56FR6019

Federal Register / Vol. 56, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 1991 / Notices 6019

[Case No. F-0211

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products; Decision and

Order Granting Waiver From Furnace

Test Procedures to Hel.Quaker

Corporation

AGENCY: Office of Conservation and

Renewable Energy, Department of

Energy.

AC'nON: Decision and order.

CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 49
56FR6019

6020 Federal Register / Vol. 56, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 1991 / Notices

SUMMARY: Notice is given of the

Decision and Order (Case No. F-021)

granting Heil-Quaker Corporation (HeilQuaker) a waiver for its NUGK(-),

NDGK(-), NUGS(-), condensing gas

furnaces and NUGE(-), NDGE(-)

induced draft gas 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) 586-9127.

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 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, Heil-Quaker

has been granted a waiver for its

NUGK(-), NDGK(-), NUGS(-)

condensing gas furnaces, and NUGE(-),

NDGE(-), induced draft gas 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.

1. 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 (NEECA 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

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.

Heil-Quaker filed a "Petition for

Waiver" dated January 4,1990, in

accordance with § 430.27 of 10 CFR part

430. DOE published in the Federal

Register on April 9, 1990, Heil-Quaker's

petition, and solicited comments, data

and information respecting the petition.

55 FR 13184. Heil-Quaker also filed an

"Application for Interim Waiver" under

§ 430.27(g) which DOE granted on

March 29, 1990. 55 FR 13184, April 9,

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 HeilQuaker petition. The FTC did not have

any objections to the issuance of a

waiver to Heil-Quaker.

Assertions and Determinations:

Heil-Quaker'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.

Heil-Quaker requests the allowance to

test using a 30-second blower time delay

when testing its NUGK(-), NDGK(-),

NUGS(-) condensing gas furnaces and

NUGE(-), NDGE(-) induced draft gas

furnaces. Heil-Quaker states that since

the 30-second delay is indicative of how

this model 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. Heil-Quaker indicates

that it is unable to take advantage of

any of these exceptions for the

NUGK(-), NDGK(-), NUGS(-)

condensing gas furnaces, and NUGE(-),

NDGE(-) inducted draft gas furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Heil-Quaker

furnaces are designed to impose a 30-

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

30-seconds blower time delay when

testing the Heil-Quaker NUGK(-),

NDGK(-), NUGS(-) condensing gas

furnaces, and NUGE(-), NDGE(-)

induced draft gas furnaces. Accordingly,

with regard to testing the NUGK(-),

NDGK(-), NUGS(-) condensing gas

furnaces and NUGE(-), NDGE(-)

induced draft gas furnaces, today's

Decision and Order exempts HeilQuaker from the existing provisions

regarding blower controls and allows

testing with the 30-seconds delay.

It is therefore, ordered that.

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

the Heil-Quaker Corporation (Case No.

F-021) 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 Heil-Quaker

Corporation shall be permitted to test its

NUGK(-), NDGK(-), NUGS(-)

condensing gas furnaces and NUGE(-),

NDGE(-) induced draft gas furnaces on

the basis of the test procedure specified

-in 10 CFR part 430, with modifications

set forth below:

;G

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56 FR6019

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

(i) Section 3.0 in appendix N is deleted

and replaced with the following

paragraph:

3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and

measurement 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 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

power burner and the 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 furnances, 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, HeilQuaker Corporation 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 NUGE(-)

NDGE(-) induced draft and NUGK(-),

NDGK(-), NUGS(-) condensing gas

furnaces manufactured by Heil-Quaker

Corporation.

(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) EffectiveFebruary 6,1991, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted Heil-Quaker Corporation on

March 29,1990. 55 FR 13184, April 9,

1990. (Case No. F-021).

Issued in Washington, DC, February 6,

1991.

J. Michael Davis,

Assistant Secretary, Conservation and

Renewable Energy.

[FR Doe. 91-3636 Filed 2-13-91; 8:45 am]

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