This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

30555 

Vol. 76, No. 102 

Thursday, May 26, 2011 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2009–BT–TP–0004] 

RIN 1904–AB94 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Test Procedures 

for Residential Central Air 

Conditioners and Heat Pumps 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking; reopening the 

public comment period. 

SUMMARY: This document announces a 

reopening of the time period for 

submitting comments on the 

supplemental notice of proposed 

rulemaking (SNOPR) to further amend 

DOE’s proposed amendments to its test 

procedures for residential central air 

conditioners and heat pumps released 

in a June 2010 notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NOPR). The comment 

period closed on May 2, 2011. The 

comment period is reopened from May 

26, 2011 until June 9, 2011. 

DATES: Comments, data, and 

information relevant to the SNOPR to 

amend DOE test procedures for 

residential central air conditioners and 

heat pumps will be accepted until June 

9, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may 

submit comments, identified by docket 

number EERE–2009–BT–TP–0004 or 

Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 

1904–AB94, by any of the following 

methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. E-mail: RCAC–HP–2009–TP– 

0004@ee.doe.gov. Include the docket 

number EERE–2009–BT–TP–0004 and/ 

or RIN 1904–AB94 in the subject line of 

the message. 

3. Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, 

U.S. Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (CD), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

Otherwise, please submit one signed 

paper original. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. If possible, please 

submit all items on a CD, in which case 

it is not necessary to include printed 

copies. Otherwise, please submit one 

signed paper original. 

Instructions: No telefacsimilies (faxes) 

will be accepted. All submissions must 

include the docket number or RIN for 

this rulemaking. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see section 0, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ of this document. 

Docket: The docket is available for 

review at http://www.regulations.gov, 

including Federal Register notices, 

framework documents, public meetings 

attendee lists, transcripts, comments, 

and other supporting documents/ 

materials. All documents in the docket 

are listed in the http:// 

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

not all documents listed in the index 

may be publicly available, such as 

information that is exempt from public 

disclosure. 

A link to the docket Web page can be 

found at: 

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/

buildings/appliance_standards/

residential/cac_heatpumps_new_

rulemaking.html. This Web page will 

contain a link to the docket for this 

notice on the Web site http:// 

www.regulations.gov. The http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web page will 

contain simple instructions on how to 

access all documents, including public 

comments, in the docket. See section 0, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ for information 

on how to submit comments through 

regulations.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit or review public comments or 

view hard copies of the docket in the 

Resource Room, contact Ms. Brenda 

Edwards at (202) 586–2945 or e-mail: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Wes Anderson, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7335. E-mail: 

Wes.Anderson@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Jennifer Tiedeman, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of the General 

Counsel, GC–71, 1000 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. 

Telephone: (202) 287–6111. E-mail: 

Jennifer.Tiedeman@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

In an April 1, 2011 supplemental 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(SNOPR), 76 FR 18105, the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) proposed 

amendments to those it proposed to the 

DOE test procedures for residential 

central air conditioners and heat pumps 

released in a June 2010 notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NOPR). 75 FR 

31224. The proposed amendments in 

the SNOPR would change the off-mode 

laboratory test steps and calculation 

algorithm to determine off-mode power 

consumption for residential central air 

conditioners and heat pumps, as well as 

change the requirements for selection 

and metering of the low-voltage 

transformer used when testing coil-only 

residential central air conditioners and 

heat pumps. Additionally, the 

amendments proposed in the SNOPR 

provided a method of calculation to 

determine the energy efficiency ratio 

(EER) during cooling mode steady-state 

tests for use as a regional metric. 

Finally, the SNOPR proposed 

amendments that would combine the 

two seasonal off-mode ratings of P1 and 

P2 for residential central air 

conditioners and heat pumps, as set 

forth in the June 2010 NOPR, to yield a 

single overall rating, PWOFF. DOE 

opened a public comment period to 

receive comments, feedback, and other 

information regarding the SNOPR. The 

public comment period closed on May 

2, 2011. 

In a May 11, 2011, letter to DOE, after 

the close of the comment period, the 

Air-Conditioning, Heating, and 

Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) raised 

concerns regarding the proposals set 

forth in the SNOPR. The specific 

concerns raised by AHRI include that: 

(1) THE proposed off-mode test 

requirements are too complex; (2) the 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
30556 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 102 / Thursday, May 26, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

1This indicates a written comment that was 

submitted in response to the April 2011 SNOPR and 

is included in the docket for this rulemaking. This 

particular comment refers to a comment (1) by 

AHRI, (2) in document number 24.1 in the public 

meeting support materials, and (3) appearing on 

pages 1–2. 

proposed method for estimating offmode hours is inaccurate; (3) the 

assumed outdoor temperature values for 

the shoulder season may be incorrect; 

(4) the proposed test procedures fails to 

measure power input to the crankcase 

heater; and (5) DOE has severely 

underestimated the cost of testing that 

would be incurred by manufacturers. 

(AHRI, No. 24.1 at pp. 1–2) 1

Based on the number and scope of 

issues raised in the May 11, 2011, AHRI 

letter, DOE believes that reopening the 

comment period to allow additional 

time for interested parties to submit 

comments is appropriate. Therefore, 

DOE is reopening the comment period 

until June 9, 2011 to provide interested 

parties additional time to prepare and 

submit comments. DOE will accept 

comments received no later than June 9, 

2011 and will consider any comments 

received between May 2, 2011 and June 

9, 2011 to be timely filed. 

II. Public Participation 

A. Submission of Comments 

DOE will accept comments, data, and 

other information regarding the SNOPR 

no later than the date provided in the 

DATES section at the beginning of this 

notice. Interested parties may submit 

comments using any of the methods 

described in the ADDRESSES section at 

the beginning of this notice. 

Submitting comments via 

regulations.gov. The regulations.gov 

Web page will require you to provide 

your name and contact information. 

Your contact information will be 

viewable to DOE Building Technologies 

staff only. Your contact information will 

not be publicly viewable except for your 

first and last names, organization name 

(if any), and submitter representative 

name (if any). If your comment is not 

processed properly because of technical 

difficulties, DOE will use this 

information to contact you. If DOE 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, DOE may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

However, your contact information 

will be publicly viewable if you include 

it in the comment or in any documents 

attached to your comment. Any 

information that you do not want to be 

publicly viewable should not be 

included in your comment, nor in any 

document attached to your comment. 

Persons viewing comments will see only 

first and last names, organization 

names, correspondence containing 

comments, and any documents 

submitted with the comments. 

Do not submit to regulations.gov 

information for which disclosure is 

restricted by statute, such as trade 

secrets and commercial or financial 

information (hereinafter referred to as 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI)). Comments submitted through 

regulations.gov cannot be claimed as 

CBI. Comments received through the 

Web site will waive any CBI claims for 

the information submitted. For 

information on submitting CBI, see the 

Confidential Business Information 

section. 

DOE processes submissions made 

through regulations.gov before posting 

them online. Normally, comments will 

be posted within a few days of being 

submitted. However, if large volumes of 

comments are processed 

simultaneously, your comment may not 

be viewable for up to several weeks. 

Please keep the comment tracking 

number that regulations.gov provides 

after you have successfully uploaded 

your comment. 

Submitting comments via e-mail, 

hand delivery, or mail. Comments and 

documents submitted via e-mail, hand 

delivery, or mail also will be posted to 

regulations.gov. If you do not want your 

personal contact information to be 

publicly viewable, do not include it in 

your comment or any accompanying 

documents. Instead, provide your 

contact information on a cover letter. 

Include your first and last names, e-mail 

address, telephone number, and 

optional mailing address. The cover 

letter will not be publicly viewable as 

long as it does not include any 

comments. 

Include contact information each time 

you submit comments, data, documents, 

and other information to DOE. E-mail 

submissions are preferred. If you submit 

via mail or hand delivery, please 

provide all items on a CD, if feasible. It 

is not necessary to submit printed 

copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will be 

accepted. 

Comments, data, and other 

information submitted to DOE 

electronically should be provided in 

PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file 

format. Provide documents that are not 

secured, are written in English, and are 

free of any defects or viruses. 

Documents should not contain special 

characters or any form of encryption 

and, if possible, they should carry the 

electronic signature of the author. 

Campaign form letters. Please submit 

campaign form letters by the originating 

organization in batches of between 50 

and 500 form letters per PDF, or as one 

form letter with a list of supporters’ 

names compiled into one or more PDFs. 

This reduces comment processing and 

posting time. 

Confidential Business Information. 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person 

submitting information that he or she 

believes to be confidential and exempt 

by law from public disclosure should 

submit via e-mail, postal mail, or hand 

delivery two well-marked copies: one 

copy of the document marked 

confidential including all the 

information believed to be confidential, 

and one copy of the document marked 

non-confidential with the information 

believed to be confidential deleted. 

Submit these documents via e-mail or 

on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its 

own determination about the 

confidential status of the information 

and treat it according to its 

determination. 

Factors of interest to DOE when 

evaluating requests to treat submitted 

information as confidential include: (1) 

A description of the items; (2) whether 

and why such items are customarily 

treated as confidential within the 

industry; (3) whether the information is 

generally known by or available from 

other sources; (4) whether the 

information has previously been made 

available to others without obligation 

concerning its confidentiality; (5) an 

explanation of the competitive injury to 

the submitting person which would 

result from public disclosure; (6) when 

such information might lose its 

confidential character due to the 

passage of time; and (7) why disclosure 

of the information would be contrary to 

the public interest. 

It is DOE’s policy that all comments 

may be included in the public docket, 

without change and as received, 

including any personal information 

provided in the comments (except 

information deemed to be exempt from 

public disclosure). 

Issued in Washington, DC on May 20, 

2011. 

Kathleen Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of 

Technology Development, Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–13093 Filed 5–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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