–07 

is a well-known and widely-used 

reference test procedure (Rheem, No. 29 

at pp. 4–5; AHRI, No. 20 at pp. 3–4). 

Rheem recommended that DOE use 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 as its reference test 

procedure (Rheem, No. 29 at pp. 4–5). 

AHRI proposed basing the standard on 

ANSI/AHRI Standard 210–240–2008, 

but conceded that this test method 

might increase burden because it is 

different from the way furnaces are 

currently tested (AHRI, No. 20 at p. 5). 

Ingersoll Rand suggested that DOE use 

the methods specified in DOE’s existing 

residential furnace test procedure 

codified in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, 

appendix N, because the test procedures 

referenced in CSA C823 (i.e., ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07) would add test burden 

by requiring additional test 

measurements and an alternate test setup. (Ingersoll Rand, No. 12 at p. 1) 

After carefully considering these 

comments, DOE is proposing to 

incorporate by reference ANSI/AMCA 

210–07. DOE believes that ANSI/AMCA 

210–07 is an appropriate reference 

standard because it is a well-known and 

widely-used industry standard for 

measuring fan performance. DOE is 

aware that manufacturers use ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07 to generate the airflow 

performance data tables that they 

publish in product specification sheets. 

These tables include measurements of 

airflow (and sometimes electrical 

consumption) at various ESPs across a 

wide range. These tables and comments 

from interested parties indicate that 

manufacturers already possess or have 

access to test facilities suitable for 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 testing. DOE also 

expects that manufacturers are practiced 

in or at least familiar with the methods 

necessary to take these measurements. 

AHRI stated that manufacturers 

currently perform furnace fan tests 

according to ANSI/AMCA 210–07 to 

generate airflow data for intended 

application of products (AHRI, No. 21 at 

pp. 3, 4). For these reasons, DOE does 

not expect that these methods would be 

overly burdensome to manufacturers. In 

addition, ANSI/AMCA 210–07 is more 

suitable for measuring airflow and 

electrical consumption across a range of 

ESPs and in multiple airflow-control 

settings; in contrast, the DOE residential 

furnace test procedure and ANSI/AHRI 

210–240–2008 specify methods for 

measuring these parameters in a single 

airflow-control setting per heating stage 

as long as a minimum ESP has been 

achieved. The benefits of measuring 

performance in multiple airflow-control 

settings is discussed in detail in section 

III.F.1 While the ESP values specified in 

the DOE residential furnace test 

procedure and ANSI/AHRI 210–240– 

2008 are appropriate for rating furnaces, 

they are inconsistent with the values 

determined to be appropriate for rating 

furnace fan electrical performance, as 

proposed in this notice. A detailed 

discussion of the ESP values proposed 

in this notice compared to the suggested 

methods is provided in section III.E. 

DOE proposes to incorporate by 

reference most aspects of ANSI/AMCA 

210–07, except for specifications related 

to measuring rotational speed, beam 

load, torque, and mechanical 

measurement of input power. 

Specifically, DOE proposes to 

incorporate by reference the following 

provisions from ANSI/AMCA 210–07: 

• Definitions, units of measure, and 

symbols (section 3); 

• Instruments and methods of 

measurement (sections 4.1 through 4.3 

and 4.6), excluding those for mechanical 

measurement of fan input power and 

motor calibration (section 4.4) and 

rotational speed (section 4.5); 

• Test setup and equipment 

provisions (section 5) and observation 

and conduct of test guidelines (section 

6), excluding test data to be recorded for 

rotational speed (N), beam load (F), or 

torque (T); 

• Calculations (sections 7.1 through 

7.7 and section 7.9), excluding 

calculations for fan power input or fan 

efficiency (sections 7.7 and 7.8); and 

• Report and results of test 

requirements (section 8). 

In addition to the methods 

incorporated by reference from ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07, DOE proposes to 

include specification of the range and 

increments of ESPs at which 

determinations are to be made. ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07 defines a 

‘‘determination’’ as a complete set of 

measurements for a particular point of 

operation for a fan. For this notice, a 

complete set of measurements at a 

particular point of operation includes 

airflow, electrical consumption, and 

ESP. 

DOE also proposes to include 

provisions for using an electrical meter 

to measure electrical energy 

consumption at each determination to 

replace the mechanical methods 

specified in section 4.4 of ANSI/AMCA 

210–07. The proposed provisions are 

necessary because measuring electrical 

energy consumption using electrical 

power meters is a more widely used 

method by manufacturers of HVAC 

products. In addition, the voltage 

requirements in ANSI/AMCA 210–07 

are specified in relation to the results of 

its specified motor calibration 

procedure (section 4.4.1.1), which DOE 

is not proposing to adopt in this notice. 

The proposed voltage requirements are 

consistent with those included in the 

DOE test procedures for residential 

furnaces and central air conditioners 

and heat pumps and are, therefore, also 

widely used by HVAC product 

manufacturers. DOE proposes to specify 

the use of an electrical meter with a 

certified accuracy of ±1 percent of 

observed readings to measure the 

electrical input power consumption of 

the HVAC product in which the furnace 

fan is incorporated at each 

determination. In addition, DOE 

proposes to specify that the electrical 

power supplied to the HVAC product be 

maintained within 1 percent of the 

nameplate voltage of the HVAC product. 

If a dual voltage is used for nameplate 

voltage, DOE proposes that the electrical 

supply be maintained within 1 percent 

of the higher voltage. 

D. Rating Metric 

In the June 2010 framework 

document, DOE requested comment to 

aid in determining an appropriate 

metric for rating furnace fan 

performance. Specifically, DOE 

identified two possible metrics: (1) the 

annual electrical energy consumption 

rating (AECR), as specified in the 

December 2009 draft version of 

Canadian Standard Association (CSA) 

C823, Performance Standard for Air 

Handlers in Residential Space 

Conditioning Systems, and (2) the 

blower power measurement (BE), as 

specified in the current DOE test 

procedure for residential furnaces 

codified in 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, 

appendix N. AECR uses operating hour 

multipliers based on climate, consumer 

behavior assumptions, and product 

characteristics (e.g., multi-stage or 

modulating heating and cooling 

capability) to weight electrical 

consumption measurements in all 

possible airflow-control settings in order 

to estimate the annual electrical energy 

consumption of furnace fans, reported 

in kilowatt hours (kWh). BE is a 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 28679 

5EPCA defines ‘‘energy conservation standard’’ as 

a performance standard which prescribes a 

minimum level of energy efficiency or a maximum 

quantity of energy use for a covered product. (42 

U.S.C. 6291(6)(A)) This definition does not allow 

prescription of multiple minimum levels of energy 

efficiency or maximum quantities of energy use, as 

would be required if multiple efficiency metrics 

were prescribed by the test procedure for energy 

conservation standards compliance purposes. 

measurement of the steady-state power 

consumption of furnace fans in watts 

(W) at a minimum ESP determined by 

fuel type and input capacity. 

Several interested parties stated that 

using an annualized energy 

consumption rating metric, such as 

AECR, is inappropriate for rating 

furnace fan performance. The American 

Council for an Energy-Efficient 

Economy (ACEEE) commented that it is 

not sure that fans can be rated both 

simply and meaningfully using a single 

certifiable number, like AECR, because 

of the diversity of expected furnace fan 

electricity consumption levels, 

depending on house size, duct 

restrictions, local climate, whether the 

unit is run in full-time ‘‘circulate’’ 

mode, and myriad other factors. 

(ACEEE, No. 19 at p. 2) Ingersoll Rand 

stated that adopting a rule that estimates 

the annualized energy usage would be 

confusing and misleading to consumers, 

as operating hours vary greatly across 

the country and from house to house. 

(Ingersoll Rand, No. 25 at p. 1) AHRI 

commented that an annual electrical 

energy consumption metric is not 

appropriate because of variations in 

climate, usage patterns, and installation. 

(AHRI, No. 21 at p. 3) Rheem expressed 

a similar view, that a less complicated, 

less specific, and less technically 

detailed energy descriptor would be a 

more powerful tool to guide HVAC 

professionals and consumers in the 

selection of energy-efficient equipment 

for specific climates, installations, and 

use patterns (Rheem, No. 29 at p. 1). 

Many interested parties stated that 

cubic feet per minute per watt (cfm/W), 

or a similar efficiency metric should be 

used to rate furnace fan performance. 

The Northeast Energy Efficiency 

Partnership (NEEP) recommended that 

the efficiency metric be based on cfm/ 

W or watts per cubic feet per minute 

(W/cfm). According to NEEP, this 

approach would avoid making the 

calculation overly complicated and 

potentially watered down with 

conditional assumptions, which 

contribute to a very difficult and, 

potentially, misleading metric to use for 

comparison. (NEEP, No. 16 at p. 3) 

Ingersoll Rand stated that the use of the 

single descriptor, cfm/W, provides the 

most direct way to compare furnace fan 

performance regardless of geography 

and how closely the furnace is sized to 

the house load. (Ingersoll Rand, No. 25 

at p. 1) The Northwest Energy Efficiency 

Alliance (NEEA) recommended use of 

an air-delivery efficiency metric, such as 

cfm/W, to avoid the expectedly large 

standard deviation of actual energy use 

values around the rating value, which 

would be misleading for most 

installations. (NEEA, No. 9 at p. 2) Regal 

Beloit and the American Gas 

Association (AGA) also expressed 

support for the use of a rating metric 

expressed in cfm/W or W/cfm. (Regal 

Beloit, No. 32 at p. 3 and AGA, No. 7 

at p. 101) 

Interested parties also suggested a 

number of alternative metrics. AHRI and 

certain manufacturers, including 

Rheem, Nordyne, and Lennox, 

suggested that DOE use ‘‘e,’’ a 

dimensionless descriptor that expresses 

the electrical consumption of a furnace, 

including electrical components other 

than the furnace fan, as a percentage of 

its total (electrical and fuel) energy 

consumption. The ‘‘e’’ metric is a 

function of the average annual auxiliary 

electrical energy consumption, Eae. Eae is 

a well-known industry metric that is 

specified in the current DOE test 

procedure for residential furnaces. The 

‘‘e’’ metric is currently used to 

determine furnace eligibility for Federal 

tax credits. (AHRI, No. 21 at p. 4, 

Rheem, No. 29 at p. 3; Nordyne, No. 31 

at p. 2; and Lennox, No. 23 at p. 2) AHRI 

also recommended that DOE use ‘‘eb.’’ 

The ‘‘eb’’ metric is a ratio of the 

electrical energy consumed by the 

furnace fan to the total fuel and 

electrical energy consumed by the 

furnace. The ratio is similar to the ‘‘e’’ 

metric but differs in that the numerator 

only accounts for the electrical energy 

consumed by the furnace fan and not 

the total electrical consumption of the 

furnace. (AHRI No. 34 at pp. 1–3) Regal 

Beloit, a fan motor manufacturer, 

suggested that DOE use air horsepower 

(Air HP) to rate furnace fans. Air HP is 

the theoretical power required to deliver 

a specified quantity of air under a 

specified pressure condition and can be 

characterized as a function of the 

airflow, static pressure, and a constant. 

Regal Beloit did not provide details 

about the value or nature of the 

constant. (Regal Beloit, No. 32 at p. 3) 

Nordyne suggested that DOE use the air 

mover efficiency ratio (AMER) if ‘‘e’’ is 

not used. AMER is the ratio of the 

heating output capacity and the power 

consumed by the furnace fan. For 

AMER, Nordyne recommended that 

power be measured at a rating point 

defined by an airflow that is 0.175 times 

the output capacity on the lowest speed 

tap that would yield that airflow at 0.5 

in.w.c. (Nordyne, No. 31 at p. 2) ACEEE 

recommended that DOE require furnace 

fan efficiency to be reported using three 

different energy consumption values 

that correspond to three different 

application classes: (1) Continuous 

circulation; (2) hot climate; and (3) 

average-to-cold climate (heatingdominated air handler energy use). 

(ACEEE, No. 19 at p. 3) 

In order to determine an appropriate 

metric for furnace fan efficiency to 

propose in this notice, DOE carefully 

considered the suggestions and other 

points raised in public comments, and 

conducted additional research, as 

explained below. One tentative 

conclusion that DOE reached is that a 

furnace fan efficiency metric must 

capture operation at multiple key 

operating points. DOE’s investigation of 

furnace fan performance data indicates 

that input power can drop dramatically 

as airflow is reduced. In addition, 

different furnace fans exhibit very 

different behavior with respect to their 

range of achievable airflows and the 

corresponding reduction in power input 

as airflow is reduced. DOE expects that 

examination of a furnace fan at a single 

operating point would not likely 

provide a full representation of energy 

use of a furnace fan in a typical 

installation. Therefore, DOE is 

proposing a metric that evaluates the 

furnace fan operation at multiple key 

operating points, as suggested by 

ACEEE. DOE proposes that the energy 

use in these modes is combined into a 

single metric, however, because DOE 

cannot set energy conservation 

standards based on multiple metrics.5

The incorporation of multiple operating 

points in evaluation of furnace fan 

efficiency would ensure that the 

operating characteristics throughout the 

expected operating range are accounted 

for in the efficiency metric, and would, 

thus, rate at higher efficiency a furnace 

fan with the potential for airflow-control 

setting reduction and with greater 

reduction in input power as airflow is 

reduced. 

Another tentative conclusion which 

DOE reached was that, consistent with 

comments received from interested 

parties, a metric in units of watts per 

cfm at specified ESPs would provide a 

useful metric for interested parties to 

compare and evaluate furnace fan 

performance. DOE finds that interested 

parties are familiar with discussing fan 

efficiency in terms of watts per 1000 

cfm, as this is how fan performance is 

estimated in the alternative rating 

method for coil-only CAC products. 

Accordingly, in DOE’s proposed metric 

(discussed below), the average power 

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28680 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

6 ‘‘Wet bulb temperature’’ is the temperature 

measured by a thermometer having its bulb cooled 

by a wet ‘‘sock.’’ The measurement gives an 

indication of the relative humidity of the 

surrounding air. For 95 °F dry bulb and 75 °F wet 

bulb temperatures at sea level under standard 

barometric pressure, the relative humidity is 40 

percent. 

input is normalized by maximum 

airflow (in cfm), to allow for comparison 

across HVAC products of different 

capacities. 

Finally, DOE tentatively concluded 

that it would not be possible for a 

furnace fan efficiency metric to capture 

all aspects of field operation. Several 

interested parties pointed out the 

dependence of furnace fan operating 

hours in the field on a wide range of 

factors such as climate, house size, duct 

characteristics, etc., as discussed above. 

However, the field performance of many 

products is dependent on the range of 

field installation and operating 

conditions. For example, the integrated 

combined energy efficiency ratio (CEER) 

for room air conditioners is based on 

active mode operation for 750 hours in 

outdoor temperature conditions of 95 °F 

dry bulb temperature and 75 °F wet bulb 

temperature.6 A product’s rating 

provides an indication of energy use in 

a typical installation, but actual field 

energy use may vary. The annual 

operating hours for the proposed fan 

efficiency metric, which allow 

calculation of typical annual energy use, 

are intended to be representative of 

typical national average hours, and they 

allow determination of annualized 

performance over a typical annual cycle. 

In light of the parameters discussed 

above, DOE proposes to use a new rating 

metric called the ‘‘fan efficiency rating’’ 

(FER). FER is not included in the 

aforementioned industry standards, but 

is derived from data collected using the 

methods specified in ANSI/AMCA 210– 

07. The proposed FER is the estimated 

annual electrical consumption 

normalized by total operating hours and 

the airflow measured in the maximum 

airflow-control setting at a specified 

ESP. The proposed estimate of annual 

electrical consumption is a weighted 

average of Watts measured separately 

for multiple airflow-control settings at 

different ESPs. These ESPs are 

determined by a reference system curve, 

which is developed using a specified 

airflow-control setting and ESP. This 

reference system curve is intended to 

represent typical duct work systems 

used for circulation of air. DOE 

determined the reference system criteria 

specified in this notice through analysis 

of measured ESP field data. Section III.E 

discusses in greater detail the reference 

system concept proposed in this notice. 

The airflow-control settings in which 

determinations are specified to be made 

depend on the number of heating stages 

that the HVAC product has and whether 

the HVAC product is designed to be 

used for cooling. Two-stage and 

modulating controls allow HVAC 

products to meet heating load 

requirements more precisely. When low 

heating load conditions exist, a twostage or modulating HVAC product can 

operate at a reduced input rate for an 

extended period of burner on-time to 

meet the reduced heating load. For 

products with single-stage heating, the 

three proposed rating airflow-control 

settings are the maximum setting, the 

default heating setting, and the default 

constant-circulation setting. For 

products with multi-stage or modulating 

heating, the proposed rating airflowcontrol settings are the maximum 

setting, the default low-heating setting, 

and the default constant-circulation 

setting. For heating-only products (i.e., 

HVAC products not designed to be 

paired with an external cooling coil), 

the proposed rating airflow-control 

settings are the maximum airflowcontrol setting (expected to be the 

default heating airflow-control setting) 

and the default constant-circulation 

setting. The lowest default airflowcontrol setting is used to represent 

constant-circulation if a constant 

circulation setting is not specified. 

DOE understands that furnace fans 

typically have three or more airflowcontrol settings which are designated for 

specific functions. DOE is also aware 

that some furnace fans have more than 

one airflow-control setting designated 

for heating and/or cooling in multi-stage 

or modulating products. DOE requests 

comments on whether rating furnace 

fans using multiple but fewer than the 

total number of available airflow-control 

settings is appropriate, including multistage products. DOE expects that 

furnace fan factory settings typically 

designate the highest default airflow 

settings for cooling, median default 

airflow settings for heating, and the 

lowest default airflow settings for 

constant circulation. DOE also requests 

comments on the proposed assumptions 

for factory set airflow-control setting 

designations for specific functions. (See 

Issue 1 under ‘‘Issues on Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’ in section V.E of this 

NOPR.) 

DOE proposes to weight the input 

power at the operating points of the 

proposed rating airflow-control settings 

using estimates of the annual operating 

hours that the furnace fan spends 

performing each of the functions 

typically designated for each airflowcontrol setting. The proposed average 

annual operating hours for furnace fans 

take into account differences in climate 

and constant-circulation operation. DOE 

recognizes that furnace fan annual 

operating hours vary significantly by 

region, but DOE believes the proposed 

values provide a reasonable estimate of 

average national annual operating hours 

by function. The following paragraphs 

include a detailed description of the 

approach and sources used to derive the 

proposed operating hour values, which 

are included in Table III.2. 

DOE proposes to specify one set of 

annual operating hours for products 

with single-stage heating and another 

for products with multi-stage or 

modulating heating. This proposed rule 

specifies use of the default low-heating 

setting to rate multi-stage or modulating 

furnaces because DOE expects that these 

furnaces spend most of their heating 

operating time in the low-heating mode. 

In addition, as compared to single-stage 

furnaces, multi-stage and modulating 

furnaces also spend more total time 

operating in heating mode, due to the 

reduced heat output for the low-heating 

mode. Consequently, the proposed 

heating mode hours used to calculate 

annual energy use in the metric are 

calculated based on the reduced heat 

output, as described below. DOE does 

not propose to account for multi-stage 

cooling because the presence and 

capacity of low-stage cooling is 

dependent on the cooling system with 

which the furnace fan HVAC products 

are paired. DOE found in its review of 

publicly-available product literature 

that detailed characteristics of the 

cooling system are not provided in the 

product literature for furnace fan HVAC 

products. In addition, multi-stage 

heating is not necessarily associated 

with multi-stage cooling capability (e.g., 

multi-stage cooling equipment is much 

less common than multi-stage heating 

equipment). 

For products with single-stage 

heating, national average annual heating 

operating hours are calculated using the 

following formula: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 28681 

7The 2007 Furnace Database (Available at: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_

standards/residential/fb_fr_analysis.html.) 8 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, Appendix N. 

9U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Information 

Administration, Residential Energy Consumption 

Survey (RECS), Public use data files (2005) (Last 

accessed Sept. 2011.) (Available at: http://www.eia.

doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html). 10Electric furnaces are excluded because they are 

mostly associated with heat pumps, and average 

input capacity data for electric furnaces is scarce. 

Also, RECS does not provide information to 

distinguish which households have hydronic airhandlers. Potentially adding electric furnaces and 

hydronic equipment might slightly lower BOH, 

since this equipment tends to be located in warmer 

climates. 

11National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) National Data Center 

Climate Data Online: HDD Data by Census Division 

(Last accessed Sept. 5, 2011) (Available at: http:// 

www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/CDO/CDODivisionalSelect.

jsp). 

12 GAMA, GAMA Shipment Data by Input 

Capacity Bins (2002) (Provided to DOE for the 2007 

Furnace and Boiler Standards rulemaking) (EERE– 

2006–STD–0102–0056). 

13Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration 

Institute (AHRI), Consumer’s Directory of Certified 

Efficiency Ratings for Heating and Water Heating 

Equipment (AHRI Directory February 2010) (Last 

accessed September 2011). 

14 It is assumed that the input capacity proxy 

value is very close to the average value for all gas 

and oil-fired furnaces (especially since nonweatherized gas furnaces represent more than 80 

percent of all gas and oil furnaces). 

Where: 

HHss = estimated annual furnace heating 

hours for products with single-stage 

heating, in hours; 

y = ratio of blower on-time to average burner 

on-time; 

WFheat = heating weather adjustment factor; 

and 

HEAnnual = average annual heating energy use, 

in MMBtu/year; and 

Qin = average input heating capacity, in 

MMBtu/hour. 

The inputs to this equation are 

determined as follows. The ratio of 

blower on-time to average burner ontime is derived from manufacturer 

default blower delay settings for nonweatherized gas furnace models found 

in the 2007 Furnace Database 7 from 

DOE’s 2007 Furnace and Boiler Final 

Rule. 72 FR 65136 (Nov. 19, 2007). 

Using these data, the median values are 

2 minutes for blower off-delay and 0.5 

minutes for blower on-delay. The 

average burner on-time per cycle is 3.87 

minutes for single-stage furnaces with 

fan delay based on DOE’s furnace test 

procedure.8 Therefore, ratio of blower 

on-time to average burner on-time, y, is 

estimated to be 1.39. 

The average annual heating energy 

use is derived using the average Energy 

Information Administration’s (EIA) 

RECS 2005 9 heating energy use data for 

households with a gas or oil-fired 

furnace.10 The average heating energy 

use, HEAnnual, in 2005 from these data is 

49.8 MMBtu/year. Because heating 

energy use varies every year due to 

climate variations and because 2005 was 

a warmer than average year, an average 

weather factor, WFheat, was applied to 

this value. To calculate the average 

weather factor, DOE used annual 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) heating degree 

day (HDD) per Census Division.11 To 

represent average conditions, DOE used 

the 30-year annual average HDD from 

1981–2010 and compared it to 2005 

HDD (weighting both sets of data by the 

number of households with a gas and 

oil-fired furnace in RECS 2005 found in 

each Census Division). The resulting 

average weather factor is 1.04. This 

factor (1.04) is then multiplied times 

average 2005 heating energy use (49.8 

MMBtu/year) to yield 51.6 MMBtu/year 

average heating energy use. The average 

input capacity is calculated to be 86.3 

kBtu/hour based on gas furnace 2001 

gas furnace shipment data by input 

capacity bins 12 and number of models 

in the 2010 AHRI directory 13 for nonweatherized gas furnaces.14 Using these 

values, DOE calculates the average 

annual heating operating hours to be 

830 hours per year. 

DOE proposes to account for the 

differences in operation between singlestage and multi-stage or modulating 

units in its estimated annual heating 

operating hours. When heating a 

residential building, a certain amount of 

heat is required to reach a desired 

indoor temperature in that given 

building. The heat output of the HVAC 

product installed in that building is the 

rate at which the product provides that 

heat. The lower the heating output 

capacity of the installed HVAC product 

in that building, the longer that HVAC 

product must operate to provide the 

necessary heat to reach a desired 

temperature rise. For products with 

multi-stage or modulating heating, DOE 

is aware that heating operation hours 

are distributed between two or more 

heating operating modes that have 

different output capacities, referred to as 

‘‘stages.’’ DOE finds that product 

literature refers to multi-stage/ 

modulating heating as a comfort feature 

characterized by long run-times in the 

low-heat setting, which can account for 

90 percent or more of heating operation 

time. As a result, DOE recognizes that 

total heating operating hours for multistage and modulating furnace fans will 

likely be higher than for single-stage 

furnace fans in a given installation, 

because the HVAC product will be 

operating at its lower output capacity 

for a majority of these hours. Therefore, 

for the purposes of this test procedure, 

DOE proposes to rate multi-stage and 

modulating furnace fans using input 

power in the default low-heating stage 

only. The increase in heating operating 

hours, and ultimately the energy 

consumed for heating, in multi-stage 

and modulating furnace fans is 

determined by the ratio of high-output 

heating capacity to low-output heating 

capacity. DOE proposes to use the 

following equation to determine average 

annual heating operating hours for 

multi-stage and modulating furnace 

fans: 

Where: 

HHm = estimated annual furnace fan heating 

hours for products with multi-stage or 

modulating heating, in hours; and 

830 = estimated annual heating hours for 

products with single-stage heating; 

HCR = heating capacity ratio (output capacity 

in lowest heat mode divided by output 

capacity in highest heat mode). 

Because fans can also be used to 

circulate cool air through duct work, 

DOE is also proposing calculations 

intended to capture energy use for that 

purpose. DOE estimates national 

average cooling operating hours using 

the following formula: 


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28682 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

15U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Information 

Administration, Residential Energy Consumption 

Survey (RECS), Public use data files (2005) (Last 

accessed Sept. 2011). (Available at: http://www.eia.

doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html). 

16Similar to the heating operating hours 

calculation, electric furnaces and hydronic airhandlers are not included. The data include both 

heat pump and non-heat pump central airconditioners. 

17National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA). NNDC Climate Data 

Online: CDD Data by Census Division (Last 

accessed Sept. 5, 2011) (Available at: www7.ncdc.

noaa.gov/CDO/CDODivisionalSelect.jsp). 

18Energy Information Administration, Annual 

Energy Outlook 2008 with Projections to 2030, 

Report No. DOE/EIA–0383 (2008) (Available at: 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/). 

19Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration 

Institute (AHRI), Monthly Shipment Statistics: 

2007–2010 (Available at: http://www.ahrinet.org/

monthly+shipments.aspx). 

20Piggs, S. 2003. Central Electricity Use by New 

Furnaces: A Wisconsin Field Study. (URL: http:// 

www.doa.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=1812). 

Where: 

CH = estimated annual furnace fan cooling 

operating hours; 

yC = ratio of blower on-time to average 

compressor on-time; 

WFcool = cooling weather adjustment factor; 

and 

CEAnnual = average annual cooling energy use, 

in kWh/year; 

SEER = seasonal energy efficiency ratio; and 

Qin = average cooling capacity, in Btu/hour. 

Most furnace fans come with a 

cooling blower-on and blower-off delay 

feature. To account for this feature, DOE 

estimated the ratio of blower on-time to 

average compressor on-time based on 

manufacturer default blower delay 

settings listed in publically-available 

product literature for non-weatherized 

gas furnace models. DOE found that the 

median values are 45 seconds for blower 

off-delay and 2 seconds for blower ondelay. The average compressor on-time 

per cycle is 6 minutes for single-stage 

central air conditioners based on DOE’s 

central air conditioner test procedure 

(10 CFR part 430, subpart B, Appendix 

M). Therefore, DOE estimates the ratio 

of blower on-time to average compressor 

on-time, yC, to be 1.12. 

The average cooling energy use is 

derived using the average EIA’s RECS 

2005 15 cooling energy use data for 

households with both a central air 

conditioner and either a gas or oil-fired 

furnace.16 The average annual cooling 

energy use, CEAnnual, in 2005 from these 

data is 2025 kWh/year. Because cooling 

energy use varies every year due to 

climate and because 2005 was a 

warmer-than-average year, an average 

weather factor was applied to this value. 

To calculate the average weather factor, 

DOE used annual NOAA cooling degree 

day (CDD) per Census Division.17 To 

represent average conditions, DOE used 

the 30-year annual average CDD from 

1981–2010 and compared it to 2005 

CDD (weighting both sets of data by the 

number of households with both a 

central air conditioner and either a gas 

or oil-fired furnace in RECS 2005 found 

in each Census Division). The resulting 

average cooling weather factor, WFcool, 

is 0.89. This factor (0.89) is then 

multiplied times average 2005 cooling 

energy use (2025 kWh/year) to come up 

with 1794 kWh/year average cooling 

energy use adjusted for weather. The 

average seasonal energy efficiency ratio 

(SEER) in the U.S. stock in 2005 is 

estimated to be 11.06 based on Annual 

Energy Outlook (AEO) 2008 data for 

central air-conditioner efficiency.18 The 

average cooling capacity in the U.S. 

stock in 2005 is estimated to be 34,884 

Btu/h based on 2007–2010 AHRI 

shipments data.19 Using these values, 

the average annual furnace fan cooling 

operating hours is estimated to be 637 

hours. For the purposes of the test 

procedure, this number is rounded to 

640 hours. 

The average annual constantcirculation hours are based on data from 

surveys. The first survey was conducted 

by researchers in Wisconsin in 2003.20

The second survey was conducted by 

the Center for Energy and the 

Environment (CEE) in Minnesota, the 

results of which were provided by CEE 

in a written comment that is included 

in the docket for the furnace fan energy 

conservation standard (Docket Number 

EERE–2010–BT–STD–0011), which can 

be viewed as described in the Docket 

section at the beginning of this notice. 

(CEE, No. 22 at pp. 1–3) DOE combined 

both studies and derived average annual 

furnace fan constant-circulation 

operating hours for each survey, as 

shown in Table III.1. DOE did not use 

these data directly, however, because it 

believes they are not representative of 

consumer practices for the U.S. as a 

whole. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, 

many homes have low air infiltration, 

and there is a high awareness of indoor 

air quality issues, which leads to 

significant use of continuous 

ventilation. To develop U.S. average 

values, DOE modified the data from the 

surveys using information from 

manufacturer product literature and 

consideration of climate conditions in 

other regions. 

TABLE III.1—RESULTS FROM CONSTANT-CIRCULATION USE STUDIES AND ESTIMATED CONSTANT-CIRCULATION HOURS

How often is continuous fan used? 

Combined data from 

studies 

National 

weighted average percentage 

of consumers 

(%) 

Assumed 

average 

number of 

hours 

National 

weighted 

average 

number of 

hours 

Number of 

households 

Percentage 

(%) 

No continuous fan ................................................................................ 69 68 89 0 0 

Year-round ........................................................................................... 14 14 5 7290 365 

During heating season ......................................................................... 4 4 1 1097 16 

During cooling season ......................................................................... 4 4 1 541 8 

Other (some continuous fan) ............................................................... 10 10 4 365 13 

Total .............................................................................................. 101 100 100 .................... 401 

DOE assumed a value for average 

number of constant-circulation hours for 

each survey response. For ‘‘no constant 

circulation’’ responses, DOE assumed 

zero annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours. For ‘‘year-round’’ 

responses, DOE assumed 7,290 average 

annual furnace fan constant-circulation 

hours, which DOE calculated by 

subtracting furnace fan heating and 

cooling operating hours for single-stage 

furnace fans (830 and 640, as estimated 

above) from the total annual hours 

(8,760). For ‘‘during heating season’’ 

responses, DOE assumed 1,097 hours, 

which is half of the quantity of heating 

season operating hours less furnace fan 

heating operating hours. More 

specifically, DOE calculated this value 

by subtracting furnace fan heating 

operating hours (830, as estimated 

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21Based on June 2, 2010 Test Procedure NOPR for 

Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat 

Pumps. 75 FR 31224, 31270. 

22 Id. 23The regions are described in June 27, 2011 

Direct Final Rule for Residential Furnaces, Central 

Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps. 76 FR 37408. 

above) from the total heating season 

operating hours (5,216) 21 and 

multiplying by 25 percent to account for 

the consumers that use fan constantcirculation only during part of the 

heating season. For ‘‘during cooling 

season’’ responses, DOE assumed 541 

hours. DOE calculated this value by 

subtracting furnace fan cooling 

operating hours (640, as estimated 

above) from the total cooling season 

hours (2,805) 22 and multiplying by 25 

percent to account for the consumers 

that use fan constant-circulation only 

during part of the cooling season. For 

other or ‘‘some constant circulation’’ 

responses, DOE assumed 365 hours, 

which is 5 percent of year-round 

operation. 

Table III.1 also shows the estimated 

weighted average national fraction of 

consumers and derived annual constantcirculation hours. To derive the annual 

constant-circulation hours, DOE 

assumed that on average, the combined 

data from the Wisconsin/Minnesota 

studies overestimate the fraction of 

consumers that use constant-circulation 

by 50 percent in the North and South 

Hot Dry region and by 90 percent in the 

South Hot Humid region.23 Using EIA’s 

RECS 2005 data, DOE estimated that 65 

percent of furnace fans are located in 

the North and South Hot Dry region, 

while the remaining 35 percent are 

located in the South Hot Humid region. 

As shown in Table III.1, the weighted 

average annual constant-circulation 

hours is 401 hours, rounded to 400 

hours for the purposes of this test 

procedure. 

For hydronic air handlers, DOE 

proposes to use a variation of FER that 

integrates standby mode and off mode 

electrical energy consumption with 

active mode electrical energy 

consumption. This variation of FER will 

be referred to as the integrated fan 

efficiency rating (IFER). The proposed 

standby mode hours are the remainder 

of annual hours not designated for 

cooling, heating, constant circulation, or 

off mode. Therefore: 

SBH = 8760 ¥ HH ¥ CCH ¥ CH ¥ OH 

Where: 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours; 

8760 = number of hours in a year; 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours; 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling operating 

hours; and 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode operating 

hours. 

DOE proposes a value of zero for 

hydronic air handler off mode operating 

hours because DOE expects that 

hydronic air handlers are not typically 

equipped with a seasonal off switch or 

that consumers will not turn off power 

to the hydronic air handler. 

Consideration of standby mode and off 

mode is discussed in more detail in 

section III.G. Table III.2 shows the 

proposed furnace fan annual operating 

hours by mode, as estimated according 

to the methods detailed above. 

TABLE III.2—PROPOSED FURNACE FAN ANNUAL OPERATING HOURS BY MODE

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Heating mode ................................ HH ................................................. 830 ................................................ 830/HCR. 

Circulation mode ............................ CCH .............................................. 400 ................................................ 400. 

Cooling mode ................................. CH ................................................. 640 ................................................ 640. 

Off mode (if applicable) ................. OH ................................................ 0 .................................................... 0. 

Standby mode (if applicable) ......... SBH .............................................. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH .............. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH. 

DOE is aware that climate conditions 

vary across the United States. DOE seeks 

comment on the appropriate values and 

methods for estimating these values for 

weighting fan efficiency in each rated 

airflow-control setting. DOE also seeks 

comment on how these operating hours 

may vary for multi-stage products. (See 

Issue 2 under ‘‘Issues on Which DOE 

Seeks Comment’’ in section V.E of this 

NOPR.) 

DOE believes the AECR metric 

specified by CSA C823 is less 

appropriate than FER, because AECR is 

more burdensome without providing 

any additional useful information. 

AECR is more burdensome because it 

requires as many as 26 more 

determinations for the proposed range 

of ESP (0.1 in.w.c. to 0.75 in.w.c.). The 

number of determinations proposed to 

be specified for FER is discussed in 

detail in section III.F.2. In contrast to 

the proposed metric, DOE believes the 

approach suggested by ACEEE is also 

less appropriate, because DOE cannot 

set standards based on multiple metrics, 

as explained above. Furthermore, DOE 

believes the metric variations based on 

the current DOE furnace test procedure 

(i.e., BE, e, and eb) are less appropriate 

than FER, because they are based on 

measurements at one operating point for 

units with single-stage heating or 

measurements at two operating points 

for units with multi-stage or modulating 

heating. These metrics do not account 

for operation in cooling or constantcirculation modes. As stated previously, 

DOE anticipates that a rating metric 

based on a single operating point would 

not provide a good indication of the 

variation of typical annual energy use 

exhibited by the range of available 

furnace fan products. The issue of the 

appropriate number of airflow-control 

settings for rating furnace fans is 

discussed further in section III.F.1. In 

addition, DOE believes the BE, ‘‘e,’’ and 

‘‘eb’’ metrics are inappropriate because 

they are measured at ESPs that are not 

representative of field conditions. DOE 

believes Air HP, as it is described by 

Regal Beloit, is an important concept 

when considering the efficiency of fans 

and blowers. However, Air HP does not 

include a measurement of electrical 

consumption, which is a necessary part 

of a test procedure supporting an energy 

conservation standard. DOE believes 

AMER would be less appropriate than 

FER, because it is based on furnace 

output capacity instead of air delivery. 

DOE expects that AMER would reward 

furnaces that have higher output 

capacities, regardless of whether any 

improvement in fan efficiency would 

result. For these reasons, DOE is 

proposing FER as the most appropriate 

metric for rating furnace fan 

performance. 

E. Reference System 

In the June 2010 framework 

document, DOE sought comment on the 

appropriate reference system for the 

purposes of rating furnace fan 

performance. 75 FR 31323 (June 3, 

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2010). DOE proposes to specify a 

reference system, which provides a 

standardized set of airflow 

characteristics to model duct work. The 

energy use of a furnace fan depends 

heavily on the duct work system 

through which it circulates air, but duct 

work characteristics vary between 

installations and are outside the control 

of manufacturers of residential HVAC 

products. Use of a reference system for 

rating furnace fans allows for consistent 

comparison across HVAC products. 

Furthermore, the reference system 

provides a basis for estimating the 

airflow, ESP, and electrical 

consumption of the fan in the rating 

airflow-control settings and, therefore, 

for different furnace fan functions (i.e., 

cooling, heating, constant-circulation). 

To circulate air through duct work, a 

furnace fan motor rotates an impeller, 

which increases the velocity of an 

airstream. As a result, the airstream 

gains kinetic energy. This kinetic energy 

is converted to a static pressure increase 

when the air slows downstream of the 

impeller blades. This static pressure 

created by the fan must be enough to 

overcome the pressure losses the 

airstream will experience throughout 

the duct work, and to a smaller degree, 

within the HVAC product itself, to 

provide sufficient delivery of 

conditioned air to the residence. 

Pressure losses are the result of 

directional changes in the duct work, 

friction between the moving air and 

surfaces of the duct work, and possible 

appurtenances in the airflow path. (In 

layman’s terms, the conditioned air 

slows and eventually would stop the 

further it travels from the fan. However, 

in effective systems, continued action of 

the furnace fan overcomes such 

resistance and provides conditioned air 

to the intended space.) Therefore, the 

geometry of any HVAC component that 

obstructs the airflow path, the length of 

the duct work path, and number and 

nature of direction changes in the 

ductwork of a given system contribute 

to the pressure losses of the system. In 

most duct systems, the static pressure 

required to move the air is 

approximately equal to the square of the 

airflow rate. The duct static pressure is 

the ESP, which can be represented as 

follows: 

ESP = Kref × Q2

Where: 

ESP = external static pressure in inches water 

column (in.w.c.); 

Kref = a constant that characterizes the 

reference system; and 

Q = airflow in cfm. 

A reference system is defined by 

specifying an airflow-control setting and 

a standardized ESP to determine values 

for Q and ESP. Once these values are 

known, K, which characterizes the 

reference system, can be calculated. The 

quadratic relationship described above 

is assumed for the duct work system to 

relate ESP to airflow in different 

airflow-control settings. 

In the June 2010 framework 

document, DOE requested comment on 

a definition of the reference system 

based on a standardized ESP of 0.5 

in.w.c. for the default heating airflowcontrol setting. For the framework 

document, DOE identified this reference 

system definition so as to be consistent 

with the reference system specified in 

the December 2009 draft of CSA C823. 

Rheem recommended testing at an 

external static pressure of 0.2 in. w. c. 

in the default heating speed, and 

Morrison made the same point. (Rheem, 

No. 7 at p. 76; Morrison, No. 7 at p. 77) 

Mortex stated that 0.3 in. w.c. in cooling 

mode is used to test coil-only units and 

that similar criteria would be 

appropriate for furnace fans. (Mortex, 

No. 7 at p. 86) Ingersoll Rand stated that 

the default heating mode speed does not 

match up with any other conditions 

under which furnaces are already tested. 

Ingersoll Rand added that default 

heating speeds are typically lower than 

cooling speeds, which would result in 

better ratings when compared to air 

conditioners. (Ingersoll Rand, No. 7 at p. 

79) Rheem commented that it expects 

ducting is designed for the highest 

airflow, which is typically the cooling 

mode, so specifying a heating speed for 

the reference system can be problematic, 

because it could result in extrapolating 

operating points for higher airflowcontrol settings that are beyond the 

manufacturer-recommended operating 

points. (Rheem, No. 7 at pp. 74–75) 

Many interested parties stated that the 

ESP at which furnace fans are rated 

should reflect the ESP that furnace fans 

will face in the field. The National 

Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 

ACEEE, Center for Energy and 

Environment (CEE), NEEP, and 

Adjuvant Consulting all stated that an 

ESP of at least 0.5 in.w.c. should be 

used because it would best reflect actual 

field conditions. (ACEEE, No. 19 at p. 2; 

NRDC, No. 28 at p. 4; NEEP, No. 16 at 

pp. 3–4; Adjuvant Consulting, No. 7 at 

p. 80; CEE, No. 22 at p. 1) Pacific Gas 

and Electric Company asserted that the 

ESPs at which furnace fans are tested 

should be higher than those at which 

furnaces are currently rated in order to 

mirror the ESPs of systems in the field. 

(Pacific Gas and Electric Company, No. 

7 at p. 81) CEE measured the ESP in 81 

homes and found that the average was 

0.55 in.w.c. in heating mode. (CEE, No. 

22 at p. 1) 

Not all interested parties agreed with 

setting the reference ESP at 0.5 in.w.c. 

AHRI and Morrison stated that DOE 

should utilize the methods outlined in 

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 103, Method 

of Testing for Annual Fuel Utilization 

Efficiency of Residential Central 

Furnaces and Boilers (i.e., the reference 

standard for DOE’s residential furnaces 

test procedure), for determining ESP 

rating points as a function of capacity, 

and the commenters further stated that 

0.5 in.w.c. in the default heating airflow 

setting is too high to conduct testing. 

(AHRI, No. 20 at p. 5; Morrison, No. 26 

at p. 4) Rheem recommended that the 

ESP used for rating furnace fans reflect 

the ESP that is recommended by 

manufacturers for appropriate operation 

of their products. Rheem added that 

specifying the rating criteria to mimic 

field conditions is not appropriate, 

because poor installation practices and 

misinformed consumer demands are 

pushing products outside the range of 

recommended operation. Rheem further 

stated that setting a standard based on 

these practices would perpetuate and 

escalate the misuse of the products, 

thereby increasing energy consumption. 

(Rheem, No. 7 at p. 91) Morrison, NEEA, 

Rheem, and AHRI remarked that the 

ESP in the furnace fan test procedure 

should reflect the methods in the 

existing DOE test procedures for 

residential furnaces and central air 

conditioners to reduce manufacturer 

testing burden and to maintain 

consistency. (NEEA, No. 11 at p. 3; 

Morrison, No. 26 at p. 3; Rheem, No. 29 

at pp. 4–5; Rheem, No. 7 at p. 54; AHRI, 

No. 20 at pp. 3–4) 

DOE proposes to use an ESP value 

that is consistent, to the extent possible, 

with known field conditions. DOE 

expects this approach would result in 

ratings that are most representative of 

field energy use. DOE also expects that 

the use of manufacturer-recommended 

ESPs might overestimate furnace fan 

efficiency, because the ESP of fieldinstalled HVAC systems typically 

exceeds the ESP recommended by 

manufacturers. Like manufacturers, 

DOE is also concerned about the energy 

use impact of installations with high 

static pressures. However, DOE does not 

expect that a reduction in average field 

ESPs that approaches the manufacturerrecommended levels is likely to occur, 

because installing new, larger, and 

more-efficient ducts in existing homes is 

generally cost-prohibitive. DOE is 

concerned that a metric based on a low, 

albeit desirable, static pressure level 

would not best represent furnace fan 

efficiency. Also, DOE is concerned that 

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24Piggs, S. 2008. Central Air Conditioning in 

Wisconsin: A Compilation of Recent Field 

Research. Energy Center of Wisconsin. (Two studies 

reported 2005 and 2007) (URL: http://www.ecw.org/ 

resource_detail.php?resultid=289); and Wilcox, B.J. 

Proctor, R. Chitwood, and K. Nittler. 2006. Furnace 

Fan Watt Draw and Air Flow in Cooling and Air 

Distribution Modes. 2008 California Building 

Energy Efficiency Standards. (URL: http:// 

www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2008standards/ 

prerulemaking/documents/2006-07-12_workshop/ 

reviewdocs/ 

FAN_WATT_DRAW_AND_AIR_FLOW.pdf.) 

25For simplicity, electric furnaces are excluded 

since they are mostly associated with heat pumps. 

Also, RECS does not provide information to 

distinguish which households have hydronic airhandlers. Adding electric furnaces and hydronic 

equipment will increase the fraction of households 

with central air-conditioners, since this equipment 

tends to be located in warmer climates. 

a metric based on a low static pressure 

may lead to excessive energy use by 

furnace fan designs which do not 

achieve high efficiency levels when 

operating at the higher, real-world static 

pressures. Adapting the efficiency 

metric to the real-world conditions 

better facilitates meaningful 

comparisons of furnace fans operating 

under these conditions. 

In addition, DOE does not agree with 

contentions from Morrison, NEEA, 

Rheem, and AHRI that defining the 

reference system using an ESP value 

other than those already specified in 

associated DOE test procedures would 

be overly burdensome. Based on DOE’s 

review of publicly-available product 

literature, airflow performance data is 

already measured and listed by 

manufacturers at ESPs that exceed those 

specified in the DOE test procedures for 

residential furnaces and central air 

conditioners. The ESPs specified in the 

residential central air conditioner test 

procedure at 10 CFR part 430, subpart 

B, Appendix M range from 0.1 to 0.2 

in.w.c. for conventional split systems. 

The ESPs specified in the furnace test 

procedure at 10 CFR part 430, subpart 

B, Appendix N range from 0.12 to 0.58 

in.w.c., depending on the fuel source 

and rated input capacity of the furnace. 

In contrast, most of the publiclyavailable product specification sheets 

that DOE reviewed include airflow 

performance data up to 1 in.w.c. 

DOE gathered field data from 

available studies and research reports to 

determine an appropriate ESP value to 

propose for the reference system. DOE 

compiled over 1300 field ESP 

measurements from several studies that 

included furnace fans in single-family 

and manufactured homes in different 

regions of the country. DOE has 

included a list of citations for these 

studies in the docket for this 

rulemaking. A link to the docket Web 

page can be found at: http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnace_fans.html. This Web page 

contains a link to the docket for this 

notice on the www.regulations.gov site. 

The www.regulations.gov Web page 

contains simple instructions on how to 

access all documents, including public 

comments, in the docket. The docket 

number for this rulemaking is EERE– 

2010–BT–TP–0010. 

Data across studies were not 

consistent because some included 

external evaporator coil and/or filter 

pressure drops in their ESP 

measurements, whereas others did not. 

So that DOE could compare the data, 

DOE calculated adjusted ESP values for 

each study to derive one value that 

included the measured/estimated 

evaporator coil pressure drop and one 

that did not for each residence. All 

values included a measured or 

estimated filter pressure drop. Three of 

the aforementioned studies included 

filter and coil pressure drop data that 

DOE used to estimate average filter and 

coil pressure drops for these 

adjustments.24 DOE found that on 

average, the pressure drop measured for 

the evaporator coil was 0.20 in.w.c., and 

the pressure drop for the filter was 0.21 

in.w.c. 

Table III.3 includes the weighted 

average ‘‘with-coil’’ and ‘‘without-coil’’ 

ESP results for single-family homes and 

manufactured homes. 

TABLE III.3—SUMMARY OF ADJUSTED FIELD ESP DATA

Household type With coil ESP 

(in.w.c.) 

Without coil ESP 

(in.w.c.) 

Single-family Home .................................................................................................................................. 0.73 0.52 

Manufactured Home ................................................................................................................................ 0.37 0.17 

DOE identified four installation types 

with unique reference system ESP 

considerations: 

• Heating-only units; 

• Units with an internal evaporator 

coil; 

• Units designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil; and 

• Manufactured home units. 

DOE proposes to treat these types of 

units as follows. DOE is aware that some 

hydronic air handlers are not designed 

to provide cooling. DOE has identified 

these as heating-only products. DOE 

proposes to specify a lower reference 

system ESP for these products, because 

they do not experience the additional 

pressure drop of circulating air past an 

evaporator coil. 

DOE has identified weatherized gas 

furnaces as units with an internal 

evaporator coil. DOE proposes to specify 

a reference system ESP for these 

products that does not include the 

pressure drop of circulating air past an 

evaporator coil because FER already 

accounts for internal losses. 

DOE is aware that non-weatherized 

gas furnaces, oil-fired furnaces, electric 

furnaces, modular blowers, and some 

hydronic air handlers are designed to 

accommodate an evaporator coil for 

cooling. DOE has identified these 

products as products not originally 

supplied with an evaporator coil but 

designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil in the field. DOE 

proposes a higher reference system ESP 

for these products to ensure their FER 

accounts for the pressure drop of 

circulating air past an evaporator coil. 

DOE proposes to use a different 

reference system ESP for manufactured 

home products to account for the space 

constraints and installation 

requirements that are unique to the 

manufactured home market. 

DOE recognizes that units designed to 

be paired with an evaporator coil and 

manufactured home products are not 

always paired with evaporator coils, 

even though they are designed for this 

option. Using EIA’s RECS 2005 data, 

DOE estimated the fraction of furnace 

installations paired with an evaporator 

coil in the field. DOE determined that 

72.9 percent of single-family households 

with a non-weatherized gas or oil-fired 

furnace had central air-conditioners 

(i.e., are paired with an evaporator 

coil).25 DOE determined that 50.2 

percent of manufactured home 

households with a non-weatherized gas 

or oil-fired furnace had central airconditioners. For manufactured homes 

and units designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil in single-family homes, 

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26Manufactured home external static pressure is 

much smaller due to the fact there is no return air 

duct work in manufactured homes. Also, the United 

States Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) requirements stipulate that the 

duct work for cooling should be set at 0.3 in. w.c. 

27See Issue 10 on page 11 of the June 2010 

framework document. DOE posted the framework 

document to the DOE Web site, which can be 

accessed at this link: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ 

buildings/appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnace_fans_framework.html. 

DOE used these percentages to weight 

the with-coil and without-coil ESP 

values (see Table III.3) to derive the 

proposed reference system ESP value. 

DOE proposes to specify the reference 

system values, as reflected in Table III.4 

for each installation type. The proposed 

values are rounded to the nearest 0.05 

in.w.c. DOE seeks comment on its 

proposed reference system ESP values. 

DOE also welcomes additional field 

data. In addition, DOE seeks comment 

on whether the specified reference 

system ESP should be dependent on 

capacity. (See Issue 3 under ‘‘Issues on 

Which DOE Seeks Comment’’ in section 

V.E of this NOPR.) 

TABLE III.4—PROPOSED REFERENCE SYSTEM ESP VALUES FOR ALL FURNACE FAN INSTALLATION TYPES

Installation type Weighted average ESP 

(in. w.c.) 

Heating-only units ................................................................................................................................................................ 0.50 

Units with an internal evaporator coil .................................................................................................................................. 0.50 

Units designed to be paired with an evaporator coil ........................................................................................................... 0.65 

Manufactured home 26 ......................................................................................................................................................... 0.30. 

DOE proposes to use the maximum 

airflow-control setting to define the 

reference system for each installation 

type. DOE is aware that furnace fan 

control schemes typically include 

airflow-control settings, each often 

designated for specific functions (e.g., 

cooling, heating, and constant 

circulation). DOE found that the 

maximum airflow-control setting is 

often factory set for cooling operation or 

for high or default heating for heatingonly units that do not have a cooling 

setting. DOE has tentatively concluded 

that specifying the maximum airflowcontrol setting for the reference system 

would preclude the need to extrapolate 

performance data outside the desired 

range of operation, which might be 

necessary if DOE selected an airflowcontrol setting other than the maximum. 

Extrapolating performance outside the 

recommended and tested range is less 

desirable than interpolation because 

extrapolation will not account for 

dramatic changes in furnace fan 

performance that may occur beyond a 

certain ESP threshold. In addition, 

comments from interested parties 

indicate that, unlike in Canada, U.S. 

HVAC systems and components 

(including furnace fans) are often 

designed for cooling operation (i.e., 

maximum required airflow). 

DOE found that field ESP values vary 

compared to manufacturerrecommended ESP values and 

considered the use of multiple reference 

systems. This notice refers to the 

December 2009 draft version of CSA 

C823, because that was the version that 

was referenced in the June 2010 furnace 

fan framework document. For the 

reasons discussed in section III.C, DOE 

is not proposing to use CSA C823 as a 

reference standard for this notice. 

However, DOE is aware that for the final 

version of CSA C823, CSA considered 

specifying multiple reference systems to 

account for differences in ESP and 

ultimately, fan performance at 

manufacturer-recommended operating 

conditions and typical, poor field 

operating conditions. Rheem supported 

the use of two reference system curves 

if the rating must include the effects of 

incorrect and potentially unsafe 

installation practices that occur in the 

field in spite of the manufacturers’ 

installation instructions. Rheem 

suggested that these two curves should 

be based on a static pressure of 0.3 

in.w.c. and 0.6 in.w.c. in the default 

heating airflow-control setting. (Rheem, 

No. 29 at p. 6) 

DOE proposes to use only one 

reference system curve for each 

installation type, as described above 

because for the reasons discussed 

previously, DOE cannot set standards 

based on multiple metrics. In addition, 

DOE investigated the use of a combined 

metric based on multiple reference 

system curves. For a subset of fans, DOE 

averaged an FER based on a high 

reference system ESP value and an FER 

based on a low reference system ESP 

value by increasing and decreasing the 

proposed ESP values by 0.15 in.w.c. For 

example, the resulting high and low 

reference system ESP values for this 

investigation for furnace fan products 

that are designed to be paired with 

evaporator coils (i.e., non-weatherized 

gas furnaces, oil-fired furnaces, electric 

furnaces, some hydronic air-handlers, 

and modular blowers) were 0.8 in.w.c. 

and 0.5 in.w.c., respectively. These 

values are higher than those suggested 

by Rheem because they are specified for 

the maximum airflow-control setting, 

which is expected to be higher than the 

default heating airflow-control setting. 

Using the reference system equation 

described above and assuming that 

default heating airflow is in the range of 

80 percent to 90 percent of the 

maximum airflow, the high and low 

reference system ESP values for the 

default heating airflow-control setting 

used for this comparison are roughly 

equivalent to those suggested by Rheem. 

DOE found that the combined, multiple 

reference system FER values varied on 

average by less than 2 percent with a 

standard deviation of 2 percent 

compared to the proposed, single 

reference system FER and did not alter 

the ranking of furnace fans by 

efficiency. Therefore, DOE believes the 

use of multiple reference system curves 

is unnecessary. DOE requests comment 

on whether a multiple reference system 

rating approach would provide a better 

indication of the overall performance. 

(See Issue 4 under ‘‘Issues on Which 

DOE Seeks Comment’’ in section V.E of 

this NOPR.) 

F. Performance Curves 

1. Number of Airflow-Control Settings 

In the June 2010 framework 

document, DOE requested feedback on 

the appropriate number of 

measurements (i.e., determinations) 

needed to characterize the performance 

of a furnace fan, which is dependent in 

part on the number of airflow-control 

settings used to rate the furnace fan.27

Installed furnace fans can have as many 

as five or more airflow-control settings. 

In a given HVAC system, energy 

consumption of the furnace fan 

increases as airflow increases. 

Therefore, airflow-control settings have 

varying energy use profiles. As 

mentioned, DOE finds that airflowcontrol settings are each often 

designated for a specific function, such 

as cooling, heating, or constant 

circulation. In addition, the relative 

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28See Issue 10 on page 11 of the June 2010 

framework document. DOE posted the framework 

document to the DOE Web site, which can be 

accessed at this link: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ 

buildings/appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnace_fans_framework.html. 

efficiency of certain furnace fan 

technologies varies with airflow-control 

setting. The extent to which energy 

consumption across a furnace fan’s 

operating range is accounted is 

determined by the number of airflowcontrol settings used to rate the furnace 

fan. 

Comments from interested parties 

indicate that some are in favor of a 

metric that accounts for fan electrical 

consumption while operating in a single 

airflow-control setting, while others are 

in favor of a metric that accounts for 

operation in multiple airflow-control 

settings. AHRI and certain 

manufacturers, including Rheem, 

Nordyne, and Lennox, suggested that 

DOE should use ‘‘e,’’ which is based on 

the measured electrical energy 

consumption of the fan at a single 

operating point. (AHRI, No. 21 at p. 4; 

Rheem, No. 29 at p. 3; Nordyne, No. 31 

at p. 2; and Lennox, No. 23 at p. 2) 

Ingersoll Rand added that it questions 

whether more than one test point per 

airflow-control setting and whether 

more airflow-control settings than there 

are heat stages (with possible 

consideration of an additional point for 

cooling) is necessary to rate furnace 

fans, given that they perform quite 

predictably in accordance with wellestablished ‘‘fan laws.’’ (Ingersoll Rand, 

No. 25 at p. 1) Johnson Controls stated 

that electrically-commutated motors 

(ECM) have an efficiency advantage over 

permanent split capacitor (PSC) motors 

at low or partial-load conditions but not 

necessarily at higher/maximum-load 

conditions. (Johnson Controls, No. 7 at 

p. 145) In contrast, ACEEE remarked 

that DOE should not use a single annual 

energy consumption metric, but instead, 

the minimum efficiency standard 

should be based on the power for 

circulation, heating, and cooling modes 

weighted by average annual operating 

hours in each mode. (ACEEE, No. 30 at 

p. 3) NEEP recommended that DOE use 

a rating system based on two or three 

fan speeds to capture the efficiency of 

fans that use ECM motors. (NEEP, No. 

16 at p. 3) 

After considering available 

information and public comments on 

this issue, DOE has tentatively 

concluded that a metric based on 

measurements in multiple airflowcontrol settings would be appropriate to 

account for furnace fan energy 

consumption across its entire operating 

range. DOE recognizes that furnace fans 

are used not just for circulating air 

through duct work during heating 

operation, but also for circulating air 

during cooling and constant-circulation 

operation. As mentioned previously, 

DOE understands that higher airflowcontrol settings are factory set for 

cooling operation. Therefore, DOE 

expects that the electrical energy 

consumption of a furnace fan is 

generally higher while performing the 

cooling function. Consequently, DOE 

expects that using a metric based on a 

single measurement in an airflowcontrol setting designated for heating 

could result in an incomplete 

assessment of overall performance. DOE 

further recognizes that the potential for 

significant power reduction occurs 

when the fan is operating in its lowest 

airflow-control setting, which DOE finds 

is typically factory set for constantcirculation. This significant power 

reduction is consistent with the theory 

that fan input power is proportional to 

the cube of the airflow. Consequently, a 

‘‘snapshot approach’’ which specifies 

only a single airflow-control setting may 

not be representative of the product’s 

average use. However, some fan 

technologies may not reduce power 

input in this fashion. DOE is concerned 

that rating furnace fan performance at a 

single airflow-control setting would 

incentivize manufacturers to design fans 

optimized to perform efficiently at the 

selected rating airflow-control setting 

but that are not efficient over the broad 

range of field operating conditions. DOE 

expects that a rating metric that 

includes measurements at multiple 

airflow-control settings would help 

ensure that the rating metric captures 

the efficiency advantages of using motor 

technologies that maintain higher 

efficiencies over a broad range of 

operating conditions. DOE is aware that 

other technologies, such as improved 

impeller designs, may also improve 

efficiency in some, but not all, of the 

expected range of operation. 

For the reasons above, DOE proposes 

that FER be based on measurements 

taken in multiple airflow-control 

settings, which have been selected to 

represent the main product functions 

that have varied energy usage profiles. 

For products with single-stage heating, 

the three proposed rating airflowcontrol settings would be the maximum 

setting, the default heating setting, and 

the default constant-circulation setting. 

For products with multi-stage heating or 

modulating heating, the proposed rating 

airflow-control settings would be the 

maximum setting, the default lowheating setting, and the default 

constant-circulation setting. For heatingonly products, the proposed rating 

airflow-control settings would be the 

default heating setting and the default 

constant-circulation setting. The lowest 

default airflow-control setting would be 

used to represent constant circulation, 

for units in which a constant-circulation 

setting is not specified. The default lowheat setting would be the airflowcontrol setting used to circulate air 

when the HVAC product is operating at 

its lowest nominal heating input 

capacity. DOE believes that using the 

FER metric would ensure that the 

operating characteristics of all of the 

relevant airflow-control settings are 

accounted for in the efficiency metric, 

and it would, thus, rate at higher 

efficiency a furnace fan that does reduce 

power more consistently with the 

theoretical cubic relationship. In 

selecting the multiple airflow-control 

settings discussed above, it is noted that 

DOE is aware that some furnace fans are 

designed to have more than three 

airflow-control settings. DOE compared 

ratings that use measurements in two, 

three, and five airflow-control settings 

and found that a metric that uses 

measurements in three (or two for 

heating-only products) of the available 

airflow-control settings appropriately 

captures the efficiency advantages of 

using more-efficient technologies while 

minimizing burden on manufacturers. 

2. Number of Determinations 

In the June 2010 framework 

document, DOE sought comment on the 

appropriate total number of 

determinations that DOE should specify 

that manufacturers make in each 

airflow-control setting to develop 

performance curves without being 

overly burdensome.28 As defined in 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 and incorporated 

by reference in this notice, a 

determination is a complete set of 

measurements for a particular point of 

operation of a fan. For the purposes of 

this test procedure, a complete set of 

measurements includes measurements 

of airflow, electrical consumption, and 

external static pressure. The total 

number of determinations per 

performance curve depends on the ESP 

range and measurement increments 

specified in the test procedure. 

As described above in section III.D, 

the proposed active mode metric 

incorporates furnace fan input power at 

multiple operating points, which are 

determined by the intersections of the 

performance curves (i.e., airflow-ESP 

relationship) of the rating airflowcontrol settings and a specified 

reference system curve. Determinations 

are not necessarily measured at the 

operating points, because reproducing 

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29 In other words, Q = A × ESP2 + B × ESP + C 

and input power E = X × ESP2 + Y × ESP + Z. The 

coefficients A, B, and C which provide the best fit 

to the data for flow are determined, as are the 

coefficients X, Y, and Z with provide the best fit 

to the data for input power. 

the exact ESP and airflow of the 

operating points during testing is 

extremely burdensome. Instead, a series 

of determinations are made for each 

rating airflow-control setting that 

bracket the operating point for that 

setting. Separate best-fit curves for the 

determination test results are developed 

in which airflow and input power are 

equal to second order polynomial of 

ESP.29 These curves estimate the 

relationship between airflow and 

electrical consumption to ESP within 

the range of ESP specified for each 

product in this notice. When evaluating 

FER, the performance curve for the 

airflow-control setting and the reference 

curve constant, Kref, are used to 

determine the operating point ESP. 

Subsequently, the power input curve for 

the airflow-control setting is used to 

calculate the input power for each 

operating point. The input power values 

are used in the FER calculations. The 

methodology for calculating FER is 

described in more detail in section III.H. 

The issues addressed in this section are: 

(a) The number of determinations 

required to develop the airflow and 

power input curves for each airflowcontrol setting, and (b) the range of ESPs 

over which these determinations must 

be made. 

Rheem commented that the maximum 

ESP for PSC motors is typically 0.7 

in.w.c. and that the maximum ESP for 

ECM motors is documented up to 1 

in.w.c. (Rheem, No. 29 at p. 4) Ingersoll 

Rand expressed a similar view, stating 

that the maximum reported testing data 

are taken at about 1 in.w.c. ESP for ECM 

motors and 0.8 in.w.c. for PSC motors. 

(Ingersoll Rand, No. 7 at p. 67) 

Many interested parties commented 

that fewer determinations are necessary 

than are specified in the December 2009 

draft version of CSA C823. The 

December 2009 draft of CSA C823 

required measurements at increments of 

at least 0.1 in.w.c. for the desired range 

of operation, so under that approach, a 

furnace fan with 5 airflow-control 

settings and a range of operation from 0 

to 1 in.w.c. would require 50 

determinations. ACEEE recommended 

that manufacturers be required to certify 

the smallest set of data required to build 

performance maps for intended 

applications. ACEEE added that few 

measurements would need to be 

certified. (ACEEE, No. 19 at p. 4) Rheem 

stated that, theoretically, only three 

points are required to develop a 

performance curve. Rheem also stated 

that it is important to get the high and 

low points correct to avoid 

extrapolation. (Rheem, No. 7 at p. 67) 

Ingersoll Rand, NRDC, Johnson 

Controls, and AHRI recommended that 

determinations be made in 0.2 in.w.c. 

increments. (Ingersoll Rand, No. 7 at pp. 

65–66; NRDC, No. 28 at p. 4; Johnson, 

No. 7 at pp. 67–69; and AHRI, No. 20 

at p. 5) Regal Beloit recommended that 

DOE rate furnace fans at ESPs from 0.5 

in.w.c. to 1.4 in.w.c. at 0.1 in.w.c. 

increments. Regal Beloit added that 

there must be multiple static points to 

help define the operating range of the 

blower with 0.5 in.w.c. maximum 

difference between points. (Regal Beloit, 

No. 32 at p. 2) 

DOE agrees that the total number of 

determinations resulting from 

measuring at 0.1 in.w.c. increments 

would be unnecessary to derive 

reasonably accurate ratings for furnace 

fans. In seeking to determine the 

appropriate number of measurements, 

DOE explored three determination 

methods by generating FER values using 

airflow and electrical consumption 

measurement data from testing and 

publically-available product literature 

at: (1) 0.1 in.w.c. increments; (2) 0.2 

in.w.c. increments; and (3) the 

minimum, mid-point, and maximum 

ESP. The test data and productliterature data were measured according 

to ANSI/AMCA 210–07, and the 

methodology used to derive the FER 

values is described in detail in section 

III.H. DOE analyzed measurements for 

15 furnace fans used in various product 

types, including non-weatherized 

condensing and non-condensing gas 

furnaces, weatherized gas furnaces, oilfired furnaces, electric furnaces, 

hydronic air handlers, and modular 

blowers. DOE found that the FER 

changes by an average of less than 1 

percent (with a standard deviation of 3 

percent) when using the 3-point 

determination method, as compared to 

the 0.1 in.w.c. increment method. 

Similar differences resulted for the 0.2 

in.w.c. increment determination 

method, as compared to the 0.1 in.w.c. 

increment method. DOE expects that the 

FER differences between the 0.1 in.w.c. 

and 3-point determination methods are 

small enough that using the 3-point 

determination method would still result 

in reasonably accurate ratings and 

rankings of furnace fan efficiency. 

Therefore, DOE proposes to specify that 

3 determinations be made for each 

rating airflow-control setting. DOE 

proposes to specify determinations at: 

(1) 0.1 in.w.c.; (2) an ESP equal to the 

applicable reference system ESP divided 

by 2; and (3) an ESP between the 

applicable reference system ESP and 0.1 

in.w.c. above that reference system ESP. 

G. Standby Mode and Off Mode Energy 

Consumption 

EPCA, as amended by EISA 2007, 

requires that any final rule for a new or 

amended energy conservation standard 

adopted after July 1, 2010, must address 

standby mode and off mode energy use 

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6295(o). (42 

U.S.C. 6295(gg)(3)) Thus, the statute 

implicitly directs DOE, when 

developing new test procedures to 

support new energy conservation 

standards, to account for standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption. EISA 

2007 also requires that such energy 

consumption be integrated into the 

overall energy efficiency, energy 

consumption, or other energy 

descriptor, unless the current test 

procedure already accounts for standby 

mode and off mode energy use. If an 

integrated test procedure is technically 

infeasible, DOE must prescribe a 

separate standby mode and off mode 

test procedure for the covered product, 

if technically feasible. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(2)(A)) Accordingly, DOE must 

address the standby mode and off mode 

energy use of residential furnace fans in 

this test procedure. However, DOE has 

already incorporated standby mode and 

off mode energy use in the test 

procedures (or proposed test 

procedures) for several of the products 

to which this test procedure rulemaking 

is applicable. 

Table III.5 summarizes the test 

procedure rulemaking vehicles through 

which DOE is addressing standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption for 

the various types of products which 

circulate air through duct work. 

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TABLE III.5—RULEMAKING ACTIVITIES ADDRESSING FURNACE FAN STANDBY MODE AND OFF MODE ENERGY

CONSUMPTION

HVAC Products Status DOE Rulemaking activity 

• Gas Furnaces ..............................

• Oil-fired Furnaces 

• Electric Furnaces 

Addressed in separate rulemaking • Codified Furnaces Test Procedure October 20, 2010 final rule (75 

FR 64621) (10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix N, section 8.0). 

• September 13, 2011 NOPR (76 FR 56339). 

• Modular Blowers ..........................

• Weatherized Gas Furnace 

Addressed in separate rulemaking • Codified CAC Test Procedure October 22, 2007 final rule (72 FR 

59906). (10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix M). 

• June 2, 2010 NOPR (75 FR 31224). 

• April 1, 2011 SNOPR (76 FR 18105). 

• October 24, 2011 SNOPR (76 FR 65616). 

• Hydronic Air Handlers ................. Addressed in current rulemaking .. • N/A. 

1. Residential Furnaces and Central Air 

Conditioner Products 

Measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy use for non-weatherized 

gas furnaces, oil-fired furnaces, and 

electric furnaces is already prescribed in 

the furnace test procedure (10 CFR part 

430, subpart B, appendix N, section 8.0). 

In a September 13, 2011 NOPR, DOE 

proposed amendments to the furnaces 

test procedure related to standby mode 

and off mode. 76 FR 56339. DOE 

proposed coverage of standby mode and 

off mode energy use for modular 

blowers and weatherized gas furnaces in 

a June 2, 2010 NOPR. 75 FR 31224. DOE 

subsequently published one SNOPR on 

April 1, 2011 and another on October 

24, 2011 regarding standby mode and 

off mode test procedures for these 

products. 76 FR 18105; 76 FR 65616. 

Furnace fans are integrated in the 

electrical systems of the HVAC products 

in which they are used and controlled 

by the main control board. Therefore, 

there is no standby mode and off mode 

energy use associated with furnace fans 

used in the aforementioned products 

that would not already be measured by 

the established or proposed test 

procedures associated with these 

products. Hence, given that the standby 

mode and off mode energy consumption 

of these types of furnace fans either has 

been or is in the process of being fully 

addressed, there is no need for DOE to 

adopt additional test procedure 

provisions for these modes in this 

rulemaking. 

2. Hydronic Air Handlers 

There are no current DOE test 

procedures for measurement of 

electrical energy use in hydronic air 

handlers nor is there an ongoing 

rulemaking for which such test 

procedures have been proposed. Hence, 

the standby mode and off mode energy 

use for furnace fans that are 

incorporated into these products must 

be considered in this rulemaking. DOE 

proposes to incorporate in this notice 

test methods to measure the standby 

mode and off mode energy of hydronic 

air handlers that are identical to those 

specified in the DOE test procedure for 

residential furnaces and boilers (10 CFR 

part 430, subpart B, appendix N, section 

8.0). On September 13, 2011, DOE 

published a NOPR to update the DOE 

test procedure for furnaces through 

incorporation by reference of the latest 

edition of the relevant industry 

standard, specifically IEC Standard 

62301 (Second Edition). 75 FR 56339. 

DOE proposes to also adopt the updates 

proposed in the September 2011 

furnaces test procedure NOPR for 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy of furnace fans 

incorporated in hydronic air handlers. 

DOE believes these methods are 

appropriate, because both furnaces and 

hydronic air handlers are used primarily 

in central heating applications, and DOE 

expects that the electrical systems (i.e., 

electrical components and controls) of 

hydronic air handlers are similar to the 

electrical systems of furnaces. DOE 

proposes to integrate the steady-state 

standby mode and off mode electrical 

energy consumption measurements for 

hydronic air handlers, ESB and EOFF, 

into the active mode metric for these 

furnace fans, as required by EPCA. DOE 

proposes to weight the standby mode 

and off mode measurements by the 

representative hours proposed for these 

modes. The hours associated with these 

modes are discussed in section III.D. 

Similar to furnaces, DOE expects that 

hydronic air handlers are not typically 

equipped with a seasonal off switch or 

that consumers would not turn off 

power to the hydronic air handler. 

Therefore, DOE expects that EOFF and 

the estimated annual off mode operating 

hours, HO, would effectively be equal to 

zero. The integrated metric for hydronic 

air handlers is described in more detail 

in section III.H. DOE seeks comment on 

whether the methods for measuring 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption specified in the DOE test 

procedure for residential furnaces and 

boilers are appropriate for hydronic air 

handlers. DOE notes that this 

integration of standby mode and off 

mode hours is proposed only for 

hydronic air handlers, since, as 

discussed above, the energy use of these 

modes is already addressed in other 

established or proposed metrics for the 

other furnace fan products covered by 

this rulemaking. DOE further seeks 

comment on whether hydronic air 

handlers are typically equipped with a 

seasonal off switch or if consumers 

would turn off power to the hydronic air 

handler. If so, DOE also requests 

comment on the expected off mode 

electrical energy consumption, the 

number of hours that should be 

allocated to standby mode and the 

number that should be allocated to off 

mode, as well as data to support these 

allocations. 

H. Methodology for Deriving the Fan 

Efficiency Rating 

First, three determinations (i.e., 

measurements of airflow and electrical 

consumption at a measured ESP) will be 

made for each rating airflow-control 

setting according to the methods 

proposed in this notice and 

incorporated by reference and modified 

from ANSI/AMCA 210–07. DOE 

proposes to specify determinations at: 

(1) 0.1 in.w.c.; (2) an ESP equal to the 

applicable reference system ESP divided 

by 2; and (3) an ESP between the 

applicable reference system ESP and 0.1 

in.w.c. above that reference system ESP. 

DOE proposes the following 

calculations to derive FER using these 

measured values. First, fit separate 

quadratic curves to the airflow and ESP 

measurements of the determinations for 

each rating airflow-control setting to 

derive a performance curve (relates 

airflow to ESP). The best-fit relationship 

would minimize the sum of the squares 

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of the differences between the measured 

and calculated airflow rates of the three 

determinations. The derived quadratic 

performance curves should express 

airflow as a function of ESP in the 

following form: 

Q i= aiESP2 + biESP + ci

Where: 

Qi = airflow in cfm for rating airflow-control 

setting i; 

ESP = external static pressure in in.w.c.; and 

ai,bi,ci = quadratic coefficients for rating 

airflow-control setting i. 

Next, calculate the reference system 

airflow using the quadratic performance 

curve derived for the maximum airflowcontrol setting and the appropriate 

reference system ESP, ESPref, for the 

product (see Table III.4). Using this 

maximum airflow, Qmax, determine the 

reference system curve coefficient, Kref, 

as follows: 

Where: 

Kref = a constant that characterizes the 

reference system; 

ESPref = specified reference system external 

static pressure in in.w.c.; and 

Qmax = airflow in maximum airflow control 

setting at ESPref, in cfm. 

The intersections of the reference 

system curve and the performance 

curves of each rating airflow-control 

setting are the expected operating points 

for the furnace fan in ducting with the 

characteristics of the reference system. 

Determine the airflows of the operating 

points in the other (non-maximum) 

rating airflow-control settings by 

identifying at which airflows the 

reference system curve intersects each 

performance curve. Do this by solving 

separately for each control setting the 

set of two equations representing the 

reference system curve and performance 

curve. To calculate the ESPs of the 

operating points, use the previously 

calculated airflows and the reference 

system equation. 

Electrical consumption at the 

operating points is determined using 

curve fits for power input derived from 

the power measurements made for the 

rating airflow-control settings. Fit a 

separate quadratic curve to the electrical 

consumption and ESP measurements 

made for each airflow-control setting to 

derive an equation providing electrical 

consumption as a function of ESP for 

each rating airflow-control setting in the 

following form: 

Ei·XiESPs+YiESP + Zi

Where: 

Ei = electrical consumption in watts for rating 

airflow-control setting i; 

ESP = external static pressure in in.w.c.; and 

xi,yi,zi = quadratic coefficients for rating 

airflow-control setting i. 

Input the previously calculated ESPs 

of the operating points into the 

electrical consumption curve to derive 

the expected electrical consumption at 

the operating point for each rating 

airflow-control setting. Use these 

electrical consumption measurements to 

calculate FER. 

A general form of the FER equation is 

as follows: 

Where: 

FER = fan efficiency rating in watts/1000 cfm; 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling operating 

hours; 

Emax = electrical consumption at maximum 

airflow-control setting operating point; 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

Eheat = electrical consumption at the default 

heating airflow-control setting operating 

point for units with single-stage heating 

or the default low-heating airflow control 

setting operating point for units with 

multi-stage heating; 

CCH = annual furnace fan constant 

circulation hours; 

Ecirc = electrical consumption at the default 

constant-circulation airflow-control 

setting operating point (or lowest default 

airflow-control setting operating point if 

a default constant-circulation airflowcontrol setting is not specified); 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours; 

ESB = electrical consumption in standby 

mode; 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode operating 

hours; 

EOFF = electrical consumption in off mode; 

Qmax = airflow at maximum airflow-control 

setting operating point; and 

1000 = constant to put metric in terms of 

watts/1000 cfm, which is consistent with 

industry practice. 

There are a number of variations of 

the FER equation depending on the 

product type. For furnace fans used in 

HVAC products other than hydronic air 

handlers, standby mode and off mode 

electrical energy consumption is not 

integrated in the FER calculation, 

because such energy consumption is 

captured in other test procedure 

provisions. The standby mode and off 

mode variables (i.e., SBH, ESB, OH, and 

EOFF) are eliminated from the above 

equation as a result. For furnace fans 

used in hydronic air handlers, electrical 

energy consumption in standby mode 

and off mode is integrated in the FER 

metric. DOE proposes to designate the 

hydronic air handler variation of the 

FER metric as integrated fan efficiency 

rating (IFER). Section III.G includes a 

detailed discussion addressing standby 

mode and off mode electrical energy 

consumption. For hydronic air handlers 

that are used in both heating and 

cooling applications, all terms shown in 

the above equation are used in the 

calculation. For hydronic air handlers 

that are not used in cooling 

applications, the cooling mode energy 

consumption is excluded from the 

equation. For single-stage, heating-only 

products, Eheat equals Emax. For multistage, heating-only products, the 

reference system is still defined by the 

maximum airflow-control setting 

(expected to be the default high-heat 

setting), but Eheat is the electrical 

consumption in the default low-heat 

airflow control setting. For nonhydronic air handler products (i.e., 

weatherized and non-weatherized gas 

furnaces, oil-fired furnaces, electric 

furnaces, and modular blowers), the 

standby mode energy consumption is 

excluded from the calculation, because 

electrical energy consumption in this 

mode is already fully accounted for in 

other established or proposed DOE test 

procedures, as described in Table III.5. 

Table III.6 presents the proposed 

values for the operating hour variables 

in the above FER equations. 

TABLE III.6—PROPOSED OPERATING HOUR VALUES FOR CALCULATING FER 

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Heating mode ................................ HH ................................................. 830 ................................................ 830/HCR. 


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TABLE III.6—PROPOSED OPERATING HOUR VALUES FOR CALCULATING FER—Continued 

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Circulation mode ............................ CCH .............................................. 400 ................................................ 400. 

Cooling mode ................................. CH ................................................. 640 ................................................ 640. 

Off mode (if applicable) ................. OH ................................................ 0 .................................................... 0. 

Standby (if applicable) ................... SBH .............................................. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH .............. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH. 

I. Sampling Plans and Certification 

Report Requirements for Residential 

Furnace Fans 

DOE provides sampling plans for all 

covered products. The purpose of these 

sampling plans is to provide uniform 

statistical quality for the various test 

procedure representations of energy 

consumption and energy efficiency for 

each covered product. These sampling 

plans apply to all aspects of the EPCA 

program for consumer products, 

including public representations, 

labeling, and energy conservation 

standards. 10 CFR 429.11 DOE proposes 

that the existing sampling plans used for 

furnaces be adopted and applied to 

measures of energy consumption for 

furnace fans, with some exceptions as 

noted in the discussion below. 

For purposes of certification testing, 

the determination that a basic model 

complies with the applicable energy 

conservation standard must be based on 

testing conducted using DOE’s test 

procedures and the sampling 

procedures, which are found at 10 CFR 

429.18 for residential furnaces. The 

sampling procedures provide that ‘‘a 

sample of sufficient size shall be 

randomly selected and tested to ensure 

[compliance].’’ A minimum of two units 

must be tested to certify a basic model 

as compliant. This minimum is implicit 

in the requirement to calculate a mean— 

an average—which requires at least two 

values. Under no circumstances is a 

sample size of one (1) authorized. 

Manufacturers may need to test more 

than two samples depending on the 

variability of their sample. Therefore, 

the sample size can be an important 

element when evaluating the 

compliance of a basic model. 

DOE uses statistically meaningful 

sampling procedures for selecting test 

specimens of residential products, 

which would require the manufacturer 

to select a sample at random from a 

production line and, after each unit or 

group of units is tested, either accept the 

sample or continue sampling and testing 

additional units until a rating 

determination can be made. DOE did 

not propose a specific sample size for 

each product because the sample size is 

determined by the validity of the sample 

and how the mean compares to the 

standard, factors which cannot be 

determined in advance. 

In this notice, DOE proposes to create 

a provision at 10 CFR 429.55 for furnace 

fan certification. This section would 

include sampling procedures and 

certification report requirements for 

furnace fans. DOE proposes that 10 CFR 

429.55 adopt, for furnace fans, the same 

statistical sampling procedures that are 

applicable to residential furnaces, 

which are contained in 10 CFR 429.18. 

DOE proposes that these statistical 

sampling procedures be applied to 

covered products addressed by the test 

procedures in this NOPR. DOE believes 

product variability and measurement 

repeatability associated with the 

electrical energy consumption 

measurements proposed for rating 

residential furnace fans are similar to 

the variability and measurement 

repeatability associated with electrical 

energy consumption measurement 

required for residential furnaces. Hence, 

DOE believes that the existing statistical 

sampling procedures for furnace 

measures of energy consumption and 

efficiency are appropriate for the 

corresponding measures for furnace 

fans. 

Although the statistical sampling 

procedures would be the same for 

furnaces and furnace fans, DOE 

proposes to create the new section 

429.55 within 10 CFR part 429, because 

certification reporting requirements for 

furnace fans will be different than those 

specified for furnaces. DOE proposes 

that this section specify reporting of the 

general certification report requirements 

within 10 CFR 429.12, as well as the 

following additional information in 

certification reports for furnace fans: 

• Residential furnace fans used in 

HVAC products other than hydronic airhandlers: The fan efficiency rating (FER) 

in watts per thousand cubic feet per 

minute (W/cfm); the maximum airflow 

capacity at the reference system external 

static pressure (ESP) in cubic feet per 

minute (cfm); whether the HVAC 

product has multi-stage or modulating 

heating, and if so, the maximum and 

minimum output heat capacities in 

British thermal units per hour (Btu/h); 

and whether the HVAC product is 

designated for use in manufactured 

homes. 

• Residential furnace fans used in 

hydronic air-handlers: The integrated 

fan efficiency rating (IFER) in watts per 

thousand cubic feet per minute (W/cfm); 

the maximum airflow capacity at the 

reference system ESP in cubic feet per 

minute (cfm); whether the HVAC 

product has multi-stage or modulating 

heating, and if so, the maximum and 

minimum output heat capacities in 

British thermal units per hour (Btu/h); 

and whether the HVAC product is 

designated for use in manufactured 

homes. 

DOE requests comment on whether 

the sampling plan specified in 10 CFR 

429.18 for residential furnaces is 

appropriate for residential furnace fans. 

DOE also requests comment on whether 

the proposed certification report 

requirements are appropriate. (See Issue 

10 under ‘‘Issues on Which DOE Seeks 

Comment’’ in section V.E of this NOPR.) 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory 

Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that test procedure 

rulemakings do not constitute 

‘‘significant regulatory actions’’ under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, 

‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review,’’ 58 

FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993). Accordingly, 

this action was not subject to review 

under the Executive Order by the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). 

B. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation 

of an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IFRA) for any rule that by law 

must be proposed for public comment 

and a final regulatory flexibility analysis 

(FRFA) for any such rule that an agency 

adopts as a final rule, unless the agency 

certifies that the rule, if promulgated, 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. As required by Executive Order 

13272, ‘‘Proper Consideration of Small 

Entities in Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 

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30U.S. Small Business Administration, Table of 

Small Business Size Standards (August 22, 2008) 

(Available at: http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/ 

files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf). 

31The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and 

Refrigeration Institute, Directory of Certified 

Product Performance (June 2009) (Available at: 

http://www.ahridirectory.org/ahridirectory/pages/ 

home.aspx). 

32The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 

the U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR 

Furnaces—Product Databases for Gas and Oil 

Furnaces (May 15, 2009) (Available at: http:// 

www.energystar.gov/ 

index.cfm?c=furnaces.pr_furnaces). 

33The California Energy Commission, Appliance 

Database for Residential Furnaces and Boilers 

(2009) (Available at: http:// 

www.appliances.energy.ca.gov/QuickSearch.aspx). 

34Consortium of Energy Efficiency, Qualifying 

Furnace and Boiler List (April 2, 2009) (Available 

at: http://www.ceedirectory.org/ceedirectory/pages/ 

cee/ceeDirectoryInfo.aspx). 

53461 (August 16, 2002), DOE 

published procedures and policies on 

February 19, 2003, to ensure that the 

potential impacts of its rules on small 

entities are properly considered during 

the DOE rulemaking process. 68 FR 

7990. DOE’s procedures and policies 

may be viewed on the Office of the 

General Counsel’s Web site 

(www.gc.doe.gov). 

DOE reviewed today’s proposed rule 

under the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act and the procedures and 

policies published on February 19, 

2003. 68 FR 7990. DOE has tentatively 

concluded that the proposed rule would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. The factual basis for this 

certification is as follows: 

The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) 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 values set forth in these 

regulations use size standards and codes 

established by the North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

that are available at: http:// 

www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/ 

Size_Standards_Table.pdf. The 

threshold number for NAICS 

classification for 333415, which applies 

to Air-Conditioning and Warm Air 

Heating Equipment and Commercial 

and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment 

Manufacturing (including furnace fan 

manufacturers) is 750 employees.30 DOE 

reviewed the Air-Conditioning, Heating, 

and Refrigeration Institute’s Directory of 

Certified Product Performance for 

Residential Furnaces and Boilers 

(2009),31 the ENERGY STAR Product 

Databases for Gas and Oil Furnaces 

(May 15, 2009),32 the California Energy 

Commission’s Appliance Database for 

Residential Furnaces and Boilers,33 and 

the Consortium for Energy Efficiency’s 

Qualifying Furnace and Boiler List 

(April 2, 2009).34 From this review, DOE 

found 11 small businesses within the 

furnace fan industry. DOE does not 

believe the test procedure amendments 

described in this proposed rule would 

represent a substantial burden to any 

manufacturer, including small 

manufacturers, as explained below. DOE 

requests comments on its 

characterization of the furnace fan 

industry in terms of the number of and 

impacts on small businesses. 

This proposed rule would establish 

test procedures that would be used for 

representations of energy use and to test 

compliance with new energy 

conservation standards, which are being 

developed in a concurrent rulemaking, 

for the products that are the subject of 

this rulemaking. This notice proposes 

new test procedures for active mode 

testing for all covered products, and, for 

furnace fans used in hydronic air 

handlers, it proposes test procedures for 

standby mode and off mode testing as 

well. For active mode testing, the 

proposed rule would require the use of 

the testing methods prescribed in ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07. As discussed in section 

III.C above, this would not represent a 

substantial burden to any furnace fan 

manufacturer, small or large. According 

to AHRI, the trade organization that 

represents manufacturers of furnace 

fans, manufacturers currently routinely 

perform furnace fan tests according to 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 to generate airflow 

data for intended application of 

products (AHRI, No. 21 at pp. 3,4). 

Therefore, DOE expects little or no 

additional cost as the result of the new 

test procedure. If there were to be a new 

manufacturer which does not own the 

necessary equipment (i.e., an ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07-compliant airflow 

chamber), DOE anticipates an 

investment of less than $150,000 would 

be required to both acquire it and to 

train personnel to use it properly. 

Alternatively, a manufacturer could 

conduct testing through an independent 

third-party facility. In DOE’s experience, 

third-party active mode furnace fan 

testing costs less than $2,000 per test. 

DOE estimates the time to complete a 

single active mode furnace fan test 

according to the proposed test 

procedure to be 3 to 4 hours, including 

setup. 

For standby mode and off mode 

testing, the proposed rule would require 

the use of the testing methods 

prescribed in IEC Standard 62301 

(Second Edition). As discussed in 

section III.G, the proposed rule would 

only result in additional testing related 

to standby mode and off mode electrical 

energy consumption for manufacturers 

of furnace fans used in hydronic air 

handlers. Manufacturers of furnace fans 

used in HVAC products other than 

hydronic air handlers are (or will be) 

required to conduct standby mode and 

off mode testing pursuant to other 

rulemakings. DOE expects that furnace 

fan manufacturers would incur no 

additional equipment costs as a result of 

the proposed standby mode and off 

mode testing because an electrical 

power meter is already required to 

conduct the proposed active mode 

testing. Also, manufacturers of furnace 

fans used in hydronic air handlers are 

often manufacturers of furnace fans 

used in other HVAC products. These 

manufacturers should already possess or 

will have to purchase an electrical 

power meter as a result of other 

rulemakings that require standby mode 

and off mode testing of the nonhydronic products covered in this 

rulemaking. DOE estimates the cost per 

unit for standby mode and off mode 

testing to be less than $300 and the time 

to complete a single standby mode and 

off mode test according to the proposed 

test procedure to be less than one hour. 

Even in the unlikely scenario that a 

small manufacturer with low annual 

shipments has to purchase testing 

equipment or contract with a third-party 

test facility as a result of this rule, DOE 

estimates that the per-unit investment 

would not be significant. For example, 

a small manufacturer that ships 1,000 

units per year could choose to purchase 

the necessary equipment for 

approximately $150,000. DOE estimates 

that, over the life of the test equipment 

(20 years), the additional cost of testing 

for the manufacturer would be $7.50 per 

unit shipped. A less costly option for 

the same manufacturer would be to use 

third-party testing to certify its 

products. In this scenario, the small 

manufacturer would likely pay less than 

$2,300 per test for at least two tests to 

certify one new product every two 

years. DOE estimates that this would 

cost the small manufacturer $2.30 per 

unit shipped. DOE finds that the selling 

price for HVAC products that 

incorporate furnace fans ranges from 

approximately $400 to $4,000. 

Therefore, the added cost of testing, at 

most, would be less than 2 percent of 

the manufacturer selling price (and 

lower than 0.1 percent in some cases). 

For these reasons, DOE certifies that 

the proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a 

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regulatory flexibility analysis for this 

rulemaking. DOE will provide its 

certification and supporting statement 

of factual basis to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA for review under 

5 U.S.C. 605(b). 

C. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 

There is currently no information 

collection requirement related to the test 

procedure for residential furnace fans. 

In the event that DOE proposes an 

energy conservation standard with 

which manufacturers must demonstrate 

compliance, or otherwise proposes to 

require the collection of information 

derived from the testing of residential 

furnace fans according to this test 

procedure, DOE will seek OMB 

approval of such information collection 

requirement. 

Manufacturers of covered products 

must certify to DOE that their products 

comply with any applicable energy 

conservation standard. In certifying 

compliance, manufacturers must test 

their products according to the 

applicable DOE test procedure, 

including any amendments adopted for 

that test procedure. 

DOE established regulations for the 

certification and recordkeeping 

requirements for certain covered 

consumer products and commercial 

equipment. 76 FR 12422 (March 7, 

2011). The collection-of-information 

requirement for the certification and 

recordkeeping was subject to review and 

approval by OMB under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). This requirement 

was approved by OMB under OMB 

Control Number 1910–1400. Public 

reporting burden for the certification 

was estimated to average 20 hours per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

As stated above, in the event DOE 

proposes an energy conservation 

standard for residential furnace fans 

with which manufacturers must 

demonstrate compliance, DOE will seek 

OMB approval of the associated 

information collection requirement. 

DOE will seek approval either through 

a proposed amendment to the 

information collection requirement 

approved under OMB control number 

1910–1400 or as a separate proposed 

information collection requirement. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

In this notice of proposed rulemaking, 

DOE proposes a new test procedure for 

furnace fans. DOE has determined that 

this rule falls into a class of actions that 

are categorically excluded from review 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) and DOE’s implementing 

regulations at 10 CFR part 1021. 

Specifically, this rule proposes a test 

procedure without affecting the amount, 

quality or distribution of energy usage, 

and, therefore, will not result in any 

environmental impacts. Thus, this 

rulemaking is covered by Categorical 

Exclusion A5 under 10 CFR part 1021, 

subpart D, which applies to any 

rulemaking that does not result in any 

environmental impacts. Accordingly, 

neither an environmental assessment 

nor an environmental impact statement 

is required. 

E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’ 

64 FR 43255 (August 10, 1999) imposes 

certain requirements on Federal 

agencies formulating and implementing 

policies or regulations that preempt 

State law or that have Federalism 

implications. The Executive Order 

requires agencies to examine the 

constitutional and statutory authority 

supporting any action that would limit 

the policymaking discretion of the 

States and to carefully assess the 

necessity for such actions. The 

Executive Order also requires agencies 

to 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. On 

March 14, 2000, DOE published a 

statement of policy describing the 

intergovernmental consultation process 

it will follow in the development of 

such regulations. 65 FR 13735. DOE has 

examined this proposed rule and has 

tentatively determined that it 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. EPCA governs and 

prescribes Federal preemption of State 

regulations as to energy conservation for 

the products that are the subject of 

today’s proposed rule. States can 

petition DOE for exemption from such 

preemption to the extent, and based on 

criteria, set forth in EPCA. (42 U.S.C. 

6297(d)) No further action is required by 

Executive Order 13132. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

Regarding the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996), 

imposes on Federal agencies the general 

duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; (3) 

provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard; and (4) promote simplification 

and burden reduction. With regard to 

the review required by section 3(a), 

section 3(b) of Executive Order 12988 

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) 

provides 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 Executive Order 12988 requires 

Executive agencies to review regulations 

in light of applicable standards in 

sections 3(a) and 3(b) to determine 

whether they are met or it is 

unreasonable to meet one or more of 

them. DOE has completed the required 

review and determined that, to the 

extent permitted by law, the proposed 

rule meets the relevant standards of 

Executive Order 12988. 

G. Review Under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) requires 

each Federal agency to assess the effects 

of Federal regulatory actions on State, 

local, and Tribal governments and the 

private sector. Public Law 104–4, sec. 

201 (codified at 2 U.S.C. 1531). For a 

proposed regulatory action likely to 

result in a rule that may cause the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector of $100 million or more 

in any one year (adjusted annually for 

inflation), section 202 of UMRA requires 

a Federal agency to publish a written 

statement that estimates the resulting 

costs, benefits, and other effects on the 

national economy. (2 U.S.C. 1532(a), (b)) 

The UMRA also requires a Federal 

agency to develop an effective process 

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to permit timely input by elected 

officers of State, local, and Tribal 

governments on a ‘‘significant 

intergovernmental mandate,’’ and 

requires an agency plan for giving notice 

and opportunity for timely input to 

potentially affected small governments 

before establishing any requirements 

that might significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments. On March 18, 

1997, DOE published a statement of 

policy on its process for 

intergovernmental consultation under 

UMRA. 62 FR 12820. DOE’s policy 

statement is also available at 

www.gc.doe.gov. DOE examined today’s 

proposed rule according to UMRA and 

its statement of policy and determined 

that the rule contains neither an 

intergovernmental mandate, nor a 

mandate that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any year. Accordingly, no assessment 

or analysis is required under UMRA. 

H. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105–277) requires 

Federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any rule 

that may affect family well-being. This 

rule would not have any impact on the 

autonomy or integrity of the family as 

an institution. Accordingly, DOE has 

concluded that it is not necessary to 

prepare a Family Policymaking 

Assessment. 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

DOE has determined, under Executive 

Order 12630, ‘‘Governmental Actions 

and Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights,’’ 53 FR 8859 

(March 18, 1988) that this regulation 

would not result in any takings that 

might require compensation under the 

Fifth Amendment to the U.S. 

Constitution. 

J. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

Section 515 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516 note) provides 

for Federal agencies to review most 

disseminations of information to the 

public under guidelines established by 

each agency pursuant to general 

guidelines issued by OMB. OMB’s 

guidelines were published at 67 FR 

8452 (Feb. 22, 2002), and DOE’s 

guidelines were published at 67 FR 

62446 (Oct. 7, 2002). DOE has reviewed 

today’s proposed rule under the OMB 

and DOE guidelines and has concluded 

that it is consistent with applicable 

policies in those guidelines. 

K. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211, ‘‘Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use,’’ 66 FR 28355 (May 

22, 2001), requires Federal agencies to 

prepare and submit to OIRA at OMB, a 

Statement of Energy Effects for any 

significant energy action. A ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ is defined as any action 

by an agency that promulgates or is 

expected to lead to promulgation of a 

final rule, and that: (1) Is a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866, or any successor order; and (2) 

is likely to have a significant adverse 

effect on the supply, distribution, or use 

of energy; or (3) is designated by the 

Administrator of OIRA as a significant 

energy action. For any proposed 

significant energy action, the agency 

must provide a detailed statement of 

any adverse effects on energy supply, 

distribution, or use should the proposal 

be implemented, and of reasonable 

alternatives to the action and their 

expected benefits on energy supply, 

distribution, and use. 

DOE has tentatively concluded that 

today’s regulatory action, which would 

prescribe the test procedure for 

measuring the energy efficiency of 

residential furnace fans, is not a 

significant energy action because the 

proposed test procedure is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866 and is not likely 

to have a significant adverse effect on 

the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy, nor has it been designated as a 

significant energy action by the 

Administrator of OIRA. Accordingly, 

DOE has not prepared a Statement of 

Energy Effects on the proposed rule. 

L. 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), DOE must comply with all laws 

applicable to the former Federal Energy 

Administration, including section 32 of 

the Federal Energy Administration Act 

of 1974 (Pub. L. 93–275), as amended by 

the Federal Energy Administration 

Authorization Act of 1977. (Pub. L. 95– 

70) 15 U.S.C. 788. Section 32 provides 

in relevant part that, where a proposed 

rule authorizes or requires use of 

commercial standards, the notice of 

proposed rulemaking must inform the 

public of the use and background of 

such standards. In addition, section 

32(c) requires DOE to consult with the 

Attorney General and the Chairman of 

the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

concerning the impact of the 

commercial or industry standards on 

competition. 

The proposed rule incorporates 

testing methods contained in ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07 | ANSI/ASHRAE 51–07, 

‘‘Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans for 

Certified Aerodynamic Performance 

Rating’’; IEC Standard 62301 (Second 

Edition), ‘‘Household electrical 

appliances—Measurement of standby 

power’’; and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 

103, ‘‘Method of Testing for Annual Fuel 

Utilization Efficiency of Residential 

Central Furnaces and Boilers.’’ While 

today’s proposed test procedure is not 

exclusively based on these standards, 

some components of the DOE test 

procedure would adopt definitions, test 

setup, measurement techniques, and 

additional calculations from them 

without amendment. The Department 

has evaluated these standards and is 

unable to conclude whether they fully 

comply with the requirements of section 

32(b) of the FEAA, (i.e., that they were 

developed in a manner that fully 

provides for public participation, 

comment, and review). DOE will 

consult with the Attorney General and 

the Chairman of the FTC concerning the 

impact of these test procedures on 

competition, prior to prescribing a final 

rule. 

V. Public Participation 

A. Attendance at Public Meeting 

The time, date and location of the 

public meeting are listed in the DATES

and ADDRESSES sections at the beginning 

of this document. If you plan to attend 

the public meeting, please notify Ms. 

Brenda Edwards at (202) 586–2945 or 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. As 

explained in the ADDRESSES section, 

foreign nationals visiting DOE 

Headquarters are subject to advance 

security screening procedures. Any 

foreign national wishing to participate 

in the meeting should advise DOE of 

this fact as soon as possible by 

contacting Ms. Brenda Edwards in order 

to initiate the necessary procedures. 

In addition, you can attend the public 

meeting via webinar. Webinar 

registration information, participant 

instructions, and information about the 

capabilities available to webinar 

participants will be published on DOE’s 

Web site at: http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

furnace_fans.html. Participants are 

responsible for ensuring their systems 

are compatible with the webinar 

software. 

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B. Procedure for Submitting Requests To 

Speak and Prepared General Statements 

for Distribution 

Any person who has an interest in the 

topics addressed in this notice, or who 

is representative of a group or class of 

persons that has an interest in these 

issues, may request an opportunity to 

make an oral presentation at the public 

meeting. Such persons may handdeliver requests to speak to the address 

shown in the ADDRESSES section at the 

beginning of this notice between 9:00 

a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Requests may also be sent by mail or 

email to Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121, or 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. Persons 

who wish to speak should include in 

their request a computer diskette or CD– 

ROM in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, 

PDF, or text (ASCII) file format that 

briefly describes the nature of their 

interest in this rulemaking and the 

topics they wish to discuss. Such 

persons should also provide a daytime 

telephone number where they can be 

reached. 

DOE requests persons selected to 

make an oral presentation to submit an 

advance copy of their statements at least 

one week before the public meeting. 

DOE may permit persons who cannot 

supply an advance copy of their 

statement to participate, if those persons 

have made advance alternative 

arrangements with the Building 

Technologies Program. As necessary, 

request to give an oral presentation 

should ask for such alternative 

arrangements. 

Any person who has plans to present 

a prepared general statement may 

request that copies of his or her 

statement be made available at the 

public meeting. Such persons may 

submit requests, along with an advance 

electronic copy of their statement in 

PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file 

format, to the appropriate address 

shown in the ADDRESSES section at the 

beginning of this notice. The request 

and advance copy of statements must be 

received at least one week before the 

public meeting and may be emailed, 

hand-delivered, or sent by mail. DOE 

prefers to receive requests and advance 

copies via email. Please include a 

telephone number to enable DOE staff to 

make follow-up contact, if needed. 

C. Conduct of Public Meeting 

DOE will designate a DOE official to 

preside at the public meeting and may 

also use a professional facilitator to aid 

discussion. The meeting will not be a 

judicial or evidentiary-type public 

hearing, but DOE will conduct it in 

accordance with section 336 of EPCA 

(42 U.S.C. 6306). A court reporter will 

be present to record the proceedings and 

prepare a transcript. DOE reserves the 

right to schedule the order of 

presentations and to establish the 

procedures governing the conduct of the 

public meeting. There shall not be 

discussion of proprietary information, 

costs or prices, market share, or other 

commercial matters regulated by U.S. 

anti-trust laws. After the public meeting, 

interested parties may submit further 

comments on the proceedings, as well 

as on any aspect of the rulemaking, until 

the end of the comment period. 

The public meeting will be conducted 

in an informal, conference style. DOE 

will present summaries of comments 

received before the public meeting, 

allow time for prepared general 

statements by participants, and 

encourage all interested parties to share 

their views on issues affecting this 

rulemaking. Each participant will be 

allowed to make a general statement 

(within time limits determined by DOE), 

before the discussion of specific topics. 

DOE will allow, as time permits, other 

participants to comment briefly on any 

general statements. 

At the end of all prepared statements 

on a topic, DOE will permit participants 

to clarify their statements briefly and 

comment on statements made by others. 

Participants should be prepared to 

answer questions by DOE and by other 

participants concerning these issues. 

DOE representatives may also ask 

questions of participants concerning 

other matters relevant to this 

rulemaking. The official conducting the 

public meeting 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 that may be 

needed for the proper conduct of the 

public meeting. 

A transcript of the public meeting will 

be posted on the DOE Web site and will 

be included in the docket, which can be 

viewed as described in the Docket 

section at the beginning of this notice. 

In addition, any person may buy a copy 

of the transcript from the transcribing 

reporter. 

D. Submission of Comments 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

information regarding this proposed 

rule before or after the public meeting, 

but no later than the date provided in 

the DATES section at the beginning of 

this proposed rule. Interested parties 

may submit comments using any of the 

methods described in the ADDRESSES

section at the beginning of this notice. 

Submitting comments via 

www.regulations.gov. The 

www.regulations.gov web page will 

require you to provide your name and 

contact information. Your contact 

information will be viewable to DOE 

Building Technologies staff only. Your 

contact information will not be publicly 

viewable except for your first and last 

names, organization name (if any), and 

submitter representative name (if any). 

If your comment is not processed 

properly because of technical 

difficulties, DOE will use this 

information to contact you. If DOE 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, DOE may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

However, your contact information 

will be publicly viewable if you include 

it in the comment itself or in any 

documents attached to your comment. 

Any information that you do not want 

to be publicly viewable should not be 

included in your comment, nor in any 

document attached to your comment. 

Otherwise, persons viewing comments 

will see only first and last names, 

organization names, correspondence 

containing comments, and any 

documents submitted with the 

comments. 

Do not submit to www.regulations.gov 

information for which disclosure is 

restricted by statute, such as trade 

secrets and commercial or financial 

information (hereinafter referred to as 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI)). Comments submitted through 

www.regulations.gov cannot be claimed 

as CBI. Comments received through the 

Web site will waive any CBI claims for 

the information submitted. For 

information on submitting CBI, see the 

Confidential Business Information 

section. 

DOE processes submissions made 

through www.regulations.gov before 

posting. Normally, comments will be 

posted within a few days of being 

submitted. However, if large volumes of 

comments are being processed 

simultaneously, your comment may not 

be viewable for up to several weeks. 

Please keep the comment tracking 

number that www.regulations.gov 

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28696 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

provides after you have successfully 

uploaded your comment. 

Submitting comments via email, hand 

delivery, or mail. Comments and 

documents submitted via email, hand 

delivery, or mail also will be posted to 

www.regulations.gov. If you do not want 

your personal contact information to be 

publicly viewable, do not include it in 

your comment or any accompanying 

documents. Instead, provide your 

contact information in a cover letter. 

Include your first and last names, email 

address, telephone number, and 

optional mailing address. The cover 

letter will not be publicly viewable as 

long as it does not include any 

comments. 

Include contact information each time 

you submit comments, data, documents, 

and other information to DOE. If you 

submit via mail or hand delivery/ 

courier, please provide all items on a 

compact disk (CD), if feasible, in which 

case it is not necessary to submit 

printed copies. No telefacsimiles (faxes) 

will be accepted. 

Comments, data, and other 

information submitted to DOE 

electronically should be provided in 

PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file 

format. Provide documents that are not 

secured, written in English, and are free 

of any defects or viruses. Documents 

should not contain special characters or 

any form of encryption and, if possible, 

they should carry the electronic 

signature of the author. 

Campaign form letters. Please submit 

campaign form letters by the originating 

organization in batches of between 50 to 

500 form letters per PDF or as one form 

letter with a list of supporters’ names 

compiled into one or more PDFs. This 

reduces comment processing and 

posting time. 

Confidential Business Information. 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person 

submitting information that he or she 

believes to be confidential and exempt 

by law from public disclosure should 

submit via email, postal mail, or hand 

delivery/courier two well-marked 

copies: one copy of the document 

marked confidential including all the 

information believed to be confidential, 

and one copy of the document marked 

non-confidential with the information 

believed to be confidential deleted. 

Submit these documents via email or on 

a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own 

determination about the confidential 

status of the information and treat it 

according to its determination. 

Factors of interest to DOE when 

evaluating requests to treat submitted 

information as confidential include: (1) 

A description of the items; (2) 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) 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. 

It is DOE’s policy that all comments 

may be included in the public docket, 

without change and as received, 

including any personal information 

provided in the comments (except 

information deemed to be exempt from 

public disclosure). 

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment 

Although DOE welcomes comments 

on any aspect of this proposal, DOE is 

particularly interested in receiving 

comments and views of interested 

parties concerning the following issues: 

1. Airflow-Control Setting Function 

Designations 

DOE is aware that furnace fan control 

schemes typically include airflowcontrol settings (i.e., set ranges of 

differing operating airflows), each often 

designated for specific functions (e.g., 

cooling, heating, and circulation). DOE 

found that the maximum airflow-control 

setting is often designated for cooling 

operation, that median default airflowcontrol settings are designated for 

heating operation, and that the lowest 

default airflow-control setting is 

designated for constant-circulation 

operation. DOE is aware, however, that 

airflow-control settings are not always 

designated for the same function across 

all products, models, and 

manufacturers. DOE is also aware that 

some furnace fans have more than three 

airflow-control settings and that 

multiple airflow-control settings can be 

designated for heating and/or cooling in 

multi-stage products. DOE seeks 

comment on the appropriateness of the 

proposed assumptions regarding which 

airflow-control settings are designated 

for which functions and whether these 

assumed designations are appropriate 

for deriving FER. DOE also seeks 

comment on airflow-control setting 

designations for multi-stage products. 

2. Operating Hour Values for 

Calculating the Fan Efficiency Rating 

DOE is aware that climate conditions 

and consumer behavior vary in the 

United States. DOE’s proposed furnace 

fan annual operating hour values are 

intended to be representative of the 

national average operating hours that 

furnace fans are expected to spend 

performing each primary function: 

cooling, heating, and constantcirculation. DOE proposes to specify 

one set of annual operating hours for 

products with single-stage heating and 

another for products with multi-stage or 

modulating heating. DOE does not 

propose to account for multi-stage 

cooling, because detailed characteristics 

of the cooling system with which 

furnace fan HVAC products are paired, 

such as the presence and capacity of 

low-stage cooling, are not known. In 

addition, multi-stage heating is not 

necessarily associated with multi-stage 

cooling capability (e.g., multi-stage 

cooling is much less common than 

multi-stage furnace equipment). DOE 

also requests comments on whether 

hydronic air handlers are designed to 

provide multi-stage or modulated heat. 

DOE requests comments on whether the 

proposed operating hour values and 

proposed rating airflow-control settings 

are appropriate for rating multi-stage 

and modulating hydronic air handlers. 

Table V.1 below summarizes the 

proposed operating hour values to be 

specified for calculating FER. 

TABLE V.1—PROPOSED AVERAGE ANNUAL OPERATING HOURS BY MODE

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Heating mode ................................ HH ................................................. 830 ................................................ 830/HCR. 

Circulation mode ............................ CCH .............................................. 400 ................................................ 400. 

Cooling mode ................................. CH ................................................. 640 ................................................ 640. 

Off mode (if applicable) ................. OH ................................................ 0 .................................................... 0. 

Standby mode (if applicable) ......... SBH .............................................. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH .............. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH. 

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35Manufactured home external static pressure is 

much smaller due to the fact there is no return air 

duct work in manufactured homes. Also, HUD 

requirements stipulate that the duct work for 

cooling should be set at 0.3 in. w.c. 

DOE requests comment on whether 

the proposed operating hour values are 

reasonable estimations of national 

average operating hours for each furnace 

fan function. DOE also requests 

comment on the methodology and 

assumptions used to estimate these 

values, which are described in detail in 

section III.D. 

3. Reference System ESP Values 

As described in section III.E, DOE 

compiled field ESP data to determine 

reference system ESP values that are 

representative of field conditions. Based 

on the data collected, DOE proposes the 

reference system ESP values in Table 

V.2 below for the four identified 

installation types. 

TABLE V.2—PROPOSED REFERENCE

SYSTEM ESP VALUES BY INSTALLATION TYPE

Installation type 

Weighted 

average ESP 

(in. w.c.) 

Heating-only units ................. 0.50 

Units with an internal evaporator coil ............................ 0.50 

Units designed to be paired 

with an evaporator coil ...... 0.65 

Manufactured homes 35 ........ 0.30 

DOE seeks comment and data 

regarding these values and the 

assumptions used to estimate them, 

which are detailed in section III.E, are 

appropriate. DOE also seeks comment 

on whether the specified reference 

system ESP should vary with the HVAC 

product capacity. 

4. Multiple Reference System Method 

DOE is aware that field ESPs can be 

higher than recommended by 

manufacturers. DOE is also aware that 

CSA considered rating fan performance 

in multiple reference systems for the 

finalized version of CSA C823: one at 

0.3 in.w.c. in the heating speed to 

represent a manufacturer-recommended 

installation, and one at 0.6 in.w.c. in the 

heating speed to be more representative 

of a typical (poor) field installation. A 

multiple-reference system rating metric 

would specify reference systems to 

represent the expected range of 

installations. DOE expects that a furnace 

fan may provide enough airflow for 4 

tons of cooling in a house with 

generously-sized ducts, but it may only 

provide enough airflow for 3 tons of 

cooling in a house with a more 

restrictive duct system. Therefore, a 

furnace fan with these performance 

characteristics might be installed in 2- 

ton to 4-ton cooling systems in largeduct houses and 1.5-ton to 3-ton cooling 

systems in tight-duct houses. DOE 

recognizes that rating the furnace fan 

using one reference system defined by a 

high ESP and one reference system 

defined by a low ESP (determined by 

statistical methods from field ESP data) 

could give a good indication of the 

ability of the furnace fan to provide 

good performance over a range of ESP. 

DOE investigated the use of a combined, 

multi-reference system FER, but found 

that it provided no additional useful 

information compared to the proposed, 

single-reference system FER. This 

comparison is discussed in detail in 

section III.E. DOE requests comment on 

multiple-reference system rating 

approaches and whether they would 

give a better indication of the overall 

performance, as compared to the 

proposed single reference system 

approach. 

5. Standby Mode and Off Mode 

Electrical Energy Consumption for 

Furnace Fans Used in Hydronic Air 

Handlers 

DOE proposes to incorporate in this 

test procedure the methods specified in 

the DOE test procedure for residential 

furnaces and boilers (10 CFR part 430, 

subpart B, appendix N, section 8.0) to 

measure the standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption for furnace fans 

used in hydronic air handlers. On 

September 13, 2011, DOE published a 

NOPR to update the DOE test procedure 

for furnaces through incorporation by 

reference of the latest edition of the 

industry standard, specifically IEC 

Standard 62301 (Second Edition). 76 FR 

56339. DOE proposes to also adopt the 

updates proposed in the September 

2011 furnaces test procedure NOPR for 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy of furnace fans 

incorporated in hydronic air handlers. 

The standby mode and off mode 

electrical energy consumption of the 

other HVAC products discussed in this 

notice are already fully accounted for in 

other proposed or established DOE test 

procedures. DOE believes the methods 

specified in the DOE test procedure for 

residential furnaces and boilers to 

measure the standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption are appropriate 

because both furnaces and hydronic air 

handlers are used primarily in central 

heating applications, and DOE expects 

that the electrical systems (i.e., 

components and controls) of hydronic 

air handlers are similar to the electrical 

systems of furnaces. DOE seeks 

comment on whether the assumed 

similarities between the electrical 

systems of furnaces and hydronic air 

handlers are appropriate. 

DOE proposes to integrate the standby 

mode and off mode electrical energy 

consumption measurements, ESB and 

EOFF, with the active mode metric for 

hydronic air handlers. DOE seeks 

comment on whether the methods for 

measuring standby mode and off mode 

energy consumption specified in the 

DOE test procedure for residential 

furnaces and boilers are appropriate for 

hydronic air handlers. As mentioned 

previously, similar to furnaces, DOE 

expects that hydronic air handlers are 

not typically equipped with a seasonal 

off switch or that consumers would turn 

off power to the hydronic air handler. 

Therefore, DOE expects that EOFF and 

the estimated annual off mode operating 

hours, HO, would effectively be equal to 

zero. DOE seeks comment on whether 

hydronic air handlers have a seasonal 

off switch or consumers would turn off 

power to the hydronic air handler. If so, 

DOE also requests comment on the 

expected electrical energy consumption 

in off mode, the number of hours that 

should be allocated to standby mode, 

and the number of hours that should be 

allocated to off mode, as well as data to 

support these allocations. 

6. Controlling ECM Motors for Testing 

DOE is aware that higher-efficiency 

motors have complicated control 

schemes that make selecting their 

available airflow-control settings during 

performance testing difficult. The ability 

to select and operate a furnace fan in 

multiple airflow-control settings is 

imperative to conducting the proposed 

test procedure as intended and to derive 

FER. While this may be simple for 

manufacturers who are familiar with 

HVAC controls, independent test labs 

may need guidance. Therefore, DOE 

seeks comment on the appropriateness 

of the proposed test procedures for 

controlling furnace fans that use higherefficiency motors, including 

recommendations for any necessary 

modifications. 

7. Test Setup 

DOE recognizes that ANSI/AMCA 

210–07 includes 16 setup variations. 

DOE requests comments on which of 

these setups are best-suited for the 

purposes of this test procedure. DOE 

expects that the blow-through setups, 

such as test setup 12, may be more 

appropriate than pull-through setups, 

such as setup 13, because they are more 

representative of typical installations of 

the HVAC products discussed in this 

notice. DOE also requests comments on 

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whether any of these test setups are 

inappropriate and should be disallowed 

for the purposes of this test procedure. 

8. External Static Pressure 

DOE expects that measurements 

referred to as ‘‘external static pressure’’ 

in manufacturer product literature are 

the same as ‘‘fan static pressure’’ 

measurements in ANSI/AMCA 210–07 

(ANSI/AMCA 210–07 section 3.1.25). 

The ANSI/AMCA 210–07 ‘‘fan static 

pressure’’ measurement is defined to be 

equal to the outlet total pressure minus 

the inlet total pressure minus the outlet 

velocity pressure. Therefore, this notice 

proposes an equivalent definition for 

‘‘external static pressure.’’ However, 

DOE notes that this value is not equal 

to the difference between outlet and 

inlet static pressure—it is less than such 

a difference by an amount equal to the 

inlet velocity pressure. DOE requests 

comments on the proposed definition of 

‘‘external static pressure’’ and whether 

DOE is correct in assuming that external 

static pressure ratings reported in 

product literature are equivalent to 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 fan static pressure 

measurements. 

9. Ambient Pressure Conditions 

DOE is aware that barometric pressure 

changes may have an impact on test 

measurement results and notes that the 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 standard does not 

appear to include correction for this 

effect. DOE requests comment on 

whether any limitations on the 

barometric pressure range or 

adjustments to address the impact of 

barometric pressure should be included 

in the test procedure. 

10. Sampling Plan Procedures and 

Certification Report Requirements 

DOE proposes to adopt the existing 

sampling plan procedures applicable to 

residential furnaces for certification of 

residential furnace fans. DOE requests 

comments on whether the sampling 

plan procedures for residential furnaces 

are appropriate for representation and 

certification of residential furnace fans 

measures of electrical energy 

consumption. DOE also proposes to 

specify the general certification report 

requirements within 10 CFR 429.12, as 

well as the following additional 

information in certification reports for 

furnace fans: 

• Residential furnace fans used in 

HVAC products other than hydronic airhandlers: The represented value of fan 

efficiency rating (FER) in watts per 

thousand cubic feet per minute (W/cfm); 

the maximum airflow capacity at the 

reference system ESP in cubic feet per 

minute (cfm); whether the HVAC 

product has multi-stage or modulating 

heating, and if so, the maximum and 

minimum output heat capacities in 

British thermal units per hour (Btu/h); 

and whether the HVAC product is 

designated for use in manufactured 

homes. 

• Residential furnace fans used in 

hydronic air-handlers: The represented 

value of integrated fan efficiency rating 

(IFER) in watts per thousand cubic feet 

per minute (W/cfm); the maximum 

airflow capacity at the reference system 

ESP in cubic feet per minute (cfm); 

whether the HVAC product has multistage or modulating heating, and if so, 

the maximum and minimum output 

heat capacities in British thermal units 

per hour (Btu/h); and whether the 

HVAC product is designated for use in 

manufactured homes. 

DOE also requests comment on 

whether these certification report 

requirements are appropriate. 

VI. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of today’s notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 

List of Subjects 

10 CFR Part 429 

Confidential business information, 

Energy conservation, Household 

appliances, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

10 CFR Part 430 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Energy conservation, 

Household appliances, Imports, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Small 

businesses. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2012. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DOE proposes to amend parts 

429 and 430 of chapter II, subchapter D, 

of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to read as set forth below: 

PART 429—CERTIFICATION, 

COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT 

FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND 

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 

EQUIPMENT 

1. The authority citation for part 429 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291–6317. 

2. Add new § 429.55 to read as 

follows: 

§ 429.55 Residential furnace fans. 

(a) Sampling plan for selection of 

units for testing. (1) The requirements of 

§ 429.11 are applicable to residential 

furnace fans; and 

(2) For each basic model of heating, 

ventilation, and air-conditioning 

(HVAC) product using a furnace fan, a 

sample of sufficient size shall be 

randomly selected and tested to ensure 

that any represented value of fan 

efficiency rating (FER) or integrated fan 

efficiency rating (IFER) for which 

consumers would favor lower values 

shall be greater than or equal to the 

higher of: 

(i) The mean of the sample, where: 

And, x ̄ is the sample mean; n is the 

number of samples; and xi is the ith 

sample; 

Or, 

(ii) The upper 971⁄2 percent 

confidence limit (UCL) of the true mean 

divided by 1.05, where: 

And x ̄ 8 is the sample mean; s is the 

sample standard deviation; n is the 

number of samples; and t0.975 is the t 

statistic for a 97.5% one-tailed 

confidence interval with n-1 degrees of 

freedom (from Appendix A) 

(b) Certification reports. (1) The 

requirements of § 429.12 are applicable 

to residential furnace fans; and 

(2) Pursuant to § 429.12(b)(13), a 

certification report shall include the 

following public product-specific 

information: 

(i) Residential furnace fans used in 

HVAC products other than hydronic airhandlers: The represented value of fan 

efficiency rating (FER) in watts per 

thousand cubic feet per minute (W/cfm); 

the maximum airflow capacity at the 

reference system ESP in cubic feet per 

minute (cfm); whether the HVAC 

product has multi-stage or modulating 

heating, and if so, the maximum and 

minimum output heat capacities in 

British thermal units per hour (Btu/h); 

and whether the HVAC product is 

designated for use in manufactured 

homes. 

(ii) Residential furnace fans used in 

hydronic air-handlers: The represented 

value of integrated fan efficiency rating 

(IFER) in watts per thousand cubic feet 

per minute (W/cfm); the maximum 

airflow capacity at the reference system 

ESP in cubic feet per minute (cfm); 

whether the HVAC product has multiVerDate Mar<15>2010 18:19 May 14, 2012 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\15MYP2.SGM 15MYP2

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 28699 

stage or modulating heating, and if so, 

the maximum and minimum output 

heat capacities in British thermal units 

per hour (Btu/h); and whether the 

HVAC product is designated for use in 

manufactured homes. 

PART 430—ENERGY CONSERVATION 

PROGRAM FOR CONSUMER 

PRODUCTS 

3. The authority citation for part 430 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291–6309; 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note. 

4. Section 430.3 is amended by: 

a. Adding paragraph (d)(1); 

b. Redesignating paragraphs (d)(1) 

through (d)(18) as (d)(2) through (d)(19); 

c. Removing, in paragraph (f)(9) ‘‘and 

appendix N to subpart B’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘appendix N and appendix AA 

to subpart B’’; 

d. Removing, in paragraph (m)(2), 

‘‘IBR approved for Appendix J2 and AA 

to subpart B’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘IBR approved for appendix G, N, O, P, 

and AA’’ . 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 430.3 Materials incorporated by 

reference. 

* * * * * 

(d) ANSI. * * * 

(1) ANSI/AMCA 210–07 √ ANSI/ 

ASHRAE 51–07 (‘‘ANSI/AMCA 210– 

07’’), Laboratory Methods of Testing 

Fans for Certified Aerodynamic 

Performance Rating, approved 2007, IBR 

approved for Appendix AA to Subpart 

B. 

* * * * * 

5. Section 430.23 is amended by 

adding a new paragraph (cc) to read as 

follows: 

§ 430.23 Test procedures for the 

measurement of energy and water 

consumption. 

* * * * * 

(cc) Furnace Fans. The energy 

efficiency of a residential furnace fan 

expressed in watts per1000 standard 

cubic feet per minute (scfm) to the 

nearest integer shall be calculated in 

accordance with section 6 of appendix 

AA of this subpart. 

6. Appendix AA to subpart B of part 

430 is added to read as follows: 

Appendix AA to Subpart B of Part 

430—Uniform Test Method for 

Measuring the Energy Efficiency of 

Residential Furnace Fans 

1. Scope. This appendix covers the test 

requirements used to measure the energy 

efficiency of residential furnace fans, 

including the energy use contributions of 

standby mode and off mode of residential 

furnace fans used in hydronic air handlers. 

2. Definitions, Units of Measure, and 

Symbols. Definitions, units of measure, and 

symbols include the definitions, units of 

measure, and symbols specified in section 3 

of ANSI/AMCA 210–07 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) and the following 

additional and modified definitions, units of 

measure, and symbols: 

2.1. Active mode means any the mode of 

operation in which the HVAC product is 

connected to a power source and circulating 

air through duct work. 

2.2. Airflow-control setting means any 

distinct operating mode characterized by 

nominal fan speed or airflow that a furnace 

fan is programmed or wired to achieve when 

installed in accordance with manufacturer 

instructions and which is often designated 

for performing a specific HVAC function 

(e.g., cooling, heating, or constantcirculation). 

2.3. ANSI/AMCA 210–07 means the test 

standard published by ANSI/AMCA 210–07 

| ANSI/ASHRAE 51–07 titled ‘‘Laboratory 

Methods of Testing Fans for Certified 

Aerodynamic Performance Rating’’ 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

2.4. Default airflow-control settings are the 

airflow-control settings that can be achieved 

in the factory-set control system 

configuration (i.e., without manual 

adjustment other than interaction with a 

user-operable control such as a thermostat). 

2.5. External static pressure means the 

difference between the total pressure at the 

air outlet and the total pressure at the air 

inlet less velocity pressure at the air outlet 

of an HVAC product containing a furnace fan 

when operating and installed in accordance 

with the manufacturer’s instructions. 

External static pressure does not include the 

pressure drop across appurtenances internal 

to the HVAC product. 

2.6. Hydronic air handler means a furnace 

designed to supply heat through a system of 

ducts with air as the heating medium, in 

which heat is generated by hot water flowing 

through a hydronic heating coil and the 

heated air is circulated by means of a fan or 

blower. 

2.7. Off mode means the mode of operation 

during which the HVAC product is not 

powered. 

2.8. Residential furnace fan means an 

electrically-powered device used in 

residential central heating, ventilation, and 

air-conditioning (HVAC) systems for the 

purpose of circulating air through duct work. 

2.9. Seasonal off switch means a switch on 

the HVAC product that, when activated, 

results in a measurable change in energy 

consumption between the standby and off 

modes. 

2.10. Standby mode means the mode 

during which the HVAC product is 

connected to the power source and the 

furnace fan is not activated. 

2.11. Symbols and subscripts. The 

following units of measure and symbols are 

provided in addition to those specified in 

section 3.2 of ANSI/AMCA 210–07 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

Ecirc = furnace fan electrical consumption at 

the default constant-circulation airflowcontrol setting operating point (or lowest 

default airflow-control setting operating 

point if a default constant-circulation 

airflow-control setting is not specified), 

in watts 

Eheat—furnace fan electrical consumption in 

the default heat airflow-control setting 

for single-stage heating products or the 

default low-heat setting for multi-stage 

heating products, in watts 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling hours 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours 

Emax—furnace fan electrical consumption at 

the maximum airflow-control setting 

operating point, in watts 

EOFF = furnace fan electrical consumption in 

off mode, in watts 

ESB = furnace fan electrical consumption in 

standby mode, in watts 

ESP—external static pressure, in in.w.c. 

FER—Fan efficiency rating for furnace fans 

used in HVAC products other than 

hydronic air handlers, in watts per 1000 

cfm at specified operating points 

HH = annual furnace fan heating hours 

IFER—Integrated fan efficiency rating for 

furnace fans used in hydronic air 

handlers, in watts per 1000 cfm at 

specified operating points 

Kref—physical descriptor characterizing the 

reference system 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode operating 

hours 

Qmax = airflow in the maximum airflowcontrol setting at the specified reference 

system ESP, in cfm 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours 

8760 = total annual hours 

3. Instruments and Methods of Measure. 

Instruments and methods of measure are as 

specified in section 4 of ANSI/AMCA 210– 

07 (incorporated by reference, see § 430.3), 

excluding those for mechanical measurement 

of fan input power and motor calibration 

(sections 4.4) and rotational speed (section 

4.5). Instruments and methods of measure for 

active mode electrical power consumption 

are as specified in section 3.1 of this 

appendix. 

3.1. Measurement of electrical active mode 

power consumption. 

3.1.1. Electrical meter. An electrical meter 

shall have a certified accuracy of ±1% of the 

observed reading. 

3.1.2. Voltage. Electrical power shall be 

supplied to the HVAC product in which the 

furnace fan is incorporated within 1% of the 

nameplate voltage for the duration of the test. 

If a dual voltage is used for nameplate 

voltage, maintain the electrical supply within 

1% of the higher voltage. 

4. Test Setups and Equipment. Test setups 

and equipment are as specified in section 5 

of ANSI/AMCA 210–07 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3). Furnace fans shall be 

tested as factory-installed in the HVAC 

product in which they are integrated. 

5. Observations and Conduct of Test. 

Observations and procedures for the conduct 

of test are as specified in section 6 of ANSI/ 

AMCA 210–07 (incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3), except for test data to be 

recorded related to rotational speed, beam 

load, or torque as specified in Table 3 of 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07. Additional 

observations and procedures for the conduct 

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of test are as specified in section 5.1 of this 

appendix, which modifies section 6.1.1 of 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07. Observations and 

procedures for the conduct of test to measure 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption are as specified in section 5.2 

of this appendix which modifies the methods 

specified in appendix N of subpart B of part 

430 to be applicable to hydronic air handlers. 

5.1. Determinations. Determinations shall 

be made at: (1) 0.1 in.w.c.; (2) an ESP equal 

to the applicable reference system ESP 

divided by 2; and (3) an ESP between the 

applicable reference system ESP and 0.1 

in.w.c. above that reference system ESP. 

Determinations shall include measurements 

of input electrical power, external static 

pressure, and airflow. 

5.2. Measurement of electrical standby 

mode and off mode power for hydronic air 

handlers. 

5.2.1. Standby mode power measurement. 

With the hydronic air handler powered but 

with all electrical auxiliaries not activated, 

measure the standby mode power (ESB) in 

accordance with the procedures in IEC 

Standard 6230, Edition 2.0, 2011–01 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3), 

except that section 8.5, ‘‘Room Ambient 

Temperature,’’ of ASHRAE 103–1993 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3) and 

the voltage provision of section 8.2.1.4, 

‘‘Electrical Supply,’’ of ASHRAE 103—1993 

shall apply in lieu of the corresponding 

provisions of IEC Standard 62301 at section 

4.2, ‘‘Test room,’’ and the voltage 

specification of section 4.3, ‘‘Power supply.’’ 

Frequency shall be 60Hz. Clarifying further, 

IEC Standard 62301 section 4.4, ‘‘Power 

measurement instruments,’’ and section 5, 

‘‘Measurements,’’ shall apply in lieu of 

section 6.10, ‘‘Energy Flow Rate,’’ of 

ASHRAE 103—1993. Measure the wattage so 

that all possible standby mode wattage for 

the entire appliance is recorded, not just the 

standby mode wattage of a single auxiliary. 

The recorded standby power (ESB) shall be 

rounded to the second decimal place, and for 

loads greater than or equal to 10W, at least 

three significant figures shall be reported. 

5.2.2. Off mode power measurement. If the 

unit is equipped with a seasonal off switch 

or there is an expected difference between off 

mode power and standby mode power, 

measure off mode power (EOFF) in accordance 

with applicable procedures in IEC Standard 

62301, Edition 2.0, 2011–01 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3), except that section 

8.5, ‘‘Room Ambient Temperature,’’ of 

ASHRAE 103—1993 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) and the voltage 

provision of section 8.2.1.4, ‘‘Electrical 

Supply,’’ of ASHRAE 103—1993 shall apply 

in lieu of the corresponding provisions of IEC 

Standard 62301 at section 4.2, ‘‘Test room,’’ 

and the voltage specification of section 4.3, 

‘‘Power supply.’’ Frequency shall be 60Hz. 

Clarifying further, IEC Standard 62301 

section 4.4, ‘‘Power measurement 

instruments,’’ and section 5, 

‘‘Measurements,’’ shall apply for this 

measurement in lieu of section 6.10, ‘‘Energy 

Flow Rate,’’ of ASHRAE 103—1993. Measure 

the wattage so that all possible off mode 

wattage for the entire appliance is recorded, 

not just the off mode wattage of a single 

auxiliary. The recorded off mode power shall 

be rounded to the second decimal place, and 

for loads greater than or equal to 10W, at 

least three significant figures shall be 

reported. 

6. Calculations. Calculations are as 

specified in section 7 of ANSI/AMCA 210– 

07 (incorporated by reference, see § 430.3), 

except for sections 7.7 and 7.8, and as 

specified in section 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and 

6.6 of this appendix, which are supplemental 

to ANSI/AMCA 210–07. 

6.1. Performance curve. A performance 

curve shall be determined for each rated 

airflow-control setting by fitting a quadratic 

curve to the three airflow and corresponding 

ESP measurements taken for the 

determinations associated with that 

respective airflow-control setting. The 

derived quadratic performance curves is to 

express airflow as a function of ESP in the 

following form: 

Where: 

Qi = airflow in cfm for rating airflow-control 

setting i; 

ESP = external static pressure in in.w.c.; and 

ai,bi,ci = quadratic coefficients for rating 

airflow-control setting i. 

For products with single-stage 

heating, the rating airflow-control 

settings are the maximum setting, the 

default heating setting, and the default 

constant-circulation setting. For 

products with multi-stage heating or 

modulating heating, the rating airflowcontrol settings are the maximum 

setting, the default low-heating setting, 

and the default constant-circulation 

setting. For hydronic air handlers that 

are not designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil, the rating airflowcontrol settings are the default heating 

setting (expected to be the maximum 

airflow-control setting) and the default 

constant-circulation setting. The lowest 

default airflow-control setting is used to 

represent constant circulation if a 

constant-circulation setting is not 

specified. 

6.2. Electrical consumption curve. An 

electrical consumption curve shall be 

derived for each rated airflow-control 

setting by fitting a quadratic curve to the 

three electrical consumption 

measurements and corresponding ESP 

measurements taken for the 

determinations associated with that 

rating airflow-control setting. The 

derived quadratic electrical 

consumption curve is to express 

electrical consumption as a function of 

ESP in the following form: 

Where: 

Ei = electrical consumption in watts for rating 

airflow-control setting i; 

ESP = external static pressure in in.w.c.; and 

xi,yi,zi = quadratic coefficients for rating 

airflow-control setting i. 

6.3. Reference system curve. The 

reference system curve constant, Kref, 

shall be derived as follows: 

Where: 

Kref = a constant that characterizes the 

reference system; 

ESPref = 0.65 in.w.c. for furnace fans used in 

products designed to be paired with an 

external cooling coil; 0.5 in.w.c. for 

heating-only products or furnace fans 

used in products with an internal 

cooling coil; and 0.3 for manufactured 

home products 

amax, bmax, cmax = quadratic coefficients of the 

maximum airflow-control setting 

performance curve, as derived in section 

6.1 of this appendix 

6.4. Operating points. The operating 

point in the maximum airflow-control 

setting is defined by the reference 

system criteria: ESPref and Qmax. The 

operating points for the default heat and 

default constant-circulation settings 

shall be determined by finding the 

intersections of the performance curves 

for these rating airflow-control settings 

(determined as described in section 6.1 

of this appendix) and the reference 

system curve (ESP=Kref Q2). 

6.5. Electrical consumption. Electrical 

consumption at the operating points 

shall be derived by inputting the 

operating point ESPs identified, as 

specified in section 6.4 of this appendix, 

into the electrical consumption curve 

for each respective airflow-control 

setting, as derived in section 6.2 of this 

appendix. 

6.6. Fan efficiency rating (FER) and 

integrated fan efficiency rating (IFER). 

The fan efficiency rating shall be 

derived by using the following 

equations and the specified operating 

hour values in Table 1 below. 

6.6.1. Heating-only Hydronic Air 

Handlers. For heating-only hydronic air 

handlers, the cooling mode annual 


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hours and energy consumption variable 

are eliminated, and the standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption is 

integrated with the active mode energy 

consumption. The IFER equation for 

heating-only hydronic air handlers is: 

Where: 

IFERheating-only = fan efficiency rating in watts/ 

1000 cfm for hydronic air handlers not 

designed to be paired with an external 

cooling coil; 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

Eheat = electrical consumption at the default 

heat airflow-control setting (i.e., 

maximum setting for single-stage) 

operating point; 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours; 

Ecirc = electrical consumption at the default 

constant-circulation airflow-control 

setting operating point (or lowest default 

airflow-control setting operating point if 

no default constant-circulation setting is 

specified); 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours; 

ESB = electrical consumption in standby 

mode; 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode hours; 

EOFF = electrical consumption in off mode; 

Qmax = airflow in maximum airflow-control 

setting at reference system ESP; and 

1000 = constant to put metric in terms of 

watts/1000 cfm. 

6.6.2. Hydronic Air Handlers 

Designed to be Paired with an 

Evaporator Coil. For hydronic air 

handlers designed to be paired with an 

evaporator coil, the variables for cooling 

mode consumption and operating hours 

are included, and standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption are 

integrated with the active mode energy 

consumption. The IFER equation for 

hydronic air handlers designed to be 

paired with an external cooling coil is: 

Where: 

IFERhydronic = fan efficiency rating in watts/ 

1000 cfm for hydronic air handlers 

designed to be paired with an evaporator 

coil; 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling operating 

hours; 

Emax = electrical consumption at maximum 

airflow-control setting operating point; 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

Eheat = electrical consumption at the default 

heating airflow-control setting operating 

point for units with single-stage heating 

or the default low-heating setting 

operating point for units with multi-stage 

or modulating heating; 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours; 

Ecirc = electrical consumption at the default 

constant-circulation airflow-control 

setting operating point (or lowest default 

airflow-control setting operating point if 

a default constant-circulation airflowcontrol setting is not specified); 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours; 

ESB = electrical consumption in standby 

mode; 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode hours; 

EOFF = electrical consumption in off mode; 

Qmax = airflow in the maximum airflowcontrol at the reference system ESP; and 

1000 = constant to put metric in terms of 

watts/1000 cfm. 

6.6.3. Non-hydronic Air Handler 

Products. For weatherized and nonweatherized gas furnaces, oil 

furnaces, electric furnaces, and 

modular blowers, the standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption 

is excluded, and the FER equation 

is as follows: 

Where: 

FER = fan efficiency rating in watts/1000 cfm 

for weatherized and non-weatherized gas 

furnaces, oil furnaces, electric furnaces, 

and modular blowers; 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling operating 

hours; 

Emax = electrical consumption in the 

maximum airflow-control setting at the 

reference system ESP; 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

Eheat = electrical consumption at the default 

heating airflow-control setting operating 

point for units with single-stage heating 

or the default low-heating airflowcontrol setting operating point for units 

with multi-stage or modulating heating; 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation hours; 

Ecirc = electrical consumption at the default 

constant-circulation airflow-control 

setting operating point (or lowest default 

airflow-control setting operating point if 

a default constant-circulation airflowcontrol setting is not specified); 

Qmax = airflow on the maximum airflowcontrol setting at the reference system 

ESP; and 

1000 = constant to put metric in terms of 

watts/1000 cfm. 

Table 1 includes the operating hour 

values to be used to calculate FER. 

TABLE 1—FURNACE FAN ANNUAL OPERATING HOURS FOR CALCULATING FER 

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Heating mode ................................ HH ................................................. 830 ................................................ 830/HCR. 

Circulation mode ............................ CCH .............................................. 400 ................................................ 400. 

Cooling mode ................................. CH ................................................. 640 ................................................ 640. 

Off mode (if applicable) ................. OH ................................................ 0 .................................................... 0. 


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TABLE 1—FURNACE FAN ANNUAL OPERATING HOURS FOR CALCULATING FER—Continued 

Operating mode Variable Single-stage 

(hours) 

Multi-stage 

(hours) 

Standby mode (if applicable) ......... SBH .............................................. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH .............. 8760–HH–CCH–CH–OH. 

Where: 

HH = annual furnace fan heating operating 

hours; 

HCR = heating capacity ratio (output capacity 

in lowest-heat mode divided by output 

capacity in highest-heat mode); 

CCH = annual furnace fan constantcirculation operating hours; 

CH = annual furnace fan cooling operating 

hours; 

OH = annual furnace fan off mode operating 

hours; and 

SBH = annual furnace fan standby mode 

operating hours. 

7. Report and results of test. Test 

results and information shall be 

reported as specified in section 8 of 

ANSI/AMCA 210–07 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) and as specified 

in section 7.1 of this appendix. 

7.1. Additional report information. 

The following additional test results and 

calculated values shall be reported: (1) 

Fan efficiency rating (FER); (2) the 

airflow, ESP, and electrical 

consumption at each operating point, 

Kref; and (3) the quadratic coefficients 

for the performance curve and electrical 

consumption curves for each rated 

airflow-control setting. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10993 Filed 5–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

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