46FR22799

Federal Register / Vol. 46, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 1981 / Notices 22799

Office of Conservation and Renewable

Energy

[Case No. F-0011

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products; Petition for

Waiver of Consumer Product Test

Procedures Form Carrier Corporation

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Decision and Order.

SUMMARY: Today's Decision and Order

grants in part the Carrier Corporation's

request for waiver from the existing

DOE test procedures for furnaces.

Specifically today's order grants

modifications to the test procedures

which would allow testing of the Carrier

design of furnace. However, the request

for a waiver of the insulation

requirement is denied.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 21, 1981.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James A. Smith, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Conservation and

Renewable. Energy, Room GH-065,

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20585, (202) 252-9127.

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S . Department

of Energy, Office of General Counsel,

Room 6B-128, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 252-

9510.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The energy conservation program for

consumer products was established

pursuant to the Energy Policy and

Conservation Act. The Department of

Energy (DOE), on September 26, 1980,

amended the prescribed test procedure

regulations for the energy conservation

program for consumer products to allow

the Assistant Secretary for Conservation

and Renewable Energy temporarily to

waive requirements for a particular

covered product (45 FR 64108, Sept. 26,

1980). Waivers may be granted when

characteristics of a product prevent use

of the prescribed test procedures or lead

to results that provide materially

inaccurate comparative efficiency data.

On September 26, 1980, Carrier

Corporation filed an "Application for

Exception" which was forwarded by the

Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)

to the Office of Conservation and Solar

Energy (now called Conservation and

Renewable Energy) since it could be

more appropriately handled under the

provisions of 10 CFR 430.27 "Petitions

for Waiver." In accordance with section

430.27 DOE published in the Federal

Register the Carrier "Petition for

Waiver" (45 FR 80896, December 8, 1980)

and thereby solicited comments, data,

and information respecting the

determinations of the petition.

Comments were received from

Whirlpool Corporation and Borg-Warner

Corporation, both manufacturers of

furnaces. All received comments were

sent to the petitioner on January 27,

1981, and Carrier responded by letter to

DOE on February 12, 1981,

Carrier's petition contends that while

the induced draft gas furnace

manufactured by its BDP Division is a

covered product under the Act, it cannot

be adequately tested under the existing

DOE test procedures for furnaces, i.e.,

the Carrier design incorporates a "draft

safeguard system" which is not

addressed in the existing furnace test

procedures. The system includes a small

passage which allows small amounts of

air to enter the venting system.

DOE amended the test procedures to

include methods of testing for induced

draft gas furnaces (45 FR 53714, August

12, 1980). The amended procedures do

not provide for dilution air in the venting

system. These amendments resulted

from an earlier "Application for

Exception" by the "Heil-Quaker Co."

(Whirlpool). Carrier believes the test

procedure modifications for the "HeilQuaker" design can be made applicable

to the Carrier design through additional

modifications to account for the dilution

air. Carrier correctly realizes that the

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46FR22799

Federal Register / Vol. 46, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 1981 / Notices

introduction of dilution air into the

venting system increases the amount of

excess infiltration, thereby reducing the

efficiency of the furnace. Carrier

suggests that if the dilution passage is

open during the test for determining the

D, factor, the additional infiltration loss

will be accounted for when testing since

the dilution air will increase the value of

the D, factor. However, Whirlpool

objected to having the dilution passage

open during testing because it feels

doing so would unfairly raise the

average efficiency (AFUE) obtained.

DOE believes that Whirlpool's

contention is based on the fact that

dilution air would reduce the stack gas

temperature measurements, thus

reducing the value obtained for sensible

heat loss. However, the dilution air also

reduces the percent CO2 concentration

in the stack gas which results in

increased value obtained for sensible

heat loss. For small dilution rates, such

as those apparent in the Carrier design,

the effects on efficiency of reduced

stack gas temperatures are offset by the

effects of reduced CO2 concentration.

Therefore, having the dilution passage

open does not unfairly raise the AFUE.

Today's decision and order allows

testing of the Carrier induced draft

furnace under the same conditions and

provisions allowed the "Heil-Quaker"

induced draft furnace design, with the

additional proviso that the dilution

passage be open during testing.

Carrier also requested that the

requirement to insulate the "flue

collector and inducer housing" be

waived. Carrier provided data which

demonstrated the small effect insulating

these areas would have on the efficiency

determination and added that there is

difficulty in insulating these areas.

Whirlpool objected to this waiver of

insulation requirement on the grounds

that it would favor the Carrier design

since the only effect lack of insulation

could have is to raise the average AFUE.

DOE agrees and fails to see the need to

waive this insulation requirement when

the existing sampling provisions

(including conservative rating

techniques) can be employed to resolve

the issue. Specifically, a manufacturer

may choose to test without the

insulation if he knows that the test

results still will yield representations

which are within the prescribed

confidence limits and tolerances. Or, a

manufacturer may choose to test

without insulation and "de-rate" the

resulting efficiency by an amount the

manufacturer determines to be

appropriate. Carrier has submitted test

data which attempts to quantify this

"de-rate" amount (Carrier has tested

units with and without insulated flue

collectors and draft inducer housings).'

Therefore, today's decision and order

does not provide specific relief from any

insulation requirements.

Another manufacturer of furnaces

(York) questioned the safety of the

Carrier design of induced draft furnace

and pointed out an abnormal operating

mode that could be considered unsafe.

Carrier has responded to this comment

by stating that the failure mode pointed

out by the commenter has been taken

into consideration in the certification

process by the American Gas

Association Laboratories and

furthermore this design with the draft

safeguard feature provides a higher

overall level of safety than natural draft

furances presently on the market. DOE

agrees and is therefore not considering

further investigation of the safety

aspects of this design.

In consideration of the foregoing, it is

therefore ordered that: (1) The "Petition

for Waiver" filed by Carrier Corporation

on September 26, 1980, is hereby granted

in part as set forth in Paragraph (2)

below, subject to the provisions of

Paragraphs (3), (4), (5) and (6).

(2) Notwithstanding any contrary

provisions of 10 CFR, Part 430, Carrier

Corporation shall be permitted to test its

induced draft gas furnace on the basis of

the test procedures specified in 10 CFR,

Part 430, Appendix N, with the

modifications set forth in Paragraph (3)

below.

(3) Notwithstanding any contrary

provisions of 10 CFR, Part 430, Carrier

Corporation, in tests of its induced draft

gas furnaces, shall be permitted to

assign the following system values and

assumptions:

(a) S/F=1

(b) Ds=Dt=Dv

(c) system number =2

(d) TFSS=TSSS, and

(e) XC02F=XC02S

(4) With the exception of the

modifications set forth in Paragraph (3)

above, Carrier Corporation shall comply

in all respects with the test procedures

specified in 10 CFR, Part 430, Appendix

N.

(5) The waiver shall remain in effect

only until the Department of Energy

issues test procedures appropriate to the

type of induced draft gas furnace

manufactured by Carrier Corporation

and shall in any event expire (one year

from issuance).

' As mentioned in the amendments to furnace test

procedures (45 FR 53714, August 12, 1980), a

conservative rating does not justify reduced

accuracy. Rather, it provides a means for a

manufacturer to eliminate unnecessary burdens.

(6) This waiver is based upon the

presumed validity of statements,

allegations, and documentary materials

submitted by the applicant and

commenters. This waiver may be

revoked or modified at any time upon a

determination that the factual basis

underlying the application is incorrect.

Issued in Washington, D.C.. April 15, 1981.

Frank DeGeorge,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Conservation

and Renewable Energy

MFR Doc. 81-11929 filed 4-20-81 ; 8:45 am]

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