56FR6021

Federal Register / Vol. 56, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 1991 / Notices 6021

(Case No. F-0261

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products; Decision and

Order Granting Waiver From Furnace

Test Procedures to 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-026)

granting Trane Company (Trane) a

waiver for its TUN(-) upflow and

TDN(-) downflown models of

atmospheric furnaces from existing

Department of Energy (DOE) test

procedures regarding blower time delay

for determining the model's energy

efficiency.

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-M27-

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department

of Energy, Office of General Counsel.

Mail Station GC-41, Forrestal

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue.

SW.. Washington, DC 20585, (202)

586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIOIC 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 TUN(-) and

TDN(-) models of atmospheric furnaces

permitting the company to use an

alternate test method in determining the

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency

(AFUE).

Issued in Washington, DC, February 6,

1991.

J. Michael Davis,

Assistant Secretary, Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) 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, 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 test 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

unrepresentatives 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 1988 amendment, allow the

Assistant Secretary to grant an interim

waiver when It is determined that the

applicant will experience economic

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Federal Register / Vol. 56, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 1991 / Notices

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 July 5, 1990, in accordance with

§ 430.27 of 10 CFR part 430. DOE

published in the Federal Register on

October 12, 1990, Trane's petition and

solicited comments, data and

information respecting the petition. 55

FR 41589. Trane also filed an

"Application for Interim Waiver" under

section 430.27(g) which DOE granted on .

October 3, 1990. 55 FR 41589, October 12,

1990.

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 a waiver to

Trane.

Assertions and Determinations

Trane's Petition seeks a waiver from

the DOE test provisions that require a

1.5-minutes 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-seconds blower time delay when

testing its TUN(-) and TDN(-) series

atmospheric furnaces. Trane states that

since the 45-seconds delay is indicative

of how these models actually operates

and since such a delay results in an

improvement in efficiency of

approximately 1.0 percent. the waiver

should be granted.

Under specific circumstances, the

DOE test procedures contain exceptions

which allow testing with blower delay

times of less than the prescribed 1.5-

minutes delay. Trane indicates that it is

unable to take advantage of any of these

exceptions for the TUN(-) and TDN(-)

series atmospheric furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Trane furnace are

designed to impose a 45-seconds 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-seconds blower

time delay when testing the Trane

TUN(-) and TDN(-) series furnaces.

Accordingly, with regard to testing the

TUN(-) and TDN(-) series furnaces,

today's Decision and Order exempts

Trane from the existing provisions

regarding blower controls and allows

testing with the 45-seconds delay.

It is therefore, ordered that.

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

the Trane Company (Case No. F-026) Is

hereby granted as set forth in paragraph

(2) below, subject to the provisions of

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

(2) Notwithstanding any contrary

provisions of appendix N of 10 CFR part

430, subpart B, the Trane Company shall

be permitted to test its TUN(-) and

TDN(-) series atmospheric furnaces on

the basis of the test procedure. specified

in 10 CFR part 430, with modifications

set forth below-

(i) Section 3.0 in 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 103-02 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 in

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 in

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 it to start the

blower at the highest temperature. If the

fan control is permitted to start the

blower, measure time delay, (t-), using

a stop watch. Record the measured

temperatures. During the heat-up test for,

oil-fueled furnaces, maintain the draft in •

the flue pipe within ±0.01 in. of water

gauge of the manufacturer's

recommended on-period draft.

(iii) With the exception of the

modifications set forth above, Trane

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 TUN(-)

and TDN(-) series atmospheric

furnaces manufactured by Trane

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 February 6, 1991, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted Trane Company on October 3,

1990. 55 FR 41589, October 12, 1990.

(Case No. F-026).

Issued in Washington. DC, February 6.

1991.

J. Michael Davis,

Assistant Secretary, Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 91-3637 Filed 2-13-91; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-O1-M

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