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B. Procedure for Submitting Requests To Speak

Any person who has an interest in today's notice, or who is a representative of a group or class of persons that has an interest in these issues, may request an opportunity tomake an oral presentation. Please handdeliver requests to speak, along with a computer diskette or CD in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or text (ASCII) file
format to the address shown at the beginning of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. They may also be sent by mail or e-mail them

to: Brenda.Edwards-lones@ee.doe.gov. Persons requesting to speak should briefly describe the nature of their interest in this rulemaking and provide a telephone number for contact. The Department requests persons selected to be heard to submit an advance copy of

their statements at least two weeks before the public meeting. At its discretion, DOE may permit any person who cannot supply an advance copy of his or her statement to participate, if that person has made advance alternative arrangements with the Building Technologies Program. The request to give an oral presentation

should ask for such alternative
arrangements.

C. Conduct of Public Meeting

The Department will designate a DOE official to preside at the public meeting and may also use a professional

facilitator to aid discussion. The meeting will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type public hearing, but

DOE will conduct it in accordance with

5 U.S.C. 553 and section 336 of EPCA. (42 U.S.C. 6306) A court reporter will be present to record the transcript of the proceedings. The Department reserves the right to schedule the order of presentations and to establish the procedures governing the conduct of the public meeting. After the public meeting, interested parties may submit further comments on the proceedings as well as on any aspect of the rulemaking until the end of the comment period. The public meeting will be conducted in an informal, conference style. The Department will present summaries of comments received before the public meeting, allow time for presentations by participants, and encourage all interested parties to share their views on issues affecting this rulemaking. Each participant will be allowed to make a prepared general statement (within time limits determined by DOE) before the discussion of specific topics. The Department will permit other participants to comment briefly on any general statements. At the end of all prepared statements on a topic, DOE will permit participants to clarify their statements briefly and comment on statements made by others. Participants should be prepared to answer questions by DOE and by other participants concerning these issues. Department representatives may also ask questions of participants concerning other matters relevant to the public meeting. The official conducting the public meeting will accept additional comments or questions from those attending, as time permits. The presiding official will announce any further procedural rules or modification of the above procedures that may be needed for the proper conduct of the public meeting. The Department will make the entire record of this ANOPR rulemaking, including the transcript from the public meeting, available for inspection at the U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 1J-018 (Resource Room of the Building Technologies Program), 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, (202) 586-9127, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Any person may buy a copy of the transcript from the transcribing reporter.

D. Submission of Comments

The Department will accept comments, data, and information regarding all aspects of this ANOPR before or after the public meeting, but no later than the date provided at the beginning of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking. Please submit comments, data, and information electronically. Send them to the following e-mail address:
R esi d en ti a l FBANOPR Com m en is @ ee.doe.gov. Submit electronic comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or text (ASCII) file format and avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption. Comments in electronic format should be identified by the docket number EE-RM/STD-00-550, and wherever possible carry the electronic signature of the author. Absent an electronic signature, comments submitted electronically must be followed and authenticated by submitting the signed original paper document. No telefacsimiles (faxes) will be accepted. 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 two copies: one copy of the document including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document with the
information believed to be confidential deleted. The Department of Energy will
make its own determination about the

confidential status of the information and treat it according to its

determination. Factors of interest to the Department 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.

E. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Comment

The Department is interested in receiving comments and/or data to improve its analysis. The Department
has asked for comments in a number of areas throughout this ANOPR. The Department is particularly interested in responses to the following questions
and/or concerns:



### 1. Installation Model

Installation costs are a major part of

the total consumer cost of a furnace or

boiler and hence are a factor in the LCC analysis of potential standard levels. Due to the shortcomings of existing installation cost data, the Department developed an Installation Model to estimate installation costs (see section II.C.6 of this ANOPR). The Installation Model assumptions, methodology, and results regarding installation costs of
residential furnaces and boilers are a recent development that stakeholders have not reviewed. In particular, the Department seeks information relevant to venting categories, markets, installation sizes, and the application of these components to establish installation costs for product classes under consideration in this rulemaking.

2. Venting Issues

Proper selection of vent materials and correct configuration of vent systems are essential for safe operation of any combustion appliance (see section II.C.6.c of this ANOPR). For gas boilers, NFPA 54 provides Category I venting guidelines; and for oil-fired appliances,

### 45456 Federal Register/ Vol. 69, No. 145 / Thursday, July 29, 2004 / Proposed Rules

the applicable venting guideline is NFPA 31. However, the efficiency level at which the use of higher-cost Category III venting becomes necessary is not defined by these codes. For the analysis of gas boilers, DOE assumes that 20 percent of installations include Category

III horizontal vents for constructionrelated reasons for efficiencies up to 84 percent AFUE. At 85 percent AFUE, DOE assumes Category III venting mustbe used 100 percent of the time. For oilfired equipment, type L venting is required at all AFUE levels up to 84 percent. DOE assumes that at 85 percent and 84 percent AFUE for oil-fired boilers and oil-fired furnaces, respectively, the vent system must be upgraded to stainless AL-4C. The Department seeks further data

and comment relevant to the above assumptions. In particular, the Department is interested in getting data regarding: (1) The fraction of total gas boiler installations at each efficiency rating that use Category III horizontal venting; and (2) the fraction of total oil

boiler and total oil furnace installations at each efficiency level that use stainless AL-4C (as opposed to type Q.

3. Efficiency Distribution of

Weatherized Gas Furnaces

For weatherized gas furnaces, estimates of national energy savings depend on the baseline model efficiency level. The Department has limited data on the efficiency distribution of current sales of this product class, and has estimated the baseline model efficiency level using historical data. The Department seeks information on the efficiency distribution of current sales of weatherized gas furnaces from manufacturers of packaged air conditioners (which incorporate weatherized gas furnaces), or others.

4. 81 Percent AFUE Furnaces With and Without Two-Stage Modulating Controls

Two-stage modulation is used in bothcondensing and non-condensing, nonweatherized gas furnaces. Because there are at least two major manufacturers that market a series of 81 percent AFUE, two-stage modulating furnace models and specify, for these furnaces, Category I vent systems incorporating Type B vent and Type B vent connectors, it appears that 81 percent AFUE, two-stage modulating furnaces do not pose vent safety issues associated with premature corrosion. For non-modulating 81 percent AFUE furnaces, the Department established that special venting treatments such as the use of Category III systems/components may be needed for many installations, and estimated the cost for these vent systems. Because of the higher initial venting costs and increased safety concerns associated with non-modulating furnaces, DOE assumes that

manufacturers would choose to manufacture two-stage modulating

furnaces if DOE established a minimum standard of 81 percent AFUE. This assumption seems to be supported by recent developments in the marketplace. Based on information available to DOE, it appears that manufacturers have ceased to produce non-modulating models with AFUE of 81 percent or higher, and that at least two manufacturers are offering 81 percent AFUE modulating furnaces. The current DOE test procedure incorporates an adjustment factor for two-stage modulating furnaces to reflect the impact of their different operation("time on/time off") compared to singlestage furnaces. The presence of this adjustment in the test procedure results in a national energy savings estimate for two-stage modulating furnaces that is nearly three times as great as the savings for 81 percent AFUE furnaces using non-modulating technology. DOE is uncertain whether the adjustment for modulating furnaces that is included in the test procedure yields an accurate estimate of the expected energy use of the product and solicits public comment on this issue. Even if the test procedure presents an accurate representation of this product's energy use, DOE solicits public comment on whether the test procedure should be modified to provide modulating furnaces with an AFUE rating that is a better reflection of its expected energy use. Based on the current test procedure, estimates for a two-stage modulating furnace with an AFUE rating of 81 percent is likely to show annual gas consumption in line with a non-modulating furnace with a higher AFUE rating. The Department also wishes to receive data on venting installation practices/guidelines and any additional information/data on vent safety issuesfor all 81 percent AFUE nonweatherized gas furnaces.

5. Regulation of Furnace Electricity Consumption

The Department's analytical framework for the current rulemaking described an approach to regulate the electricity use of furnaces and boilers that would involve specifying a
maximum annual electrical consumption. The current DOE test procedure provides a means to determine electrical consumption (kWh). However, 42 U.S.C. 6291(6) states that an "energy conservation standard" is either (A) "a * * * level of energy efficiency" or "a * * * quantity of energy use," or (B) "a design requirement for the products specified * * *. " Item (A) above strongly suggests that a single "energy

conservation standard" cannot have measures or descriptions for both energy efficiency and energy use. A standard that includes both a level of energy efficiency and a quantity of energy use (kWh of electricity) conflicts with the statutory language. 42 U.S.C. 6291(20)

states that "the term `annual fuel utilization efficiency' means the efficiency descriptor for furnaces and boilers, determined using test procedures prescribed under section 323 * * *." Since the AFUE descriptor does not include electricity use, DOE cannot regulate the use of electricity by

furnaces and boilers.

Based on the considered approaches and the statutory language, the Department has decided not to regulate electricity consumption of residential furnaces and boilers at this time using the above-mentioned descriptor approaches. The Department seeks

comment on the above methods and information on any other method for developing a standard that would be consistent with the existing statutory authority.

V. Regulatory Review and Procedural Requirements

This advance notice of proposed rulemaking was submitted for review to OIRA in the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866, "Regulatory Planning and Review." 58 FR 51735. If DOE later proposes amended energy conservation standards for residential furnaces and boilers, the rulemaking would likely constitute a significant regulatory action, and DOE would prepare and submit to OIRA for

review the assessment of costs and benefits required by section 6(a)(3) of the Executive Order. In addition, various other analyses and procedures may apply to such future rulemaking action, including those required by the National Environmental Policy Act, 42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995, Public Law 104- 4; the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.; the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; and

certain Executive Orders.

VI. Approval of the Office of the Secretary

The Secretary of Energy has approved publication of today's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.