### 222 Fedend Register I Vol. 574 No. 102 1 Wednesday, May 27, 1992 f Notices

Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy [Case No. F-0411 Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products ; Doc[sion and Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Consolidated Industries Corp.
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-O41) granting a Waiver to Consolidated Industries Corp . ( Consolidated Industries ), from the existing Department of Energy [DOE) test procedure for furnaces. The Department is granting Consolidated Industries its Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE ) for its MAA series of gas furnaces. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cyrus H. Nasseri. U.S. Department of Energy. Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy
, Mail Station CE43, Forrestal Bailding, 1000 Independence Avenue

, SW., Washington
, DC 20585 , (202) 506-8127. Eugene f 4ar

,5adis
, 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. . SUPPtEMENTMIY 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
, Consolidated Industries has been granted a Waiver for its MAA series of gas furnaces, permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining AFUE. ;. Michael Davis, Assistant Secretary, Conservation and RenewableBwrgt. In the Matter tr.. The Consolidated Industries Corp. (Case No. F-841) Background The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products (other than

### Federal Register /Vol. 57. No. 102 / Wednesday, May 27, 1992 / Notices 22221

automobiles) was established pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCAJ, Public Law 94-183, 89 Stat. 917, as amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), Public Law 95-619, 92 Stat. 3268, 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 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 84108. September 28, 19M 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, 1988. 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 Waver 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 Wavier

. An Interim Waiver remains in effect for a period of 180 days or until DOE issues its determination on the Petition for Wavier
, whichever is F-041 ), is hereby granted as set forth in

sooner, and may be extended for an paragraph (2) below, subject to the additional 180 days
, if necessary

. provisions of paragraphs ( 3), (4), and (5). Consolidated Industries filed a (2) Nothwithstanding any contrary "Petition for Waiver," dated November provisions of appendix N of 10 CFR part 4, 1991
, in accordance with $ 430.27 of 10 430
, subpart B, Consolidated Industries CFR part 430. DOE published in the Corp., shall be permitted to test its MAA Federal Register on January 9, 1992
, series of gas furnaces on the basis of the Consolidated Industries' petition and test procedure specified in 10 CFR part solicited comments, data and 430, with modifications set forth below: information respecting the petition. 57 (i) Section 3.0 of appendix N is deleted FR 901

. Consolidated Industries also and replaced with the following filed an "Application for Interim paragraph: Waiver" under 1430.27(g) which DOE 3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and granted on December 3a 1991

. 57 FR 901
, measurements shall be as specified in January 9, 1992. section 9 in ANSI/ASI-iRAE 103-82 with No comments were received the exception of sections 9.2.2, 9

. 3.1, and concerning either the "Petition for 9.3.2, and the inclusion of the following Wavier" or the "Interim Waiver." DOE additional procedures: consulted with The Federal Trade ( ii) Add a new paragraph 3.10 to Commission (FTC) concerning the appendix N as follows: Consolidated Industries Petition. The 3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central FTC did not have any objections to the Furnaces

. The following paragraph is in issuance of the waiver to Consolidated lieu of the requirement specified in Industries

. section 9.3.1 of ANSI /ASHRAE 103-412. Assertions and Determinations After equilibrium conditions are
Consolidated Industries ' Petition achieved following the cool

- down test seeks a waiver from the DOE test and the required measurements provisions that require a 1.5-minute time performed , turn on the furnaces and delay between the ignition of the burner measure the flue gas temperature, using and the starting of the circulating air the thermocouple grid described above,
blower. Consolidated Industries at 0.5 and 2

. 5 minutes after the main requests the allowance to test using a burner(s) comes on. After the burner 30-second blower time delay when start-up, delay the blower start-up by 1.5 testing its MAA series of gas furnaces

. minutes ( t-), unless: ( 1) The furnace Consolidated Industries states that since employs a single motor to drive the the 30-second delay is indicative of how power burner and the indoor air these models actually operate and since circulating blower, in which case the such a delay results in an improvement burner and blower shall be started in efficiency of approximately 0.8 together; or (2) the furnace is designed to percent
, the petition should be granted

. operate using an unvarying delay time Under specific circumstances
, the that is other than 1

. 5 minutes, in which DOE test procedure contain exceptions case the fan control shall be permitted which allow testing with blower delay to start the blower, or (3) the delay time times of less than the prescribed 1.5- results in the activation of a temperature minute delay. Consolidated Industries safety device which shuts off the burner, indicates that it is unable to take in which case the fan control shall be advantage of any of these exceptions for permitted to start the blower. In the its MAA series of gas furnaces

. latter case
, if the fan control is Since the blower controls adjustable , set it to start the blower at incorporated on the Consolidated the highest temperature

. If the fan Industries furnaces are designed to control is permitted to start the blower, impose a 30-second blower delay in measure time delay, ( t-). using a every instance of start up
, and since the stopwatch

. Record the measured current provisions do not specifically temperatures

. During the heat-up test for address this type of control
, DOE agrees oil-fueled furnaces, maintain the draft in that a wavier should be granted to allow the flue pipe within ±0.01 inch of water the 30-second blower time delay when column of the manufacturer's testing the Consolidated Industries recommended on-period draft. MAA series of gas furnaces , today's (iii) With the exception of the Decision and Order exempts modifications set forth above. The Consolidated Industries from the Consolidated Industries Corp. shall existing provisions regarding blower comply in all respects with the test controls and allows testing with the 30- procedures specified in appendix N of 10 second delay

. CFR part 430, subpart B. It is, therefore, ordered that. (3) The Waiver shall remain in effect (1) The Petition for Waiver" filed by from the date of issuance of this Order Consolidated Industries Corp . ( Case No. until DOE prescribes final test

### 22222 Federal Register / Vol. 57, No. 102 / Wednesday, May 27, 1992 / Notices

procedures appropriate to the MAA series of gas furnaces manufactured by Consolidated Industries Corp. (4) The 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 Consolidated Industries Corp. on December 30,1991.57 FR 901, January 9, 1992 (Case No. F041). 1. Michael Davis, Assistant Secretary. (FR Doc. 92-12321 Filed 5-26-92; 8:45 am)
BILLING CODE 6460-01-N