Federal Register /Vol. 69, No. 145 /Thursday, July 29, 2004 /Proposed Rules 45455

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 to

make 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,

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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 must

be 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 both

condensing 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 issues

for 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.

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