12586 Federal Register I Vol. 59, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 1994 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

[Case No. F-067]

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products: Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver From the

Furnace Test Procedure to Goodman

Manufacturing Company

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-067)

granting a Waiver to Goodman

Manufacturing Company (Goodman)

from the existing Department. of Energy

(DOE) test procedure for furnaces. The

Department is granting Goodman

Petition for Waiver regarding blower

time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel

Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) for its

GMN series central 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, (202) 586-

7140. .

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, (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, Goodman

has been granted a Waiver for its GMN

series central furnaces, permitting the

company to use an alternate test method

in determining AFUE.

Issued in Washington, DC. March 11, 1994.

Frank M. Stewart, Jr.,

Chief of Staff, EnergyEfficiency and

Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order

In the Matter of: Goodman

Manufacturing Company. (Case No.

F-067)

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (EPCA), Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat.

917, as amended by the National Energy

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Federal Register 1 Vol. 59, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 1994 / Notices 12587

Conservation Policy Act (NECPA),

Public Law 95-619,.92 Stat. 3266, the

National Appliance Energy

Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA),

Public Law 100-12, the National

Appliance Energy Conservation

Amendments of 1988 (NAECA 1988),

Public Law 100-357, and the Energy

Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), Public Law

102-486, 106 Stat. 2776, 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

applicance 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.

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, andJor 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.

Goodman filed a "Petition for

Waiver," dated November 29, 1993, in

accordance with § 430.27 of 10 CFR part

430. The Department published in the

Federal Register on February 23, 1994,

Goodman's petition and solicited

comments, data and information

respecting the petition. 58 FR 8608.

Goodman also filed an "Application for

Interim Waiver" under section 430.27(g)

which DOE granted on February 10,

1994. 58 FR 8608, February 23,

No comments were received

concerning either the "Petition for

Waiver" or the "Interim Waiver." The

Department consulted with the Federal

Trade Commission (FTC) concerning the

Goodman Petition. The FTC did not

have any objections to the issuance of

the waiver to Goodman.

Assertions and Determinations

Goodman'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.

Goodman requests the allowance to test

using a 40-second blower time delay

when testing its GMN series central

furnaces. Goodman states that since the

40-second delay is indicative of how

these models actually operate and since

such a delay results in an improvement

in efficiency of 0.6 to 1.0 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. Goodman indicates that it

is unable to take advantage of any of

these exceptions for its GMN series

central furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Goodman furnaces

are designed to impose a 40-second

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 40-

second blower time delay when testing

the Goodman GMN series central

furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to

testing the GMN series central furnaces,

today's Decision and Order exempts

Goodman from the existing provisions

regarding blower controls and allows

testing with the 40-second delay.

It is, therefore, ordered, that:

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

Goodman Manufacturing Company

(Case No. F-067) 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, Goodman

Manufacturing Company, shall be

permitted to test its GUN series central

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 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 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 ANSVASHRAE

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

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 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, Goodman

Manufacturing 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 GMN

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12588 , Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 1994 / Notices

series central furnaces manufactured by

Goodman Manufacturing Company.

(4) This Waiver is based upon the

presumed validity of statements,

allegations, and documentary materials

submitted by the petitioner. This Waiver

maybe revoked or modified at any time

upon a determination that the factual

basis underlying the petition is

incorrect.

(5) Effective March 11, 1994, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted the Goodman Manufacturing

Company on February 10, 1994. 58 FR

8608, February 23,1994 (Case No. F066).

Issued in Washington, DC, March 11, 1994.

Frank M. Stewart, Jr.,

Chief of Staff, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

JFR Doc. 94-6260 Filed 3-16-94; 8:45 am]

BILUN0 CODE 6454-01-P#1

CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 102