Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 23, 1996 / Notices

Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) as a

percent and defined as:

AFUE=ri,,

where:

rl„=as defined in section 4.2.5 of this

appendix.

(v) With the exception of the

modification set forth above, Superior

Fireplace Company shall comply in all

respects with the test procedures

specified in Appendix 0 of Title 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 models GI3821, DSH-36T, DVH-33R, DVH-33T,

DVA-33R, and DVA-33T manually

controlled vented heaters manufactured

by Superior Fireplace 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 a factual

basis underlying the Petition is

incorrect.

(5) Effective April 14, 1996, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted Superior Fireplace Company on

February 1, 1996. 61 FR 5755, February

14, 1996. (Case No. DH-005).

Issued in Washington, D.C., on April 4,

1996.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 96-9948 Filed 4-22-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

[Case No. F-083]

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products : Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver From the

Furnace Test Procedure to Thermo

Products Inc.

AGENCY : Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

ACTION: Decision and order.

SUMMARY : Notice is given of the

Decision and Order (Case No. F-083)

granting a Waiver to Thermo Products

Inc. (Thermo) from the existing

Department of Energy (DOE or

Department) test procedure for furnaces.

The Department is granting Thermo's

Petition for Waiver regarding blower

time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel

Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) for its

CHA-upflow and CGA-downflow series

of condensing gas furnaces.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, Mail Station

EE-431, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20585-0121 (202)

586-9138

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department

of Energy, Office of General Counsel,

Mail Station GC-72, Forrestal

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC 20585-0103,

(202) 586-9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(j),

notice is hereby given of the issuance of

the Decision and Order as set out below.

In the Decision and Order, Thermo has

been granted a Waiver for its CHAupflow and CGA-downflow series of

condensing gas furnaces permitting the

company to use an alternate test method

in determining AFUE.

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 4,

1996.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order, Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

In the matter of: Thermo Products Inc.

(Case No. F-083).

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act, Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat. 917, as

amended (EPCA), 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

test procedures appear at 10 CFR Part

430, Subpart B.

The Department 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

Energy Efficiency 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.

17887

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 test procedure

amendments become effective, resolving

the problem that is the subject of the

waiver.

Thermo filed a "Petition for Waiver,"

dated November 29, 1995, in accordance

with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430.

The Department published in the

Federal Register on January 30, 1996.

Thermo's Petition and solicited

comments, data and information

respecting the Petition. 61 FR 3023,

January 30, 1996. Thermo also filed an

"Application for Interim Waiver" under

section 430.27(b)(2), which DOE granted

on January 24, 1996. 61 FR 3023,

January 30, 1996.

No Comments were received

concerning either the "Petition for

Waiver" or the "Application for Interim

Waiver." The Department consulted

with The Federal Trade Commission

(FTC) concerning the Thermo Petition.

The FTC did not have any objections to

the issuance of the waiver to Thermo.

Assertions and Determinations

Thermo'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. Thermo

requests the allowance to test using a

45-second blower time delay when

testing its CHA-upflow and CGAdownflow series of condensing gas

furnaces. Thermo states that since the

45-second delay is indicative of how

these models actually operate, and since

such a delay results in an increase in

AFUE improvement of up to 2.0

percent, the Petition should be granted.

Under specific circumstances, the

DOE test procedure contains exceptions

which allow testing with blower delay

times of less than the prescribed 1.5-

minute delay. Thermo indicates that it

is unable to take advantage of any of

these exceptions for its CHA-upflow and

CGA-downflow series of condensing gas

furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Thermo furnaces

are designed to impose a 45-second

blower delay in every instance of start

up, and since the current test procedure

 CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 146
17888 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 23, 1996 / Notices

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 Thermo CHA-upflow and

CGA-downflow series of condensing gas

furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to

testing the CHA-upflow and CGAdownflow series of condensing gas

furnaces, today's Decision and Order

exempts Thermo from the existing test

procedure provisions regarding blower

control and allows testing with the 45-

second delay.

It is, therefore, ordered that:

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

Thermo Products Inc. (Case No. F-083)

is hereby granted as set forth in

paragraph (2) below, subject to the

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

(2) Notwithstanding any contrary

provisions of Appendix N of 10 CFR

Part 430, Subpart B, Thermo Products

Inc., shall be permitted to test its CHAupflow and CGA-downflow series of

condensing gas 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 Standard

103-82 with the exception of section

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

Standard 103-82. After equilibrium

conditions are achieved following the

cool-down test and the required

measurements performed, turn on the

furnace 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

start the blower at the highest

temperature. If the fan control is

permitted to start the blower, measure

time delay, (t-), 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, Thermo

Products Inc. 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 CHAupflow and CGA-downflow series of

condensing gas furnaces manufactured

by Thermo Products Inc.

(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 April 14, 1996, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted Thermo Products Inc. on

January 24, 1996. 61 FR 3023, January

30, 1996 (Case No. F-083).

Issued In Washington, DC, on April 4,

1996.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 96-9949 Filed 4-22-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-M

Energy-Efficiency and Renewable

Energy Office

Energy-Efficient Product

Commercialization Study

AGENCY : Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice.

development and commercialization,

and to identify barriers to federal

procurement of such products. The

principal product focus of the study is

on those which are beyond the

prototype stage, but are not

commercially available or in

widespread use. These products must

also be potentially cost-effective to

federal and non-federal buyers, with

increased production and sales volume.

DOE is soliciting information from

interested parties concerning products

which offer this potential,

recommendations on how federal

procurement actions could facilitate

product commercialization, and existing

barriers to such procurement actions.

DATES : Written information on products

which meet the criteria listed below,

barriers to federal procurement of such

products, and recommended federal

procurement actions and programs to

promote commercialization of such

products (1 copy) must be received on

or before May 13, 1996, to be included

for consideration in this study. A public

meeting will be held on June 5, 1996;

requests to present information at this

public meeting on recommended federal

actions and programs must be received

by May 13, 1996.

ADDRESSES : All written comments (1

copy), as well as requests to speak at the

public meeting, are to be submitted to:

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of

Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy, EE-90, Energy-Efficient Product

Commercialization Study, 1000

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20585-0121, 202-586-

8287. FAXed comments may be sent to

202-586-3000. The public meeting will

be held at the U.S. Department of

Energy, Main Auditorium, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick

Klimkos, EE-90, U.S. Department of

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, 202-

586-8287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Federal government is the largest

customer in the world for many energyrelated products. The Department of

Energy (DOE) is investigating the

potential use of the purchasing power of

the Federal government to promote the

development and commercialization of

energy-efficient products that

incorporate new, value-added

technologies for federal buyers. The

objective of this study is to identify

energy-efficient, renewable energy, and

water conserving products for which

there is a high potential for federal

purchasing power to substantially

motor to drive the power burner and the SUMMARY : The Department of Energy

indoor air circulating blower, in which (DOE) is investigating the potential use

case the burner and blower shall be of the purchasing power of the Federal

started together; or (2) the furnace is government to promote the

designed to operate using an unvarying commercialization of energy-efficient

delay time that is other than 1.5 products that incorporate new, valueminutes, in which case the fan control added technologies for federal buyers.

shall be permitted to start the blower; or The Energy Policy Act directs the

(3) the delay time results in the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study

activation of a temperature safety device to identify energy-efficient, renewable

which shuts off the burner, in which energy, and water conserving products

case the fan control shall be permitted for which there is a high potential for

to start the blower. In the latter case, if federal purchasing power to

the fan control is adjustable, set it to substantially promote their

 CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 146