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[Case No. F-0401

57FR22222

Federal Register / Vol. 57, No. 102 / Wednesday, May 27, 1992 / Notices

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products; Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver From the

Furnace Test Procedure to The Trane

Co.

AGENCY. Office of Conservation and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Decision and Order.

SUMMARY: Notice is given of the

Decision and Order (Case No. F-040)

granting a Waiver to The Trane

Company (Trane), from the existing

Department of Energy (DOE) test

procedure for furnaces. The Department

is granting Trane its Petition for Waiver

regarding blower time delay in

calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization

Efficiency (AFUE) for its TUD-C, TUDR, TDD-C, and TDD-R central

furnances.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Conservation and

Renewable Energy, Mail Station CE43, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9127.

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department

of Energy, Office of General. Counsel.

Mail Station GG-41, Forrestal

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202)

586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(g), notice

is hereby given of the issuance of the

Decision and Order as set out below. In

the Decision and Order, Trane has been

granted a Waiver for its TUD-C, TUDR, TDD-C. and TDD-R central furnaces,

permitting the company to use an

alternate test method in determining

AF UP-.

J. Micrhael Davis,

Assistant Secretary. Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

In the Matter of: The Trane Company

(Case No. F-040)

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (EPCA), Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat.

917; as amended by the National Energy

Conservation Policy Act (NECPA),

Public Law 95-619, 92 Stat. 3266, the

National Appliance Energy

Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA),

Public Law 100-12, and the National

Appliance Energy Conservation

Amendments of 1988 (NAECA 1988),

Public Law 100-357, which requires DOE

to prescribe standardized test

procedures to measure the energy

consumption of certain consumer

products, including furnaces. The intent

of the test procedures is to provide a

comparable measure of energy

consumption that will assist consumers

in making purchasing decisions. These

tests procedures appear at.10 CFR part

430, subpart B.

DOE amended the prescribed test

procedures by adding 10 CFR 430.27 to

create a waiver process. 45 FR 64108,

September 26, 1980. Thereafter, DOE

further amended its appliance test -

procedure waiver process to allow the

Assistant Secretary for Conservation

and Renewable Energy (Assistant

Secretary) to grant an Interim Waiver

from test procedure requirements to

manufacturers that have petitioned DOE

for a waiver of such prescribed test,

procedures. 51 FR 42823, November 26,

1986.

The waiver process allows the

Assistant Secretary to waive

temporarily test procedures for a

particular basic model when a petitioner

shows that the basic model contains one

or more design characteristics which

prevent testing according to the

prescribed test procedures or when the

prescribed test procedures may evaluate

the basic model in a manner so

unrepresentative of its true energy

consumption as to provide materially

inaccurate comparative data. Waivers

generally remain in effect until final test

procedure amendments become

effective, resolving the problem that is

the subject of the waiver.

The Interim Waiver provisions added

by the 1986 amendment allow the

Assistant Secretary to grant an Interim

Waiver when it is determined that the

applicant will experience economic

hardship ,if the Application for Interim

Waiver is denied, if it appears likely

that the Petition for Waiver will be

granted, and/or the Assistant Secretary

determines that it would be desirable for

public policy reasons to grant immediate

relief pending a determination on the

Petition for Waiver. An Interim Waiver

remains in effect for a period of 180 days

or until DOE issues its determination on

the Petition for Waiver, whichever is

sooner, and may be extended for an

additional 180 days, if necessary.

Trane filed 'a "Petition for Waiver,"

dated October 16, 1991, in accordance

with § 430.27 of 10 CFR part 430. DOE

published in the Federal Register on

January 9, 1992, Trane's petition and

solicited comments, data and

information respecting the petition. 57

FR 904. Trane also filed an "Application

for Interim Waiver" under § 430.27(g)

which DOE granted on December 30,

1991. 57 FR 904, January 9,1992.

No comments were received

concerning either the "Petition for

Waiver" or the "Interim Waiver." DOE

consulted with The Federal Trade

Commission (FTC) concerning the Trane

Petition. The FTC did not have any

objections to the issuance of the waiver

to Trans.

Assertions and Determinations

Trane's Petition seeks a waiver from

the DOE test provisions that require a

1.5-minute time delay between the

ignition of the burner and the starting of

the circulating air blower. Trane

requests the allowance to test using a

45-second blower time delay when

testing its TUD-C, TUD-R, TDD-C, and

TDD-R central furnaces. Trane states

that since the 45-second delay is

indicative of how -these models actually

'operate and since such a delay results in,

an improvement in efficiency of

approximately 1.0 percent, the petition

should be granted.

Under specific circumstances, the

DOE test procedure contain exceptions

which allow testing with blower delay

times of less than the prescribed 1.5-

minute delay. Trane indicates that it is

unable to take advantage of any of these

exceptions for its TUD-C, TUD-R, TDDC, and TDD-R central furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Trane furnaces are

designed to impose a 45-second blower

delay in every instance of start up, and

since the current provisions do not

specifically address this type of control,

DOE agrees that a waiver should be

granted to allow the 45-second blower

time delay when testing the Trane TUDCAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 82
57FR22222

Federal Register / Vol. 57, No. 102 / Wednesday, May 27, 1992 / Notices

C, TUD-R, TDD-C, and TDD-R central

furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to

testing the TUD-C, TUD-R, TDD-C, and

TDD-R central furnaces, today's

Decision and Order exempts Trane from

the existing provisions regarding blower

controls and allows testing with the 45-

second delay:

It is, therefore, ordered that:

(1) The "Petitioner for Waiver" filed

by The Trans Company (Case No. F040), is hereby granted as set forth in

paragraph (2) below, subject to the

provisions of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5).

(2) Nothwithstanding any contrary

provisions of appendix N of 10 CFR part

430, subpart B, The Trarie Company,

shall be permitted to test its TUD-C,

TUD-R, TDD-C, and TDD-R central

furnaces on the basis of the test

procedure specified in 10 CFR part 430,-

with modifications set forth below:

(i) Section 3.0 of appendix N is deleted

and replaced with the following

paragraph:

3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and

measurements shall be as specified in

section 9 in ANSI/ASHRAE 103-82 with

the exception of sections 9.2.2, 9.3.1, and

9.3.2. and the inclusion of the following

additional procedures:

(ii) Add a new paragraph 3.10 to

appendix N as follows:

3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central

Furnaces. The following paragraph is in

lieu of the requirement specified in

section 9.3.1 of ANSI/ASHRAE 103--82.

After equilibrium conditions are

achieved following the cool-down test

and the required measurements

performed, turn on the furnaces and

measure the flue gas temperature, using

the thermocouple grid described above,

at 0.5 and 2.5 minutes after the main

burner(s) comes on. After the burner

start-up delay the blower start-up by 1.5

minutes (t-), unless: (1) The furnace

employs a single motor to drive the

power burner and the indoor air

circulating blower, in which case the

burner and blower shall be started

together; or (2) the furnace is designed to

operate using an unvarying delay time

that is other than 1.5 minutes, in which

case the fan control shall be permitted

to start the blower; or (3) the delay time

results in the activation of a temperature

safety device which shuts off the burner,

in which case the fan control shall be

permitted to start the blower. In the

latter case, if the fan control is

adjustable, set to start the blower at the

highest temperature. If the fan control is

permitted to start the blower, measure

time delay, (t-3, using a stopwatch.

Record the measured temperatures.

During the heat-up test for oil-fueled

furnaces, maintain the draft in the flue

pipe within ±0.01 inch of water column

of the manufacturer's recommended onperiod draft.

(iii) With the exception of the

modifications set forth above, The Trans

Company shall comply in all respects

with the test procedures specified in

appendix N of 10 CFR part 430, subpart

B.

(3) The Waiver shall remain in effect

from the date of issuance of this Order

until DOE prescribes final test

procedures appropriate to the TUD-C,

TUD-R, TDD-C, and TDD-R central

furnaces manufactured by The Trans

Company.

(4) This Waiver is based upon the

presumed validity of statements,

allegations, and documentary materials

submitted by the petitioner. This Waiver

may be revoked or modified at any time

upon a determination that the factual

basis underlying the petition is

incorrect.

(5) Effective (Insert Date of Issuance),

this Waiver supersedes the Interim

Waiver granted The Trans Company on

December 30,.1991. 57 FR 904, January 9,

1992 (Case No. F-040).

1. Michael Davis,

Assistant Secretary, Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 92-12322 Field 5-26-92; 8;45 am]

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