100 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 1 / Tuesday, January 3, 1995 / Notices

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

[Case No. F-077)

Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products: Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver from the

Furnace Test Procedure to York

International

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-077)

granting a Waiver to York International

(York) from the existing Department of

Energy (DOE) test procedure for

furnaces. The Department is granting

York's Petition for Waiver regarding

blower time delay in calculation of

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency

(AFUE) for its P2LN and PBNL lines of

condensing 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, (202)

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, York has

been granted a Waiver for its P2LN and

PBNL lines of condensing furnaces,

permitting the company to use an

alternate test method in determining

AFUE.

CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 125
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 1 / Tuesday, January 3, 1995 / Notices 101

Issued in Washington, DC, on December

23, 1994.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order

In the matter of, York International. (Case

No. F-077)

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for

Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant

to the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (EPCA), 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

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 Interim 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, and/or 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.

York filed a "Petition for Waiver,"

dated September 22, 1994, in

accordance with Section 430.27 of 10

CFR Part 430. The Department

published in the Federal Register on

November 10, 1994, York's petition, and

solicited comments, data, and

information respecting the petition. 59

FR 56064. York also filed an

"Application for Interim Waiver" under

Section 430.27(g), which DOE granted

on November 2, 1994. 59 FR 56064,

November 10, 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

York Petition. The FTC did not have any

objections to the issuance of the waiver

to York.

Assertions and Determinations

York's Petition seeks a waiver from

the DOE test provisions that require a

i.5-minute time delay between the

ignition of the burner and the starting of

the circulating air blower. York requests

the allowance to test using a 30-second

blower time delay when testing its P2LN

and PBNL lines of condensing furnaces.

York states that since the 30-second

delay is indicative of how these models

actually operate, and since such a delay

results in an overall furnace AFUE

improvement of approximately 1.5

percentage points, 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. York indicates that it is

unable to take advantage of any of these

exceptions for its P2LN and PBNL lines

of condensing furnaces.

Since the blower controls

incorporated on the York furnaces are

designed to impose a 30-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 30-second blower

time delay when testing the York P2LN

and PBNL lines of condensing furnaces.

Accordingly, with regard to testing the

P2LN and PBNL condensing furnaces,

today's Decision and Order exempts

York from the existing provisions

regarding blower controls and allows

testing with the 30-second delay.

It is, therefore, ordered that:

(1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed by

York International. (Case No. F-077) 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, York International,

shall be permitted to test its P2LN and

PBNL lines of condensing 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 of ANSI/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

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102 Federat Register / Vol. 60, No. I / Tuesday, January 3 , 1995 / Notices

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, York

International 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 P2LN and

PBNL lines of condensing furnaces

manufactured by York International.

(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 December 23. 1994, this

Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver

granted York International on November

2, 1994. 59 FR 56064, November 10,

1994 (Case No. F--077Y.

Issued In Washington, DC. on December

23, 1994.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, EnergyEffciency and

Renewable Energy.

]FR Doc. 94-32319 Filed 12-30-94: 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-0

CAS-RM-79-104 COMMENT 125