55470 Federal Register ./ Vol. 59, No. 214 / Monday November 7 1994 / Notices

GRA upflow and GSA downflow

condensing gas 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-

9138.

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, (202j

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, Rheem has

been granted a Waiver for its GRA

upflow and GSA downflow condensing

gas furnaces, permitting the company to

use an alternate test method in

determining AFUE.

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 1,

1994.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

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

917 as amended by the National Energy

Conservation Policy Act (NECPA),

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

National Appliance Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

[Case No. F-075]

Energy Conservation Program.for

Consumer Products : Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver From the

Furnace Test Procedure to Rheem

Manufactunng 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-075)

granting a Waiver to Rheem

Manufacturing Company (Rheem) from

the existing Department of Energy (DOE)

test procedure for furnaces. The

Department is granting Rheem's Petition

for Waiver regarding blower time delay

in calculation of Annual Fuel

Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) for its

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

appliance 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 Intenm 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, andlor 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.

Rheem filed a "Petition for Waiver,"

dated July 15, 1994, in accordance with

section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The

Department published in the Federal

Register on September 15, 1994,

Rheem's petition and solicited

comments, data and information

respecting the petition. 59 FR 47317

Rheem also filed an "Application for

Interim Waiver" under section 430.27(g)

which DOE granted on September 7

1994. 59 FR 47317 September 15, 1994.

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

Rheem Petition. The FTC did not have

any objections to the issuance of the

waiver to Rheem.

Assertions and Determinations

Rheem'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. Rheem

requests the allowance to test using a

CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 122
Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 214 / Monday November 7 1994 / Notices

20-second blower time delay when

testing its GRA upflow, and GSA

downflow condensing gas furnaces.

Rheem states that since the 20-second

delay is indicative of how these models

actually operate, and since such a delay

results in an average of approximately

3.0 percent improvement in energy

efficiency, 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. Rheem indicates that it is

unable to take advantage of any of these

exceptions for its GRA upflow, and GSA

downflow condensing gas furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the Rheem furnaces are

designed to impose a 20-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 20-second blower

time delay when testing the Rheem GRA

upflow, and GSA downflow condensing

gas furnaces. Accordingly, with regard

to testing the GRA upflow, and GSA

downflow condensing gas furnaces,

today's Decision and Order exempts

Rheem from the existing provisions

regarding blower controls and allows

testing with the 20-second delay.

It is, therefore, ordered that:

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

Rheem Manufacturing Company. (Case

No. F-075) 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, Rheem

Manufacturing Company, shall be

permitted to test its GRA upflow, and

GSA downflow condensing gas 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 ofANSI/ASHRAE

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, Rheem

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 GRA

upflow, and GSA downflow condensing

gas furnaces manufactured by Rheem

Manufacturing Company.

(4) This Waiver is based upon the

presumed validity of statements,

allegations, and documentary materials

submitted by the petitioner. This Waiver

may be revoked or modified at any time

upon a determination that the factual

basis underlying the petition is

incorrect.

(5) Effective November 1, 1994, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted the Rheem Manufacturing

Company on September 7 1994. 59 FR

47317 September 15, 1994 (Case No. F075).

Issued In Washington, DC, on November 1,

1994. -i

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

IFR Doc. 94-27533 Filed 11-4-94; 8:45 am]

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CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 122