[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32790-32792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16121]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of 
the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for 
Waiver of Bard Manufacturing Company From the DOE Furnace Test 
Procedure. (Case No. F-086)

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Today's notice grants an Interim Waiver to Bard Manufacturing 
Company (Bard) from the existing Department of Energy (DOE or 
Department) test procedure regarding blower time delay for the 
company's TU and TDH series furnaces.
    Today's notice also publishes a ``Petition for Waiver'' from Bard. 
Bard's Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant relief from the DOE 
furnace test procedure relating to the blower time

[[Page 32791]]

delay specification. Bard seeks to test using a blower delay time of 30 
seconds for its TU and TDH series furnaces instead of the specified 
1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time. The 
Department is soliciting comments, data, and information respecting the 
Petition for Waiver.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information not later than 
July 25, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements shall be sent to: Department 
of Energy, Office of Codes and Standards, Case No. F-086, Mail Stop EE-
43, Room 1J-018, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, 
Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-7140.

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, D.C. 20585-0121, 
(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, D.C. 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer 
Products (other than automobiles) was established pursuant to the 
Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA), 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 Title 10 CFR Part 430, 
Subpart B.
    The Department amended the test procedure rules to provide for a 
waiver process by adding Section 430.27 to Title 10 CFR Part 430. 45 FR 
64108, September 26, 1980. Subsequently, DOE amended the 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. Title 10 CFR Part 430, 
Section 430.27(a)(2).
    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.
    An Interim Waiver will be granted 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 determines that 
it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate 
relief pending a determination on the Petition for Waiver. Title 10 CFR 
Part 430, Sec. 430.27 (g). 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.
    On April 4, 1996, Bard filed an Application for Interim Waiver and 
a Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay. Bard's Application 
seeks an Interim Waiver from the DOE test provisions that require a 
1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and starting 
of the circulating air blower. Instead, Bard requests the allowance to 
test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its TU and TDH 
series furnaces. Bard states that the 30-second delay is indicative of 
how these furnaces actually operate. Such a delay results in an average 
0.4 to 0.6 percent increase in AFUE. Since current DOE test procedures 
do not address this variable blower time delay, Bard asks that the 
Interim Waiver be granted.
    The Department has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on 
August 23, 1993, (58 FR 44583) to amend the furnace test procedure, 
which addresses the above issue.
    Previous Petitions for Waiver for this type of time blower delay 
control have been granted by DOE to Coleman Company, 50 FR 2710, 
January 18, 1985; Magic Chef Company, 50 FR 41553, October 11, 1985; 
Rheem Manufacturing Company, 53 FR 48574, December 1, 1988, 56 FR 2920, 
January 25, 1991, 57 FR 10166, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 34560, August 5, 
1992; 59 FR 30577, June 14, 1994, and 59 FR 55470, November 7, 1994; 
Trane Company, 54 FR 19226, May 4, 1989, 56 FR 6021, February 14, 1991, 
57 FR 10167, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 22222, May 27, 1992, 58 FR 68138, 
December 23, 1993, and 60 FR 62835, December 7, 1995; Lennox 
Industries, 55 FR 50224, December 5, 1990, 57 FR 49700, November 3, 
1992, 58 FR 68136, December 23, 1993, and 58 FR 68137, December 23, 
1993; Inter-City Products Corporation, 55 FR 51487, December 14, 1990, 
and 56 FR 63945, December 6, 1991; DMO Industries, 56 FR 4622, February 
5, 1991, and 59 FR 30579, June 14, 1994; Heil-Quaker Corporation, 56 FR 
6019, February 14, 1991; Carrier Corporation, 56 FR 6018, February 14, 
1991, 57 FR 38830, August 27, 1992, 58 FR 68131, December 23, 1993, 58 
FR 68133, December 23, 1993, 59 FR 14394, March 28, 1994, and 60 FR 
62832, December 7, 1995; Amana Refrigeration Inc., 56 FR 27958, June 
18, 1991, 56 FR 63940, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 23392, June 3, 1992, and 
58 FR 68130, December 23, 1993; Snyder General Corporation, 56 FR 
54960, September 9, 1991; Goodman Manufacturing Corporation, 56 FR 
51713, October 15, 1991, 57 FR 27970, June 23, 1992, 59 FR 12586, March 
17, 1994 and 61 FR 17289, April 19, 1996; The Ducane Company Inc., 56 
FR 63943, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 10163, March 24, 1992, and 58 FR 
68134, December 23, 1993; Armstrong Air Conditioning, Inc., 57 FR 899, 
January 9, 1992, 57 FR 10160, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 10161, March 24, 
1992, 57 FR 39193, August 28, 1992, 57 FR 54230, November 17, 1992, and 
59 FR 30575, June 14, 1994; Thermo Products, Inc., 57 FR 903, January 
9, 1992, and 61 FR 17887, April 23, 1996; Consolidated Industries 
Corporation, 57 FR 22220, May 27, 1992, and 61 FR 4262, February 5, 
1996; Evcon Industries, Inc., 57 FR 47847, October 20, 1992, and 59 FR 
46968, September 13, 1994; Bard Manufacturing Company, 57 FR 53733, 
November 12, 1992, and 59 FR 30578, June 14, 1994; and York 
International Corporation, 59 FR 46969, September 13, 1994, 60 FR 100, 
January 3, 1995, 60 FR 62834, December 7, 1995, and 60 FR 62837, 
December 7, 1995.
    Thus, it appears likely that this Petition for Waiver for blower 
time delay will be granted. In those instances where the likely success 
of the Petition for Waiver has been demonstrated based upon DOE having 
granted a waiver for a similar product design, it is in the public 
interest to have similar products tested and rated for energy 
consumption on a comparable basis.
    Therefore, based on the above, DOE is granting Bard an Interim 
Waiver for its TU and TDU series furnaces. Bard shall be permitted to 
test its TU and TDH series furnaces on the basis of the test procedures 
specified in Title 10 CFR

[[Page 32792]]

Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix N, with the modification set forth below:
    (i) Section 3.0 in 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 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 in Appendix N as follows:
    3.10  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; 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 stop watch. 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 
on-period draft.
    This Interim Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of 
statements and all allegations submitted by the company. This Interim 
Waiver may be removed or modified at any time upon a determination that 
the factual basis underlying the Application is incorrect.
    The Interim Waiver shall remain in effect for a period of 180 days 
or until DOE acts on the Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and 
may be extended for an additional 180-day period, if necessary.
    Bard's Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant relief from the 
DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time delay 
specification. Bard seeks to test using a blower delay time of 30 
seconds for its TU and TDH series furnaces instead of the specified 
1.5-minute delay between burner on-time and blower on-time. Pursuant to 
paragraph (b) of Title 10 CFR Part 430.27, DOE is hereby publishing the 
``Petition for Waiver'' in its entirety. The Petition contains no 
confidential information. The Department solicits comments, data, and 
information respecting the Petition.

    Issued in Washington, D.C. June 13, 1996.

Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
April 4, 1996.
Ms. Christine A. Ervin
Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
Forrestal Building
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20585

Subject: Petition for Waiver and Application for Interim Waiver

    Dear Assistant Secretary: Petition for Waiver and Application 
for Interim Waiver are requested pursuant to Title 10 CFR Part 
430.27.
    Waiver is requested from test procedures for measuring the 
energy consumption of furnaces that are found in Appendix N of 
Subpart B to 10 CFR Part 430. Presently the test procedure requires 
a 1.5 minute delay between burner ignition and the start of the 
circulating air blower.
    Bard Manufacturing Company is requesting to use a 30 second 
delay instead of the specified 1.5 minutes. Furnace Series TU and 
TDH use an electronic fixed time blower control set at 30 seconds. 
Test results for these furnaces indicate an average .4-.6 percent 
increase in AFUE.
    We are confident that this Waiver will be granted, and request 
Interim Waiver until a final ruling is made. Bard has been granted 
previous waivers 57 FR 53733 and 59 FR 30578, and many other 
manufacturers have been granted similar waivers.
    Copies of confidential test data will be provided to you at your 
request. Please contact the undersigned if you have any questions or 
require additional information.
    Sincerely,
Richard Hanna,
Manager, Heating and Application Engineering.
[FR Doc. 96-16121 Filed 6-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P