# 54FR19226

1922) Federal Register / Vol. 54, No. 85 / Thursday, May 4, 1989 / Notices



## Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products

, Petition for
Waiver of Furnace Test Procedures
From Trane Co. (F-017)

The Department of Energy published a
document in the Federal Register at 54 FR 15986, Apr. 20,1989, concerning the
above referenced "Petition for Waiver."
The "Petition for Waiver" and the letter granting the "Application, for Interim
Waiver" issued to the Trane Co. were inadvertently omitted. This document corrects the error and sets forth the full
text of the two letters. Issued in Washington, DC, on April 27, 1989.
John R. Berg, Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy. April 12. 1989. Mr. L.E. Chaump, t ice President Engineering, The Trane Company, Troup Highway, Tyler, Texas
75711. Dear Mr. Chaump: This is in response to your February 27,1989, Application for Interim Waiver, from the Department of Energy (DOE) test procedures for furnaces when testing Trane's gas-fueled forced-air condensing furnace identified as TUC(-) and TDC(-) series. Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended. the Department has prescribed test procedures to measure the energy consumption of certain major household appliances, including furnaces. The intent of the test procedures is to provide a comparable measure of energy consumption that will assist consumers in making purchase decisions. These test procedures appear in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B. DOE amended the test procedure regulations on September 26, 1980 [45 FR 64108] and November 26,1986 [51 FR 42823j. These provisions allow the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy 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 of the basic model 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 characteristics as to provide materially inadequate comparative data. The 1986 amendments provide that an interim waiver from test procedures requirements will be granted by the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy if 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, and/or the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy determines that it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate relief pending a determination on the petition for waiver. § 430.27. The Department finds that it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant Trane's Application for Interim Waiver. Specifically, in those instances where DOE has granted a waiver for a similar product design, it is in the public's interest to have similar products tested and rated for energy consumption on a comparable basis. Previous waivers for this type of timed blower delay control have been granted to the Coleman Company, Magic Chef Company, and Rheem Manufacturing Company. 50 FR 2710, January 18, 1985, 50 FR 41553, October 11, 1985, and 53 FR 48574, December 1, 1988, respectively. Therefore, Trane's Application for an Interim Waiver requesting relief from the DOE test procedures for its TUC(-) series and TDC(-) series of condensing furnaces is granted. Trane shall be permitted to test its TUC(-) series and TDC(-) series of condensing furnaces on the basis of the test procedures specified in 10 CFR Part 430, with the
modification set forth below. (i) Section 9.3.1 of ANSI/ASHR.AE Standard 103-1982 is deleted and replaced with the following paragraph:
Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. 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 circulation blower, in which case the burner and blower shall be started together, (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 stop watch. Record the measuredtemperatures. During the heat-up test for oilfueled furnaces, maintain the draft in the flue pipe with ±0.01 inch of water gauge of the manufacturer's recommended on-period
draft. 

### This interim waiver shall remain in effect for 180 days from the date of issuance or until the Department of Energy issues a determination on Trade's Petition for Waiver,
whichever occurs first. 

### This interim waiver is based upon the prescribed validity of statements and allegations submitted by the applicant. This interim waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the factual basis underlying the application is incorrect.

Sincerely,
Dr. John R. Berg, 

### Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy.
February 27, 1989.
Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy, United States Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington.
DC 20585 Gentlemen: This petition for waiver and interim waiver is submitted pursuant to Title 10 CFR 430.27. Waiver is requested from the condensing furnace test procedure found at Appendix N to Subpart B of Part 430. The Heat-Up Test procedure requires a 1.5 minutetime delay between burner and blowerstartup. Significant energy is lost during the delay period. Starting in April 1989, Trane will manufacture condensing furnaces having fixed timing controls which will activate the blower 0.5 minutes after burner start-up. These furnaces will include the TUC(-) upflow and TDC(-) downflow model families. These controls reduce losses by 1.6% to 2.0%, or approximately 2017. of the total energy losses. The current procedures do not recognize such controls causing energy losses to be overstated. The petition requests that the true delay be used for more accurate representation of efficiency. Confidential supporting test data is available upon request. An interim waiver is requested because it seems likely that our waiver will be granted. Similar waivers have been granted to Coleman, Magic Chef, and Rheem. All central
furnace manufacturers known to Trane have been notified by letter of our application. A copy of the letter and a list of the
manufacturers is attached.

Sincerely,
L.E. Chaump,
Vice President Engineering.

[FR Doc. 89-10681 Filed 5-3-89: 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-O1-M