792 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket Number EERE–2013–BT–TP–0004] 

RIN 1904–AC94 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Test Procedures 

for Direct Heating Equipment and Pool 

Heaters 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is amending its test 

procedures for vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters established 

under the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act. This rulemaking 

fulfills DOE’s statutory obligation to 

review its test procedures for covered 

products at least once every seven years. 

The amendments add provisions for 

testing vented home heating equipment 

that utilizes condensing technology, and 

incorporate by reference six industry 

test standards to replace the outdated 

test standards referred to in the existing 

DOE test procedure. For pool heaters, 

the amendments incorporate by 

reference Air-Conditioning, Heating, 

and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 

Standard 1160–2009, ‘‘Performance 

Rating of Heat Pump Pool Heaters,’’ and 

ANSI/American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning 

Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 146– 

2011, ‘‘Method of Testing and Rating 

Pool Heaters,’’ to establish a test method 

for electric pool heaters (including heat 

pump pool heaters). The amendments 

also clarify the test procedure’s 

applicability to oil-fired pool heaters. 

DATES: The effective date of this rule is 

February 5, 2015. Compliance will be 

mandatory starting July 6, 2015. 

The incorporation by reference of 

certain publications listed in this rule is 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register as of February 5, 2015. Other 

publications referenced were approved 

on January 3, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: The docket is available for 

review at www.regulations.gov, 

including Federal Register notices, 

public meeting attendee lists and 

transcripts, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

However, not all documents listed in 

the index may be publicly available, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure. 

A link to the docket Web page can be 

found at: http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2013-BT-TP0004. This Web page contains a link to 

the docket for this rule on the 

www.regulations.gov site. The 

www.regulations.gov Web page contains 

simple instructions on how to access all 

documents, including public comments, 

in the docket. 

For information on how to review the 

docket, contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at 

(202) 586–2945 or by email: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John Cymbalsky, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 287–1692. Email: 

John.Cymbalsky@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Sarah Butler, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–1777. Email: 

Sarah.Butler@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final 

rule incorporates by reference into 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430, the 

following industry standards: 

AHRI Standard 1160–2009 (‘‘AHRI 1160’’), 

Performance Rating of Heat Pump Pool 

Heaters, 2009. 

Copies of AHRI 1160 can be obtained from 

the Air-Conditioning, Heating, 2111 

Wilson Blvd., Suite 500, Arlington, VA 

22201, 703–524–8800, or go to http://

www.ahrinet.org. 

ANSI Z21.86–2008, (‘‘ANSI Z21.86’’), Vented 

Gas-Fired Space Heating Appliances, Fifth 

Edition. 

Copies of ANSI Z21.86 can be obtained from 

American National Standards Institute, 25 

W. 43rd Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 

10036, 212–642–4900, or go to http://

www.ansi.org. 

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 103–2007, 

(‘‘ASHRAE 103–2007’’), Method of Testing 

for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of 

Residential Central Furnaces and Boilers, 

ANSI approved March 25, 2008. 

Copies of ASHRAE 103–2007 can be obtained 

from American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning 

Engineers, Inc., Publication Sales, 1791 

Tullie Circle, NE., Atlanta, GA 30329, 800– 

527–4723 or 404–636–8400, or go to http:// 

www.ashrae.org. 

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 146–2011 

(‘‘ASHRAE 146’’), Method of Testing and 

Rating Pool Heaters, ASHRAE approved 

February 2, 2011. 

Copies of ASHRAE 146 can be obtained from 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating 

and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., 

Publication Sales, 1791 Tullie Circle, NE., 

Atlanta, GA 30329, 800–527–4723 or 404– 

636–8400, or go to http://www.ashrae.org. 

ASTM D2156–09, (‘‘ASTM D2156’’), 

Standard Test Method for Smoke Density 

in Flue Gases from Burning Distillate 

Fuels, ASTM approved December 1, 2009. 

Copies of ASTM D2156 can be obtained 

from American Society for Testing and 

Materials International, 100 Barr Harbor 

Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, 

PA 19428–2959, or go to http://

www.astm.org. 

UL 729–2003 (‘‘UL 729’’), Standard for 

Safety for Oil-Fired Floor Furnaces, Sixth 

Edition, dated August 29, 2003, including 

revisions through April 22, 2010. 

Copies of UL 729 can be obtained from 

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., 2600 NW. 

Lake Rd., Camas WA 98607–8542, or go to 

http://www.UL.com. 

UL 730–2003 (‘‘UL 730’’), Standard for 

Safety for Oil-Fired Wall Furnaces, Fifth 

Edition, dated August 29, 2003, including 

revisions through April 22, 2010. 

Copies of UL 730 can be obtained from 

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., 2600 NW. 

Lake Rd., Camas WA 98607–8542, or go to 

http://www.UL.com. 

UL 896–1993 (‘‘UL 896’’), Standard for 

Safety for Oil-Burning Stoves, Fifth Edition, 

dated July 29, 1993, including revisions 

through May 7, 2010. 

Copies of UL 896 can be obtained from 

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., 2600 NW. 

Lake Rd., Camas WA 98607–8542, or go to 

http://www.UL.com. 

Table of Contents 

I. Authority and Background 

II. Synopsis of the Final Rule 

III. Discussion 

A. Products Covered by This Final Rule 

B. Dates for the Amended Test Procedure 

C. Test Procedure for Direct Heating 

Equipment 

1. Vented Home Heating Equipment 

Employing Condensing Technology 

2. Updating of Industry Reference 

Standards 

3. Other Issues 

D. Test Procedure for Pool Heaters 

1. Electric Pool Heaters 

2. Other Issues 

E. Compliance With Other EPCA 

Requirements 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act 

C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 

D. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 

H. Review Under the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999 

I. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

J. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

K. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

L. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

M. Congressional Notification 

V. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 


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1For editorial reasons, upon codification in the 

U.S. Code, Part B was redesignated as Part A. 

2All references to EPCA in this document refer 

to the statute as amended through the American 

Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act 

(AEMTCA), Pub. L. 112–210 (Dec. 18, 2012). 

3The October 2011 RFI also requested 

information on the need to amend the test 

procedures for residential water heaters. However, 

because the American Energy Manufacturing and 

Technical Corrections Act amended EPCA to 

require that DOE develop a uniform efficiency 

descriptor for residential and commercial water 

heaters (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)(5)), DOE is addressing 

test procedure updates for that product in a separate 

rulemaking. 

I. Authority and Background 

Title III, Part B1 of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act of 1975 (‘‘EPCA’’ 

or ‘‘the Act’’), Public Law 94–163 

(codified at 42 U.S.C. 6291–6309) sets 

forth a variety of provisions designed to 

improve energy efficiency and 

establishes the Energy Conservation 

Program for Consumer Products Other 

Than Automobiles.2 These include two 

covered products that are the subject of 

this rule: direct heating equipment 

(DHE) and pool heaters. (42 U.S.C. 

6292(a)(9) and (11)) 

Under EPCA, the energy conservation 

program generally consists of four parts: 

(1) Testing; (2) labeling; (3) establishing 

Federal energy conservation standards; 

and (4) certification and enforcement 

procedures. The testing requirements 

consist of test procedures that 

manufacturers of covered products must 

use as the basis for making 

representations about the efficiency of 

those products, including 

representations to DOE of compliance 

with applicable energy conservation 

standards adopted pursuant to EPCA. 

(42 U.S.C. 6293(c); 42 U.S.C. 6295(s)) 

Similarly, DOE must use these test 

requirements to determine whether the 

products comply with any relevant 

standards promulgated under EPCA. (42 

U.S.C. 6295(s)) 

Under 42 U.S.C. 6293, EPCA sets forth 

the criteria and procedures that DOE 

must follow when prescribing or 

amending test procedures for covered 

products. EPCA provides, in relevant 

part, that any test procedures prescribed 

or amended under this section must be 

reasonably designed to produce test 

results which measure energy 

efficiency, energy use, or estimated 

annual operating cost of a covered 

product during a representative average 

use cycle or period of use, and must not 

be unduly burdensome to conduct. (42 

U.S.C. 6293(b)(3)) 

In addition, if DOE determines that a 

test procedure amendment is warranted, 

it must publish proposed test 

procedures and offer the public an 

opportunity to present oral and written 

comments on them. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(2)) Finally, in any rulemaking to 

amend a test procedure, DOE must 

determine to what extent, if any, the 

proposed test procedure would alter the 

product’s measured energy efficiency. 

(42 U.S.C. 6293(e)(1)) 

Further, the Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) 

amended EPCA to require that at least 

once every seven years, DOE must 

review test procedures for all covered 

products and either amend test 

procedures (if the Secretary determines 

that amended test procedures would 

more accurately or fully comply with 

the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(3)), or publish notice in the 

Federal Register of any determination 

not to amend a test procedure. (42 

U.S.C. 6293(b)(1)(A)) Under this 

requirement, DOE must review the test 

procedures for direct heating equipment 

and pool heaters not later than 

December 19, 2014 (i.e., seven years 

after the enactment of EISA 2007). This 

final rule satisfies this requirement. 

This rulemaking covers two types of 

direct heating equipment: vented home 

heating equipment and unvented home 

heating equipment. For vented home 

heating equipment, the test procedure is 

located at 10 CFR 430.23(o) and 10 CFR 

part 430, subpart B, appendix O 

(Appendix O). The vented home heating 

equipment test procedure includes 

provisions for determining energy 

efficiency (annual fuel utilization 

efficiency (AFUE)), as well as annual 

energy consumption. DOE’s test 

procedures for unvented home heating 

equipment are located at 10 CFR 

430.23(g) and 10 CFR 430, subpart B, 

appendix G (Appendix G). For unvented 

heaters that are used as the primary 

heating source for the home, there is a 

calculation of annual energy 

consumption based on a single 

assignment of active mode hours; there 

is no provision for calculation of energy 

efficiency. For unvented heaters that are 

not used as the primary heating source 

for the home, there are no provisions for 

calculating either the energy efficiency 

or annual energy consumption. 

DOE’s test procedure for pool heaters 

is found at 10 CFR 430.23(p) and 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix P 

(Appendix P). The test procedure 

includes provisions for determining two 

energy efficiency descriptors (i.e., 

thermal efficiency and integrated 

thermal efficiency), as well as annual 

energy consumption. 

In addition to the test procedure 

review provision discussed above, EISA 

2007 also amended EPCA to require 

DOE to amend its test procedures for all 

covered products to include 

measurement of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption. (42 U.S.C. 

6295(gg)(2)(A)) DOE published a final 

rule adopting standby mode and off 

mode provisions for heating products in 

the Federal Register on December 17, 

2012. 77 FR 74559. That rulemaking 

was limited to test procedure 

amendments to address standby mode 

and off mode requirements; it did not 

address non-standby/off mode issues in 

DOE’s existing test procedures for the 

covered products. DOE addresses those 

issues separately in this final rule. 

On October 12, 2011, DOE published 

in the Federal Register a request for 

information (RFI) that identified and 

requested comment on a number of 

issues regarding the test procedures for 

DHE (including both vented and 

unvented home heating equipment) and 

pool heaters (October 2011 RFI).3 76 FR 

63211. DOE accepted comments and 

information on the October 2011 RFI 

until November 28, 2011, and 

considered all feedback received. 

On October 24, 2013, DOE published 

a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) 

to propose amendments for its test 

procedures for vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters (October 

2013 NOPR). 78 FR 63410. In the 

October 2013 NOPR, DOE proposed 

amending the test procedure to include 

provisions for condensing technology in 

vented home heating equipment, 

updating outdated references, and 

clarifying the pool heater test procedure 

as it applies to oil-fired products. DOE 

also proposed new test provisions for 

electric pool heaters, including electric 

heat pump pool heaters. DOE did not 

receive comments on the RFI relating to 

unvented home heating equipment and, 

after reviewing the test method, did not 

propose any changes to the test 

procedure for unvented home heating 

equipment in the October 2013 NOPR. 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6293(b)(1)(A)(ii), 

DOE has determined not to amend the 

test procedure for unvented home 

heating equipment. 

The October 2013 NOPR serves as the 

basis for this final rule. On December 4, 

2013, DOE held a public meeting to 

discuss the test procedure proposals 

outlined in the October 2013 NOPR. 

DOE accepted comments and 

information on the NOPR until January 

7, 2014. DOE considered the feedback 

received from stakeholders, which is 

discussed in section III of this final rule. 

II. Synopsis of the Final Rule 

In this final rule, DOE amends its test 

procedures for vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters. The vented 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES3
794 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

4Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of 

Energy, 706 F.3d 499, 509 (D.C. Cir. 2013). 

home heating equipment amendments 

add provisions for testing vented heaters 

that utilize condensing technology and 

update incorporations by reference in 

the existing test procedure. The pool 

heater amendments incorporate by 

reference Air-Conditioning, Heating, 

and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 

Standard 1160–2009, ‘‘Performance 

Rating of Heat Pump Pool Heaters’’ 

(AHRI 1160) and American National 

Standards Insitute (ANSI)/American 

Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and 

Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 

Standard 146–2011, ‘‘Method of Testing 

and Rating Pool Heaters’’ (ASHRAE 

146), to establish testing procedures for 

electric resistance and electric heat 

pump pool heaters. The amendments for 

pool heaters also clarify the test 

procedure’s applicability to gas-fired 

and oil-fired pool heaters. The 

amendments and clarifications for both 

product types are summarized below. 

DOE amends the test procedure for 

vented heaters to incorporate by 

reference the following six current 

industry standards to replace the 

outdated standards referenced in the 

existing DOE test procedure: (1) ANSI/ 

ASHRAE Standard 103–2007, ‘‘Method 

of Test for Annual Fuel Utilization 

Efficiency of Residential Central 

Furnaces and Boilers’’ (ASHRAE 103– 

2007); (2) ANSI Z21.86–2008, ‘‘GasFired Space Heating Appliances’’ (ANSI 

Z21.86); (3) ASTM D2156–09, 

‘‘Standard Test Method for Smoke 

Density in Flue Gases from Burning 

Distillate Fuels’’ (ASTM D2156); (4) UL 

729–2003, ‘‘Standard for Safety for OilFired Floor Furnaces’’ (UL 729); (5) UL 

730–2003, ‘‘Standard for Safety for OilFired Wall Furnaces’’ (UL 730); and (6) 

UL 896–1993, ‘‘Standard for Safety for 

Oil-Burning Stoves’’ (UL 896). DOE also 

establishes a test method to determine 

the AFUE of vented heaters that use 

condensing technology. 

DOE does not adopt as part of the 

final rule a proposal included in the 

October 2013 NOPR for a default jacket 

loss value for vented floor furnaces. 

DOE proposed a default value of one 

percent for floor furnace jacket loss 

(measured as a percentage of fuel input 

rate in Btu/h). However, subsequent 

DOE testing revealed an average jacket 

loss of 3.05 percent with a standard 

deviation of 0.45 percent. Because the 

results show jacket losses to be much 

higher than one percent, DOE will not 

adopt a default value. The test 

procedure continues to require the 

measurement of jacket losses for vented 

floor furnaces when determining the 

AFUE. 

In addition, DOE corrects multiple 

clerical errors and clarifies sections that 

commenters identified as ambiguous or 

unclear in the test procedure for vented 

home heating equipment. These changes 

are identified and explained in section 

III. 

In this final rule, DOE clarifies the 

applicability of the pool heater test 

method for oil-fired products. DOE also 

adopts new provisions for testing 

electric pool heaters, including electric 

heat pump pool heaters. DOE adopts 

test methods for electric pool heaters by 

incorporating by reference ASHRAE 

146. In addition, DOE adopts test 

methods for electric heat pump pool 

heaters by incorporating by reference 

AHRI 1160, which provides a method to 

convert the coefficient of performance 

(COP) metric used in that standard to 

the thermal efficiency metric required 

by EPCA. (42 U.S.C. 6291(22)(E)) 

In any rulemaking to amend a test 

procedure, DOE must determine to what 

extent, if any, the proposed test 

procedure would alter the measured 

energy efficiency of any covered 

product from that determined under the 

existing test procedure. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(e)(1)) For both vented home 

heating equipment and pool heaters, 

DOE has determined that the proposed 

test procedure amendments would have 

a de minimis impact on the products’ 

measured efficiency. A full discussion 

of the rationale for this conclusion is 

provided in section III.C. 

III. Discussion 

DOE received seven written 

comments in response to the October 

2013 NOPR in addition to the comments 

received during the December 2013 

public meeting. The commenters 

included: AHRI; ASHRAE; Empire 

Comfort Systems (ECS); Intertek; the 

Natural Resources Defense Council 

(NRDC); Raypak; and China WTO/TBT 

National Notification & Enquiry Center, 

Standard and Regulation Researching 

Center, AQSIQ, P.R. China (CWTO). 

These interested parties commented on 

a range of issues, including those DOE 

identified in the October 2013 NOPR, as 

well as several other pertinent issues. 

The issues on which DOE received 

comments, as well as DOE’s responses 

to those comments and the resulting 

changes to the test procedures for 

vented home heating equipment and 

pool heaters, are discussed in the 

following subsections C and D. 

DOE notes that the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia 

(D.C. Circuit) on February 8, 2013, 

issued a decision vacating the DOE 

definition of ‘‘Vented hearth heater’’ at 

10 CFR 430.2 and remanded the issue to 

DOE to interpret the challenged 

provisions consistent with the court’s 

opinion.4 As such, DOE amends the 

definition of ‘‘vented home heating 

equipment’’ at 10 CFR 430.2 to remove 

the term ‘‘vented hearth heater.’’ DOE 

did not receive comments related to the 

application of the test procedure to 

vented hearth heaters in response to the 

October 2013 NOPR. DOE plans to 

address the vented hearth heaters test 

procedure in a separate rulemaking. 

A. Products Covered by This Final Rule 

The amendments in this final rule 

cover those products that meet the 

definitions for vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters, as codified 

in 10 CFR 430.2. DOE received no 

comment regarding unvented home 

heating equipment in response to the 

RFI and thus did not propose test 

procedure amendments for these 

products in the October 2013 NOPR. 

Likewise, DOE does not adopt any 

amendments to its test procedure for 

unvented home heating equipment in 

this final rule. 

B. Dates for the Amended Test 

Procedure 

This final rule amends 10 CFR 430.3, 

10 CFR 430.23, Appendix O to subpart 

B of part 430, and Appendix P to 

subpart B of part 430. The amendments 

to 10 CFR 430.3 and 10 CFR 430.23 are 

effective 30 days after publication of 

this final rule. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 

6293(c)(2), effective 180 days after DOE 

prescribes or establishes a new or 

amended test procedure, manufacturers 

must make representations of energy 

efficiency, including certifications of 

compliance, using that new or amended 

test procedure. Accordingly, all 

representations of energy efficiency, 

including certifications of compliance, 

must be based on testing conducted in 

accordance with the amended Appendix 

O and Appendix P as of 180 days after 

publication of the test procedure final 

rule. 

C. Test Procedure for Direct Heating 

Equipment 

This final rule amends DOE’s test 

procedures for vented heaters to account 

for this condensing technology. 

Condensing technology is a design 

strategy that increases the efficiency of 

a heating appliance by extracting 

additional thermal energy from the flue 

gases, causing the water vapor created 

in the combustion process to condense. 

The provisions regarding condensing 

technology for vented home heating 

equipment are essentially the same as 

those contained in ASHRAE 103–2007. 


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However, because of the numerous 

clarifications and modifications needed 

to apply the condensing technology 

provisions of the industry standard for 

furnaces and boilers to vented home 

heating equipment, DOE incorporates 

the condensing procedures as standalone amendments to DOE’s vented 

home heating equipment test procedure, 

rather than incorporating by reference 

select provisions of ASHRAE 103–2007. 

Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 6293(c), any 

representations of energy consumption 

of vented home heating equipment must 

be based on the final amended test 

procedures 180 days after the 

publication of this test procedure final 

rule in the Federal Register. Until that 

time, manufacturers must make such 

representations based either on the final 

amended test procedures or on the 

previous test procedures, set forth at 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix O, 

revised as of January 1, 2014. 

In response to the October 2013 NOPR 

and during the December 2013 public 

meeting, DOE received comments 

relating to vented home heating 

equipment from five interested parties 

(Intertek, ECS, AHRI, NRDC, and 

ASHRAE). The comments focused on: 

(1) condensate collection test 

procedures, (2) updating incorporations 

by reference to industry standards, and 

(3) other test procedure details. 

Regarding the first issue, commenters 

generally favored incorporating 

condensing technology into the test 

procedure, although some further 

clarifications were requested. Regarding 

the second issue, commenters generally 

favored updating incorporations by 

reference to more recent industry 

standards. As part of DOE’s overall 

review of test procedures, these vented 

home heating equipment amendments 

include a complete updating of 

references to industry standards used in 

the vented home heating equipment test 

procedure and modifications to the test 

procedure as necessary. Finally, 

regarding the third issue, the comments 

primarily concerned clerical, 

typographical, and other minor issues 

present in the existing and proposed test 

procedures. These issues are discussed 

in greater detail below. 

1. Vented Home Heating Equipment 

Employing Condensing Technology 

DOE considered the possibility of 

minimizing the test burden by reducing 

the time required for measuring 

condensate mass during steady-state 

conditions. The test procedure section 

3.8.1 requires that the measurement of 

condensate shall be conducted during 

the thirty-minute period after steadystate conditions have been established. 

DOE received comments from four 

interested parties regarding the order of 

the condensate collection test 

procedures for vented home heating 

equipment. Comments from AHRI, ECS, 

Intertek, and NRDC were generally in 

favor of amending the test procedure to 

account for condensing technology, as 

the technology results in lower energy 

use. AHRI and Intertek both questioned 

the need for separate condensation 

testing as opposed to combining the 

testing with current steady-state testing 

to decrease the test burden. (ECS, No. 7 

at p.1; NRDC, No. 10 at p.1; Intertek, 

Public Meeting Transcript, No. 6 at p. 

14; AHRI, No. 9 at p.1) 

In order to reduce test burden, DOE 

allows for the measurement of 

condensate during the establishment of 

the steady-state conditions (10 CFR part 

430, subpart B, App. O, section 3.8.1) 

rather than after establishing steadystate conditions (10 CFR part 430, 

subpart B, App. O, section 3.1). DOE 

investigated the difference in 

condensate mass collected and the rate 

of condensate production during the 

two separate periods (i.e., during the 

establishment of steady-state conditions 

and once steady-state conditions have 

been reached). Based on the comparison 

of the measurements, DOE has 

determined that there is no significant 

difference in the mass of condensate 

collected or the rate of condensate 

production during the two separate 

periods. Therefore, DOE concurs with 

AHRI and Intertek’s comments that the 

condensation collection may be 

performed during the steady-state test. 

Accordingly, DOE adopts provisions 

that allow for performance of the steadystate condensate collection test set forth 

in section 3.8.1 during the steady-state 

test set out in section 3.1 of the test 

procedure. DOE amends Appendix O by 

adding section 3.8.1 to allow the option 

for condensate measurements either 

concurrently with or immediately after 

completion of the steady-state test. 

AHRI commented that the margin of 

error for a measurement of condensate 

mass (MC,SS) should not be more than 

±0.5 percent and that section 2 of the 

existing test procedure should be 

modified to include this language. 

(AHRI, No.9 at p.1) DOE agrees with the 

comment from AHRI as this margin of 

error for the measurement of condensate 

mass is consistent with the margin of 

error provided in the residential furnace 

and boiler test procedures. DOE is using 

the language from section 6.6 of 

ASHRAE 103–2007 for this clarification. 

DOE placed this phrasing in section 

3.8.1 of the new test procedure instead 

of in section 2. 

Empire Comfort Systems and AHRI 

commented that there is no guidance in 

the existing test procedure specifying 

the mode in which to test units, 

especially condensing units, shipped 

with multiple control modes. Further, 

AHRI recommended that DOE add a 

provision specifying that models that 

provide consumers with the capability 

to operate the heater in more than one 

mode should be tested using the mode 

that represents the least efficient 

operation. AHRI specifically mentioned 

the need for clarification when a unit 

has a manual mode and a thermostatcontrolled, step-modulating mode and 

stated that the selection of the 

operational mode for testing affects the 

AFUE rating. (AHRI, No.9 at p.3; ECS, 

No. 7 p.2; ECS, Public Meeting 

Transcript, No. 6, p.18–19) 

DOE agrees that a clarification is 

necessary regarding in which control 

mode to test when multiple options are 

present, particularly when a unit is 

capable of both automatic and manual 

modes. Automatic mode indicates that 

the unit has thermostat control and 

operates using single-stage, two-stage, or 

step-modulating controls. In manual 

mode the unit is controlled by the user. 

Because these appliances are most often 

operated in automatic mode when both 

automatic and manual are available, 

DOE is requiring units capable of both 

automatic and manual control to be 

tested according to the provisions in the 

test procedure for units with automatic 

mode. DOE added section 2.11 to the 

test procedure to implement this 

change. 

ECS and AHRI submitted comments 

in favor of adopting the ASHRAE 103 

methodology to determine a default flue 

gas draft factor (DF) value for 

condensing units with no off period flue 

losses. This method provides the option 

of testing or assigning a default draft 

factor of 0.05. (AHRI, No.9 at p.1; ECS, 

No. 7 at p.1) 

DOE agrees to include the option of 

testing or assigning a default value for 

the draft factor for units with no 

measureable off period flue losses. 

Adopting this provision is in line with 

the general intent of adopting 

ASHRAE103–2007 methodologies when 

appropriate. It also reduces the testing 

burden by allowing the use of a default 

factor of 0.05 in some cases. 

DOE incorporates a test method based 

on the use of a smoke stick device to 

establish the absence of flow through 

the heat exchanger of vented home 

heating equipment designed with no 

measurable airflow through the heat 

exchanger. This test is used only to 

determine whether the use of the default 

draft factor is appropriate (per sections 


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8.8.3 and 9.10 of ASHRAE 103–2007). 

This test is not intended to determine 

the volume of air moving through the 

heat exchanger. If the test confirms the 

absence of airflow, then the default draft 

factor of 0.05 may be used. If the test 

results indicate the presence of airflow, 

then the draft factor must be determined 

either through testing or as specified in 

Table 1 of 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, 

Appendix O. DOE has implemented 

these changes by adding sections 3.6.1 

and 3.6.2 to the existing test procedure 

and modifying sections 4.1.2 and 4.5.2 

of the existing test procedure by 

incorporating certain provisions from 

sections 8.8.3 and 9.10 of ASHRAE 103– 

2007. 

2. Updating of Industry Reference 

Standards 

ASHRAE commented in favor of the 

DOE proposal to include by reference 

ASHRAE 103–2007, as this standard 

best represents collective industry 

knowledge and best practices. 

(ASHRAE, No. 5 at p.1) Because all 

ASHRAE103–1993 sections referenced 

in this test procedure are identical to the 

2007 version, DOE is incorporating 

those sections from the ASHRAE 103– 

2007 in the final rule in order to 

reference the most current version of the 

standard. 

AHRI commented against the 

proposed change to section 2.1.3 of the 

test procedure, which would reference 

37.1.1 of UL 896 for installing vented 

room heaters, because this reference is 

a standard for oil-fired heaters and 

makes no improvement to the current 

test procedure. AHRI stated the current 

language to use manufacturer’s 

instructions is more appropriate for the 

overall body of units tested. This 

approach reflects the variety of oil- and 

gas-fired appliances and the nature of 

the testing conducted. (AHRI, No. 9 at 

p.2; AHRI, Public Meeting Transcript, 

No. 6 at p.21) DOE agrees that this 

reference change should not be adopted, 

but is adopting slight modifications to 

section 2.1.3 to provide that the unit 

under test must be installed in 

accordance with the manufacturer’s 

installation and operations (I&O) 

manual provided with the unit. 

AHRI commented against the 

proposed change to section 2.3.3 of the 

existing test procedure, which would 

reference Table 1 of ASHRAE 103–2007 

instead of section 2.2, Table VII, of 

ANSI Standard Z21.11.1–1974. AHRI 

proposed instead to reference Table IV 

of ANSI Z21.86. AHRI’s reasoning is 

that the Z21 series of safety standards 

are the source documents for general 

specifications on gases used during the 

testing of gas-fired appliances, including 

Table 1 of ASHRAE 103–1993, which 

comes from Table XI in ANSI Z21.47. 

(AHRI, No. 9 at p.2) DOE agrees with 

this proposal since Z21.86has the 

advantages AHRI has mentioned. The 

reference in section 2.1.3 of the final 

rule is changed to Table IV of ANSI 

Z21.86. 

DOE implements a number of 

additional changes in this final rule. In 

most cases, these changes consist of 

updating incorporations by reference to 

a more current version of industry 

standards. These updates allow for new 

users of the test procedures to execute 

the DOE test procedures without 

depending on outdated standards, 

which may be difficult to obtain. 

In some cases, an update incorporates 

by reference a standard that, in its more 

current version, includes several of the 

standards that are incorporated by 

reference in the existing test procedure 

and used to be published separately, but 

are now combined under a new title. 

One such case is the standard that 

includes the ANSI standards for wall 

furnaces, floor furnaces, and room 

heaters, which were once separate 

standards but are now combined into a 

single standard. This new standard is 

titled, ‘‘Vented Gas-Fired Space Heating 

Appliances’’ and is referred to as ‘‘ANSI 

Z21.86’’ in this final rule. DOE is 

incorporating by reference ANSI 

Z21.86–2008 to specify the testing 

procedures related to circulating air 

adjustments, found in section 2.5 of the 

revised DOE test procedure, and 

location of temperature measuring 

instrumentation, found in section 2.6.1. 

In addition, DOE incorporates by 

reference ANSI Z21.86 to specify the 

installation instructions for direct vent 

(section 6.1.3 and figure 6) and nondirect vent (section 8.1.3 and figure 7 or 

figure 10) wall furnaces. ANSI Z21.86 

does not include installation 

specifications for vented room heaters 

and vented floor furnaces. Accordingly, 

as discussed previously, for vented 

room heaters the manufacturer’s 

recommendations as described in the 

installation and operations (I&O) 

manual provided with the units must be 

used for installation. For vented floor 

furnaces, the requirement in section 

2.1.2 of the current test procedure to 

install vented floor furnaces for testing 

as specified in sections 35.1 through 

35.5 of UL–729–1976 remains materially 

unchanged; the updated UL test 

methods are the same as those in the 

existing test procedure and reflect the 

specific installation requirements of 

each appliance. Although the UL 

standards typically are used for oil-fired 

equipment and the ANSI standards 

typically are used for gas-fired 

equipment, in the existing DOE test 

procedure, where there is no distinction 

between installation provisions, the UL 

standards are cited in application to 

both gas and oil floor furnaces (i.e., 

section 2.1.2). 

DOE incorporates by reference 

ASHRAE 103–2007 in three locations 

within the revised test procedure— 

sections 2.3 Fuel supply, 2.4 Burner 

adjustments, and 3.2 Jacket loss 

measurement—in lieu of three older 

standards incorporated by reference in 

the existing test procedure. DOE is 

updating these references to ASHRAE 

103–2007 because this standard 

incorporates industry consensus 

without the need to depend on other 

references. It is not materially different 

from the test method used in the current 

vented home heating equipment test 

procedure (i.e., the AFUE test method). 

All referenced industry standards are 

listed in 10 CFR 430.3, Materials 

incorporated by reference. DOE 

concludes that these changes and 

updates to materials incorporated by 

reference will neither result in material 

differences in test results nor increase 

test procedure burden. 

The following is a list of the 

shorthand titles and full titles of all the 

referenced standards used in the 

existing test procedure and those used 

in this vented home heating equipment 

test procedure. 

Standards Used in the Existing Test 

Procedures for Vented Home Heating 

Equipment: 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z21.11.1–1974’’ 

means the American National Standard 

for Gas-Fired Room Heaters. 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z21.44–1973’’ means 

the American National Standard for 

Gas-Fired Gravity and Fan Type Direct 

Vent Wall Furnaces. 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z21.48–1976’’ means 

the American National Standard for 

Gas-Fired Gravity and Fan Type Floor 

Furnaces. 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z21.49–1975’’ means 

the American National Standard for 

Gas-Fired Gravity and Fan Type Vented 

Wall Furnaces. 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z91.1–1972’’ means 

the American National Standard for 

Performance Standards for Oil-Powered 

Central Furnaces. 

‘‘ANSI Standard Z11.182–1965 

(R1971) (ASTM D 2156–65 (1970))’’ 

means the standard published by the 

American Society of Testing and 

Materials titled, ‘‘Standard Test Method 

for Smoke Density in Flue Gases from 

Burning Distillate Fuels.’’ 

‘‘UL 729–1976’’ means the 

Underwriters Laboratories standard for 

Oil-Fired Floor Furnaces. 


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‘‘UL 730–1974’’ means the 

Underwriters Laboratories standard for 

Oil-Fired Wall Furnaces. 

‘‘UL 896–1973’’ means the 

Underwriters Laboratories standard for 

Oil-Burning Stoves. 

Standards Used in the Amended Test 

Procedure for Vented Home Heating 

Equipment: 

‘‘ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 103–2007’’ 

means the test standard published by 

the American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning 

Engineers titled, ‘‘Method of Test for 

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of 

Residential Central Furnaces and 

Boilers.’’ 

‘‘ANSI Z21.86–2008’’ means the 

standard published by the American 

National Standards Institute titled, 

‘‘Vented Gas-Fired Space Heating 

Appliances.’’ 

‘‘ASTM D2156–09’’ means the 

standard published by the American 

Society of Testing and Materials titled, 

‘‘Standard Test Method for Smoke 

Density in Flue Gases from Burning 

Distillate Fuels.’’ 

‘‘UL 729–2003’’ means the test 

standard published by the Underwriters 

Laboratory, Inc. titled, ‘‘Standard for 

Safety for Oil-Fired Floor Furnaces.’’ 

‘‘UL 730–2003’’ means the test 

standard published by the Underwriters 

Laboratory, Inc. titled, ‘‘Standard for 

Safety for Oil-Fired Wall Furnaces.’’ 

3. Other Issues 

AHRI and ECS commented on three 

typographical errors. First, in the 

October 2013 NOPR, the denominator of 

the equation for LC,SS in section 4.1.6.2 

and the denominator of the equation for 

LC in section 4.1.6.4 were supposed to 

read ‘‘1053.3’’ but instead read ‘‘1053’’ 

and the missing ‘‘.3’’ was erroneously 

placed at the end of the equation. 

Second, the variable CT* had been 

replaced with the number ‘‘100’’ in the 

MS,OFF and MF,OFF equations in 4.3.3 

and 4.5.1in the existing test procedure. 

Finally, values for DS for system 

numbers 9 through 12 were omitted in 

Table 1 from the existing test procedure. 

(AHRI, No.9 at p.2; AHRI, Public 

Meeting Transcript, No. 6, p.27; ECS, 

No. 7 p.1–2; ECS Public Meeting 

Transcript, No. 6, p.17) DOE recognizes 

the errors as clerical. DOE found that 

the first error resulted from the 

conversion to publishing format and 

that the error is not present in the 

original document. DOE has corrected 

this error and to prevent future errors, 

DOE will submit equations as images 

and request the printing office review 

the document before publication. 

Regarding the second error, although 

CT* equals 100 when the tracer gas is a 

single component gas, this is not always 

the case. Thus, DOE agrees that the 

‘‘100’’ term should be ‘‘CT*’’ to account 

for instances when the tracer gas is not 

a single component gas. DOE notes that 

this is consistent with the text following 

the equation. Regarding the third error, 

there is no value given for DS for system 

numbers 9 through 12 as these systems 

are direct vent systems to which DS does 

not apply. The value is intentionally 

omitted from subsequent calculations 

and has been changed to ‘‘0’’ for clarity. 

ECS commented that the ANSI 

Z21.86, incorporated by reference in the 

revised test procedure, does not provide 

detailed information about the 

appropriate positioning of 

thermocouple(s) for measuring the flue 

exhaust temperature. (ECS, No. 7 p.1; 

ECS, Public Meeting Transcript, No. 6, 

p.22) DOE disagrees. These details are 

in section 2.6 of the existing test 

procedure. 

ECS and AHRI submitted comments 

in favor of DOE’s proposal to include 

the option to set a jacket loss value for 

vented floor furnaces at a default of one 

percent in lieu of testing. (AHRI, No.9 

at p.2; ECS, No. 7 p.1) DOE is generally 

in favor of simplifying the test 

procedure where results would not be 

affected. In this case, DOE’s testing 

revealed an average jacket loss of 3.05 

percent with a standard deviation of 

0.45 percent. DOE concluded from this 

testing that the proposed default jacket 

loss value of one percent for vented 

floor furnaces, while consistent with 

industry practices for other equipment, 

is too low for this product. However, 

adopting a higher default jacket loss 

value would significantly affect AFUE. 

Therefore, DOE does not introduce an 

optional default jacket loss value for 

vented floor furnaces and continues to 

require testing as described in section 

3.2 of the existing test procedure. 

Intertek and AHRI submitted 

comments in favor of removing the 

requirement to install simulated walls 

and floors for performance testing of 

floor furnaces. The comments argue that 

these requirements are driven by safety 

concerns and have no effect on the 

efficiency ratings, so removing the 

requirement will reduce test burden. 

(AHRI, Public Meeting Transcript, No. 

6, p.23–25; Intertek Public Meeting 

Transcript, No. 6, p.23–25) DOE rejects 

this suggestion primarily because DOE 

has no data to confirm that the 

performance testing is not affected by 

the added walls and floors. 

Furthermore, in DOE’s view, any 

decrease in test burden resulting from 

elimination of this requirement would 

be minimal. Manufacturers are already 

required to install these simulated floors 

and walls during safety testing. As a 

result, any decrease in test burden 

would affect only a small group of 

independent laboratories, if any, that 

only conduct performance testing and 

thus may not have an existing setup. 

Therefore, DOE is retaining these 

requirements in the test procedure. 

DOE corrected other typographical 

errors that are present in the existing 

test procedure. In the equation in 

section 4.3.6 of appendix O, DOE has (1) 

added a missing minus (‘‘-’’) sign 

immediately to the right of the ‘‘CjLj’’; 

(2) replaced the plus (‘‘+’’) sign between 

the two bracketed parts of the equation 

with a multiplication (‘‘X’’) symbol; and 

(3) replaced the second ‘‘Ls,OFF’’ in the 

second bracketed part of the equation 

with ‘‘LI,OFF’’. In section 4.1.15, DOE 

corrects ‘‘equFipped’’ to read 

‘‘equipped’’ and corrects ‘‘therostats’’ to 

read ‘‘thermostats.’’ In section 4.1.8, 

DOE corrects ‘‘drafthood’’ to read ‘‘draft 

hood.’’ These and other typographical 

errors have been corrected in this final 

rule document. These errors are 

obviously typographical in nature, 

because similar efficiency equations in 

other parts of the test procedure, as well 

as those used in industry standards, do 

not include these errors. The relevant 

industry groups have determined the 

correct format of this equation since its 

adoption and have been utilizing the 

correct format when testing and rating 

product efficiency. 

Another issue that was identified 

during DOE’s review is the lack of a 

defining equation in the calculation 

procedures for manually controlled 

vented heaters in section 4.2.4 of the 

existing test procedure. To correct this 

omission, DOE adds an equation 

describing the weighted average steadystate efficiency (hSS¥WT) in terms of the 

latent and sensible losses to section 

4.2.4.1. 

DOE identified several additional 

sections of the existing test procedure 

that require clarification. Section 2.9 

states, ‘‘maintain the room temperature 

within ± 5 °F (±2.8°C) of the value TRA

measured during the steady-state 

performance test.’’ However, while 

section 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 explain to 

establish steady state using three 

successive readings of the stack or flue 

gas temperature taken 15 minutes apart, 

it does not indicate at what time the 

variable TRA is established (or whether 

it is an average). DOE clarifies that 

while the room temperature must be 

continuously monitored in order to 

meet the conditions specified in section 

2.9, TRA is to be measured in 

coincidence with the third of the three 

successive 15-minute interval readings 

of the stack or flue gas temperatures 


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taken during the steady-state tests 

(sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2). Likewise, the 

measurement of additional variables 

(TS,SS, XCO2S, TF,SS, XCO2F) described in 

section 3.1 are to coincide with the third 

of these three successive 15-minute 

interval readings. 

DOE also identified that the 

requirements in section 2.9 for 

combustion air and draft relief air 

temperatures require clarification. 

Section 2.9 states that the ‘‘temperature 

of the air for combustion and the air for 

draft relief shall not differ more than ± 

5 °F from room temperature as 

measured above.’’ DOE clarifies that this 

means these temperatures shall not 

differ more than ± 5 °F from the room 

ambient temperature at any point in 

time; it does not mean ± 5 °F with 

respect to the measurement TRA. DOE 

also clarifies that this requirement for 

the combustion air does not apply 

during the cool-down tests of sections 

3.3 and 3.6. These tests are conducted 

during shut-down of the unit, when 

maintaining requirements for 

combustion air temperatures are 

unnecessary. 

DOE clarifies in sections 4.1.2 and 

4.1.3 that the flue and stack draft factors 

may be obtained through the test 

method and calculations in sections 3.6 

and 4.5, respectively, or by using the 

appropriate default factors from Table 1. 

The final issue identified by DOE was 

to clarify the applicability of the testing 

and calculation method in sections 3.3 

and 4.3 (tracer gas method) for units 

without a thermal stack damper. The 

test procedure currently prescribes that 

units without thermal stack dampers be 

rated using the calculation method in 

section 4.1 or 4.2 depending on the 

control type. Section 4.3 incorrectly 

states that as an optional procedure all 

vented heaters without thermal stack 

dampers can elect to use the AFUE 

calculation method described in 4.3. 

DOE reviewed the use of the tracer gas 

method as described in 4.3 for units 

without thermal stack dampers. DOE 

believes manufacturers do not use the 

tracer gas method to test units without 

thermal stack dampers and do not use 

such testing results to calculate the 

AFUE for such units. In previous 

rulemakings for vented home heating 

equipment, DOE did not receive public 

comments regarding the applicability of 

section 4.3, and DOE has not received 

waiver requests that would indicate that 

there are any instances in which the 

calculation methods of 4.1 cannot be 

used for units without thermal stack 

dampers, suggesting that an alternative 

test method is unnecessary for these 

units. 

DOE performed testing on several 

representative units to determine the 

applicability of sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 

to units with and without stack 

dampers. The AFUE values were 

generated twice for each unit, once 

using the results from the tracer gas 

method, and once using the calculation 

method in 4.1 (for units equipped 

without manual controls or thermal 

stack dampers) or 4.2 (for models 

equipped with manual controls). The 

results are presented in Table 3.1 below 

and show an average 2.6 percent higher 

AFUE when using the tracer gas method 

in section 4.3 as opposed to the 

calculation method in 4.1. 

TABLE 3.1—DIFFERENCE IN AFUE IN

UNITS OF VENTED HOME HEATING

EQUIPMENT WHEN TESTED USING

TRACER GAS METHOD AND STANDARD METHOD

Difference in 

AFUE 

Unit A .................................... 3.3 

Unit B .................................... 3.2 

Unit C .................................... 1.2 

The sign of the AFUE change is 

consistent with the operation of the 

system with the stack damper removed 

or forced open because the flue gases 

would more freely move with the 

damper open resulting in higher loss. 

This fundamental design difference 

along with the differences in AFUE 

values from the testing show that the 

calculation methods are not equivalent 

and so only one should be allowed for 

each design. 

Further, 10 CFR 430.23, Test 

procedures for the measurement of 

energy and water consumption, states 

clearly that the tracer gas calculation 

method in section 4.3 applies to ‘‘vented 

heaters equipped with thermal stack 

dampers,’’ and that section 4.1 applies 

to vented heaters ‘‘without either 

manual controls or thermal stack 

dampers.’’ Thus, DOE considers this a 

clarification of, rather than a 

modification to, the current test 

procedure. 

For the reasons described previously, 

DOE clarifies that the optional use of the 

tracer gas method does not apply to 

units without thermal stack dampers. 

DOE has determined this clarification 

will not impose any additional burden 

on manufacturers, since units without 

thermal stack dampers are already 

commonly rated using the calculation 

method in 4.1 or 4.2. Moreover, DOE 

has determined that disallowing the 

tracer gas method for units without 

thermal stack dampers will not affect 

efficiency ratings, since it is highly 

unlikely that manufacturers have rated 

units without thermal stack dampers 

using the tracer gas test method 

previously. 

D. Test Procedure for Pool Heaters 

DOE’s existing test procedure for pool 

heaters is found at 10 CFR 430.23(p) and 

10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix P 

(existing test procedure). 

In its definition of ‘‘efficiency 

descriptor,’’ EPCA specifies that for pool 

heaters, the efficiency descriptor shall 

be ‘‘thermal efficiency’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6291(22)(E)). Current energy 

conservation standards for pool heaters 

do not account for standby mode and off 

mode energy use. As part of a recent test 

procedure rulemaking, DOE prescribed 

a new efficiency metric for pool heaters, 

titled ‘‘integrated thermal efficiency.’’ 

77 FR 74559 (Dec. 17, 2012). This 

prescribed integrated thermal efficiency 

(TEI) metric builds on the existing 

thermal efficiency metric to include 

electrical energy consumption during 

standby mode and off mode operation, 

as required by EISA 2007. (42 U.S C. 

6295(gg)(2)(A)) 

Because certain types of pool heaters 

are powered by energy sources other 

than gas, DOE requested comments in 

the October 2011 RFI regarding the 

appropriateness of prescribing the 

currently incorporated ANSI Z21.56 test 

method, titled ‘‘Gas-Fired Pool Heaters,’’ 

for testing pool heaters that operate with 

electricity (including electric heat pump 

pool heaters) or oil. 76 FR 63211, 

63215–16 (Oct. 12, 2011). In the October 

2011 RFI, DOE tentatively concluded 

that the test procedure for pool heaters 

at 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix 

P already contains provisions to allow 

the ANSI Z21.56 test method to be 

applied to oil-fired pool heaters, and, 

therefore, no further action is necessary 

for those products. DOE received no 

comments that were contrary to this 

conclusion. 

Prior to the October 2011 RFI, in a 

December 2009 NOPR for energy 

conservation standards for heating 

products, DOE concluded that, as 

currently drafted, the DOE test 

procedure for pool heaters is not 

suitable for measuring energy efficiency 

for electric pool heaters (including 

electric heat pump pool heaters). 74 FR 

65852, 65866–67 (Dec. 11, 2009). In the 

October 2011 RFI, DOE noted that for 

electric pool heaters (including those 

units using electric heat pump 

technology), the fuel source is electricity 

(measured in watts) instead of gas 

(measured in Btu/h), but ‘‘thermal 

efficiency,’’ as required under EPCA and 

determined using ANSI Z21.56, is a 


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5See Dep’t of Energy, Heat Pump Swimming Pool 

Heaters (May 29, 2012), http://energy.gov/

energysaver/articles/heat-pump-swimming-poolheaters Dep’t of Energy, Gas Swimming Pool 

Heaters (June 10, 2014), http://energy.gov/

energysaver/articles/gas-swimming-pool-heaters. 

6See In the Swim, Calculating Approximate 

Heater Size, https://www.intheswim.com/landing/

whichsizeheater.aspx. 

7See AquaCal, How Can I Size My Swimming 

Pool Heat Pump? (July 22, 2013), http://

www.aquacal.com/blog/post/127-How-Can-I-SizeMy-Swimming-Pool-Heat-Pump-. 

measure of heat delivered to the water 

at the heater outlet (in Btu/h) divided by 

the heat input (in Btu/h) of the fuel. 76 

FR 63211, 63215 16 (Oct. 12, 2011). It 

is technologically feasible to develop an 

integrated thermal efficiency rating for 

an electric heat pump pool heater by 

converting the power input in watts to 

the input in Btu/h (which can be done 

for both the power used during active 

mode and the power used during 

standby mode and off mode). 

Currently, electric heat pumps for 

space heating are typically rated using 

industry standards for coefficient of 

performance (COP). DOE notes that 

when an integrated thermal efficiency 

metric as described above is applied to 

electric heat pump pool heaters, the 

calculated results are efficiency ratings 

of more than 100 percent. This may 

necessitate some reeducation among 

consumers to alleviate any confusion 

resulting from changing labeling from 

COP to integrated thermal efficiency. 

Furthermore, the test procedure still 

includes provisions for calculating heat 

pump pool heater COP. Another 

consideration for electric heat pump 

pool heaters is that performance 

depends upon the ambient temperature 

and humidity, so environmental 

conditions for testing are much more 

important for electric heat pump pool 

heaters than for gas-fired pool heaters, 

oil-fired pool heaters, or electric 

resistance pool heaters. 

In response to the October 2013 NOPR 

and during the December 2013 public 

meeting, DOE received comments from 

four interested parties (Raypak, AHRI, 

NRDC, and CWTO). The comments 

focused primarily on the inclusion of 

electric resistance and electric heat 

pump pool heaters into the pool heater 

test procedure. The main issues of 

concern stem from implementing 

common metrics over all pool heater 

types. More specifically, the base 

operating hours, efficiency metrics, and 

different features of electric resistance 

and electric heat pump pool heaters as 

compared to traditional gas fired pool 

heaters drew comments and discussion. 

1. Electric Pool Heaters 

AHRI commented that the 

nomenclature in the proposed 

subsection 1.6, ‘Hybrid Pool Heater,’ in 

which the term ‘hybrid’ refers to a 

combination gas and electric pool 

heater, may cause confusion because 

hybrid is already used to refer to an 

electric heat pump for other product 

classes. (AHRI, Public Meeting 

Transcript, No. 6 at p. 33–34) DOE 

found that the term hybrid most 

commonly refers to pool heaters that use 

solar energy in conjunction with a 

traditional gas or electric pool heater. In 

addition, certain electric heat pump 

pool heaters and combination electric 

heat pump and electric resistance 

heating pool heaters are referred to as 

hybrid heat pumps. DOE reviewed this 

issue and found that appliances that 

used the term hybrid or a variant of it 

have relatively low market penetration. 

Furthermore, other appliances that use 

the term ‘‘hybrid,’’ or a variant of it, 

generally have an additional qualifier 

such as ‘‘hybrid solar pool heater’’ or 

‘‘hybrid heat pump.’’ Given that gas 

pool heaters and electric heat pump 

pool heaters comprise the large majority 

of pool heaters today, DOE believes that 

‘hybrid pool heater’ is an intuitive name 

for a pool heater that combines the 

functionality of gas and electric heat 

pump pool heaters. Therefore, DOE is 

adopting this nomenclature. 

In response to DOE’s proposal to 

introduce the integrated thermal 

efficiency metric as an efficiency 

descriptor for pool heaters, Raypak 

commented that implementing a new 

metric has the potential to confuse 

customers and will create a significant 

burden on pool heater manufacturers, 

which are primarily small business 

entities. In addition, Raypak commented 

that thermal efficiency does not address 

energy prices. (Raypak, No. 8 at pp. 1– 

2) 

DOE believes that the confusion to 

customers caused by the introduction of 

the new integrated thermal efficiency 

metric should be minimal, as other 

parameters such as COP can continue to 

be used in the manufacturers’ literature 

if such parameters are determined 

pursuant to the applicable DOE test 

procedure. DOE does not believe that 

implementing the integrated thermal 

efficiency metric represents an undue 

burden on manufacturers. The 

integrated thermal efficiency metric 

incorporates the COP as determined by 

the current industry standard AHRI 

1160 and therefore changes in test setup or methods will be minimal. Also, 

DOE does not recognize the changes in 

labeling as unduly burdensome. DOE 

agrees that the new integrated thermal 

efficiency metric does not directly 

address energy price. However, it is 

DOE’s intent for this metric to provide 

information about the unit’s efficiency, 

not overall cost to the consumer. 

Therefore, DOE is not incorporating 

energy price into the integrated thermal 

efficiency metric. 

AHRI and Raypak commented that the 

current burner operating hour (BOH) 

value of 104 hours is inappropriate for 

this test procedure as it is specific to 

gas-fired pool heaters. They further state 

that the current BOH value does not 

apply to heat pump pool heaters 

because of typical industry sizing 

conventions, which are that gas-fired 

pool heaters have a significantly higher 

heating capacity than heat pump pool 

heaters sized for the same pool. (AHRI, 

No. 9 at p. 3; Raypak, No. 8 at p. 1) 

Regarding the use of an average 

burner operating hours (BOH) value of 

104 hours, DOE understands that the 

output capacity of the pool heater is 

typically selected based on the specific 

pool characteristics, namely pool size 

(surface area) and the ambient 

conditions.5 DOE found that some pool 

heater sizing conventions list similar 

sizing guidelines for both gas-fired 6 and 

electric heat pump 7 pool heaters. 

Therefore, if a pool heater’s output 

capacity is properly selected relative to 

the pool’s load requirement, then the 

actual burner operating time will be 

similar whether gas-fired or electric. 

Therefore, DOE is not changing the BOH 

value for electric heat pump pool 

heaters. 

AHRI commented that the integrated 

thermal efficiency metric is not 

appropriate for many reasons, 

including, primarily, that standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption in 

pool heaters provides no heating benefit 

and distorts the relevance of thermal 

efficiency ratings. AHRI also provided 

potential alternatives, such as using 

heating seasonal efficiency (EFFYHS) or 

simply modifying the existing average 

annual electrical energy consumption 

(EAE) calculation. (AHRI, No. 9 at pp. 

5–6) 

EPCA requires DOE to include the 

standby energy consumption in the 

existing metrics unless ‘‘such an 

integrated test procedure is technically 

infeasible.’’ (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A)) 

Previous test procedures also accounted 

for the standby energy consumption for 

pool heaters with continuous pilot 

lights in the EFFYHS term. However, 

EFFYHS is not appropriate as a naming 

convention for the new metric because 

it is specific to the heating season and 

the new metric also includes nonheating season effects. 

AHRI’s suggestion to modify the EAE

calculation is consistent with the test 

procedure in this final rule. The standby 


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and off mode electrical energy is 

accounted for in EAE,Standby,off, which is 

a component of EAE. However, EAE does 

not include fuel energy consumption 

and is therefore not a comprehensive 

energy efficiency metric for all pool 

heaters. The TEI metric is a more 

complete representation of the energy 

efficiency of pool heaters because it 

includes both fuel and electricity energy 

consumption. 

AHRI also commented that the new 

integrated thermal efficiency metric 

cannot be used for sizing. (AHRI, No. 9 

at pp. 3–6) DOE agrees that pool heaters 

should not be sized based on integrated 

thermal efficiency. Instead, pool heaters 

should be sized based on the pool heater 

capacity and the thermal efficiency (ET), 

which is part of this test procedure, and 

can continue to be used for sizing. DOE 

also points out that the industry can use 

thermal efficiency in addition to 

integrated thermal efficiency when 

communicating marketing and sizing 

information to consumers. 

AHRI further commented that 

prescribing TEI as the new energy 

efficiency metric will impose an 

enormous and needless burden on 

manufacturers and disrupt the 

marketplace. (AHRI, No. 9 at pp. 3–6) 

DOE believes that the additional testing 

burdens of measuring standby are 

minimal. Specifically, the test 

procedure specifies monitoring the 

standby energy consumption for an 

additional 60 minutes using the existing 

set-up for other parts of the test 

procedures. In addition, AHRI 

commented that they recognize the 2007 

amendments to EPCA allow DOE 

latitude and discretion to prescribe a 

separate test procedure to determine 

standby mode and off mode energy use, 

as well as a separate energy 

conservation standard for standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption. 

AHRI further interprets this to mean 

there is no mandate that DOE must 

integrate the standby and off mode 

consumption into the thermal 

efficiency, citing Sections 325(gg)(3)(B) 

and Subsection 325(gg)(2)(A)(ii). Lastly, 

AHRI suggested the possibility of using 

an annual consumption metric as a 

replacement for thermal efficiency. 

(AHRI, No. 9 at p. 5) 

DOE reviewed this issue and reaffirms 

that in its definition of ‘‘efficiency 

descriptor,’’ EPCA specifies that the 

efficiency descriptor for pool heaters 

shall be ‘‘thermal efficiency.’’ (42 U.S.C. 

6291(22)(E)) EPCA requires DOE to 

include the standby energy 

consumption in the existing metrics 

unless ‘‘such an integrated test 

procedure is technically infeasible.’’ (42 

U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(A)) DOE has the 

option to create a separate standard for 

standby and off mode consumption only 

if incorporation into a standard is ‘‘not 

feasible.’’ (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(3)(B)) In 

the case of pool heaters, DOE 

determined that it is technically feasible 

to measure standby and off mode 

consumption and incorporate those 

measurements into the thermal 

efficiency metric. 

CWTO submitted two comments that 

concern the inclusion of electrical 

power (PE) in the seasonal useful output 

(EOUT) equation. CWTO questioned 

applying thermal efficiency to rated fuel 

input capacity and electrical power in 

section 5.4.3 of the pool heater test 

procedure. CWTO stated that if EOUT

was only based on absorbed heat it 

would be more intuitive. (CWTO, No 11 

at p.3) It is DOE’s position that for all 

pool heaters, contrary to some other 

appliances, the electrical components in 

active mode provide useful energy that 

justifies including them into that 

equation in addition to the more 

familiar QIN. This is true for both gasfired and electric pool heaters. In 

addition, because these components are 

present and active during thermal 

efficiency testing, including their energy 

use in the overall integrated thermal 

efficiency is necessary. This formulation 

also allows for the integration of 

standby and off mode energy 

consumption into the metric. Finally, 

this formulation applies equally to gasfired, oil-fired, electric resistance, and 

electric heat pump pool heaters. 

Through this final rule, DOE adds test 

methods that apply to electric heat 

pump and electric resistance pool 

heaters. DOE amends its pool heater test 

procedure by adding a test method for 

electric heat pump pool heaters that 

references AHRI Standard 1160–2009, 

‘‘Performance Rating of Heat Pump Pool 

Heaters,’’ and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 

146–2011, ‘‘Method of Testing and 

Rating Pool Heaters.’’ In addition, DOE 

amends its pool heater test procedure by 

adding a test method for electric 

resistance pool heaters that references 

ASHRAE146. DOE concludes that 

incorporation of these industry test 

standards is appropriate as they 

represent current best practices for these 

pool heater products. 

Although DOE prescribes amended 

test procedures in this final rule, 

manufacturers are not required to certify 

compliance for electric heat pump and 

electric resistance pool heaters until 

such time as DOE sets minimum energy 

conservation standards for those 

products (which would include energy 

consumption in active, standby, and off 

modes). Prior to DOE setting energy 

conservation standards for electric heat 

pump and electric resistance pool 

heaters, any representations as to the 

energy efficiency or energy use of those 

products made after 180 days after the 

publication of this test procedure final 

rule must be based on this amended test 

procedure. Manufacturers of electric 

heat pump pool heaters may use the 

COP metric as measured by the DOE test 

procedure being adopted in this final 

rule in addition to the integrated 

thermal efficiency metric for making 

efficiency representations. 

2. Other Issues 

In addition to the changes for electric 

pool heaters described in the previous 

section, DOE also clarifies that the DOE 

test procedure is applicable to oil-fired 

pool heaters, despite the incorporation 

of a test method (ANSI Z21.56) titled 

‘‘Gas-Fired Pool Heaters.’’ Section 4.1.1 

of that test method contains a provision 

to compute the energy used when oil is 

the fuel, as opposed to natural gas. In 

addition, DOE is clarifying the 

definition of the equilibrium term used 

in the active mode thermal efficiency 

testing. This clarification has been 

inserted into section 2.1 of existing test 

procedure, as listed in the regulatory 

text. Finally, DOE has added 

clarifications regarding burner input 

rate error, equilibrium conditions, water 

temperature rise, seasonal off switch, 

and recirculating pump to the existing 

test procedure as listed in the regulatory 

text. 

E. Compliance With Other EPCA 

Requirements 

As mentioned in the preamble at 

section II, in amending a test procedure, 

EPCA directs DOE to determine to what 

extent, if any, the amended test 

procedure would alter the measured 

energy efficiency or measured energy 

use of a covered product as determined 

under the current test procedure. (42 

U.S.C. 6293(e)(1)) The current energy 

conservation standards for vented home 

heating equipment and pool heaters are 

based on existing test procedure 

efficiency metrics—AFUE and thermal 

efficiency (Et), respectively. 

The test procedure amendments for 

vented home heating equipment in this 

final rule do not contain changes that 

will alter the measured energy 

efficiency of equipment. Rather, the 

changes represent either clarifications 

that would improve the uniform 

application of the test procedures for 

certain product types or provisions to 

cover new product types. Any change in 

the reported efficiency of currently 

covered products that might be 

associated with these clarifications is 

expected to be de minimis. 


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Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 6293(c), any 

representations of energy consumption 

of vented home heating equipment must 

be based on any final amended test 

procedures no later than 180 days after 

the publication of the test procedure 

final rule in the Federal Register. Until 

that time, manufacturers must make 

such representations based either on the 

final amended test procedure or on the 

previous test procedure, set forth at 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix O as 

contained in 10 CFR parts 200 to 499 

edition revised as of January 1, 2014. 

Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 6291(8), 

representations of energy consumption 

includes representations regarding the 

measures of energy use (including, for 

this product, active mode, standby 

mode, and off mode energy use), annual 

operating cost, energy efficiency 

(including, for this product, AFUE), or 

other measure of energy consumption. 

DOE notes that manufacturers must use 

the same test procedure for all 

representations of energy efficiency, 

including certifications of compliance. 

This final rule does not include any 

changes to the current standby mode 

and off mode testing procedures and 

calculations for vented home heating 

equipment as established in the 

December 2012 final rule. 77 FR 74559 

(Dec. 17, 2012). Although fossil fuel 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption were already captured in 

the existing AFUE metric, the December 

2012 final rule required manufacturers 

to use the new test procedures for 

determining electrical standby mode 

and off mode energy consumption in 

Appendix O beginning on June 17, 

2013. Certifications of compliance with 

the electrical standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption standards are 

not required until the compliance date 

of DOE standards that include electrical 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption. 

The test procedure amendments in 

this final rule for pool heaters do not 

alter the measured efficiency of 

equipment covered by the existing test 

procedure. This final rule provides a 

new test method for electric resistance 

and electric heat pump pool heaters. 

However, electric resistance and electric 

heat pump pool heaters are not 

currently subject to energy conservation 

standards by DOE. Therefore, DOE has 

concluded that there is no need to 

address the impact of these amendments 

on current energy conservation 

standards for pool heaters. 

Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 6293(c), any 

representations of energy consumption 

of pool heaters must be based on any 

final amended procedures and 

calculations in appendix P starting 180 

days after the publication of any final 

amended test procedures in the Federal 

Register. Until that time, manufacturers 

of gas-fired and oil-fired pool heaters 

may make such representations based 

either on the final amended test 

procedures or on the previous test 

procedures, set forth at 10 CFR part 430, 

subpart B, appendix P as contained in 

the 10 CFR parts 200 to 499 edition 

revised as of January 1, 2014. Consistent 

with 42 U.S.C. 6291(8), representations 

of energy consumption include 

representations of measures of energy 

use (including for this product, active 

mode, standby mode, and off mode 

energy use), annual operating cost, 

energy efficiency (including for this 

product, thermal efficiency (Et), or 

integrated thermal efficiency (TEI)), or 

other measure of energy consumption. 

Again, DOE notes that manufacturers 

must use the same test procedure for all 

representations of energy efficiency, 

including certifications of compliance. 

There are currently no energy 

conservation standards for electric 

resistance pool heaters, electric heat 

pump pool heaters, or oil-fired pool 

heaters. Upon the compliance date of 

any final energy conservation standards 

for these types of pool heaters, use of 

any final test procedures in appendix P 

will be required to demonstrate 

compliance. There are also currently no 

energy conservation standards for the 

standby mode and off mode energy use 

of gas-fired pool heaters. Upon the 

compliance date of any energy 

conservation standards that incorporate 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption for gas-fired pool heaters 

(i.e., for this product, a standard 

expressed as integrated thermal 

efficiency (TEI)), use of any final test 

procedures in appendix P will be 

required to demonstrate compliance. 

IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory 

Review 

A. Review Under Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that test procedure 

rulemakings do not constitute 

‘‘significant regulatory actions’’ under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, 

‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review,’’ 58 

FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993). Accordingly, 

this regulatory action is not subject to 

review under the Executive Order by the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

B. Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to the decision in Hearth, 

Patio & Barbecue Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of 

Energy, 706 F.3d 499 (D.C. Cir. 2013), 

DOE removed the definition of ‘‘vented 

hearth heater’’ from 10 CFR 430.2 to 

reflect the Court’s order vacating the 

regulatory definition of ‘‘vented hearth 

heater.’’ 79 FR 43927 (July 29, 2014). As 

such, in this final rule, DOE is removing 

the cross references to ‘‘vented hearth 

heater’’ from the definition of ‘‘vented 

home heating equipment’’ at 10 CFR 

430.2. DOE has determined, pursuant to 

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), that prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this final rule are unnecessary. DOE is 

not exercising any of the discretionary 

authority that the Congress has provided 

to the Secretary of Energy in EPCA. 

DOE, therefore, finds that good cause 

exists to waive prior notice and an 

opportunity to comment for this 

rulemaking. 

C. Review Under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996) requires 

preparation of an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis (IFRA) for any rule 

that by law must be proposed for public 

comment and a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis (FRFA) for any such 

rule that an agency adopts as a final 

rule, unless the agency certifies that the 

rule, if promulgated, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. A 

regulatory flexibility analysis examines 

the impact of the rule on small entities 

and considers alternative ways of 

reducing negative effects. Also, as 

required by Executive Order 13272, 

‘‘Proper Consideration of Small Entities 

in Agency Rulemaking,’’ 67 FR 53461 

(August 16, 2002), DOE published 

procedures and policies on February 19, 

2003, to ensure that the potential 

impacts of its rules on small entities are 

properly considered during the DOE 

rulemaking process. 68 FR 7990. DOE 

has made its procedures and policies 

available on the Office of the General 

Counsel’s Web site at: www.energy.gov/ 

gc. 

This final rule amends DOE’s test 

procedures that will be used to 

determine compliance with energy 

conservation standards for vented home 

heating equipment and pool heaters. For 

vented home heating equipment, the 

amendments add provisions for testing 

models that utilize condensing 

technology and incorporate by reference 

the most appropriate or recent versions 

of several industry standards referenced 

in the DOE test procedure for the 

purposes of test set-up and installation 

specifications. For pool heaters, the 

amendments incorporate by reference 


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8 In the December 2009 NOPR, DOE mistakenly 

listed gas-fired pool heater manufacturing under 

NAICS code 335228. 74 FR 65852, 65984 (Dec. 11, 

2009). The correct classification for pool heater 

manufacturing is NAICS 333414. Both NAICS 

categories have the same 500 employee limit. 9See http://www.ahrinet.org/ahri+members.aspx. 

10See http://www.ahridirectory.org/ahriDirectory/ 

pages/home.aspx. 

11See http://www.appliances.energy.ca.gov/. 12See http://www.hoovers.com/. 

13 ‘‘Lab Technician Salary.’’ Job Search. N.p., n.d. 

Web. 22 Aug. 2014. http://www.indeed.com/salary/ 

Lab-Technician.html. 

AHRI 1160 and ASHRAE 146 to 

establish testing procedures for electric 

(including electric heat pump) pool 

heaters. The amendments for pool 

heaters also clarify the test procedure’s 

applicability to oil-fired pool heaters. 

DOE reviewed this final rule under the 

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act and the policies and procedures 

published on February 19, 2003. 68 FR 

7990. 

1. Reasons for, Objectives of, and Legal 

Basis for the Final Rule 

The reasons for, objectives of, and 

legal basis for the final rule are stated 

elsewhere in the preamble and are not 

repeated here. 

2. Description and Estimated Number of 

Small Entities Regulated 

For the manufacturers of the covered 

products, the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) has set a size 

threshold, which defines those entities 

classified as ‘‘small businesses’’ for the 

purposes of the statute. DOE used the 

SBA’s small business size standards to 

determine whether any small entities 

would be subject to the requirements of 

the rule. 65 FR 30836, 30848–49 (May 

15, 2000), as amended at 65 FR 53533, 

53544–45 (Sept. 5, 2000) and codified at 

13 CFR part 121. The SBA size 

standards are listed by North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

code and industry description and are 

available at http://www.sba.gov/idc/

groups/public/documents/sba_

homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf. 

Vented home heating equipment and 

pool heater manufacturing are classified 

under NAICS 333414—‘‘Heating 

Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) 

Manufacturing.’’ The SBA sets a 

threshold of 500 employees or less for 

an entity to be considered as a small 

business for both of these categories.8

To estimate the number of companies 

that could be small business 

manufacturers of products covered by 

this rulemaking, DOE conducted a 

market survey using available public 

information to identify potential small 

manufacturers. DOE’s research involved 

reviewing several industry trade 

association membership directories 

(e.g., AHRI 9), product databases (e.g., 

AHRI 10 and CEC11 databases), 

individual company Web sites, and 

marketing research tools (e.g., 

Hoovers 12 reports) to create a list of all 

domestic small business manufacturers 

of heating products covered by this 

rulemaking. DOE identified 2 

manufacturers of vented home heating 

equipment and 5 manufacturers of pool 

heaters (including electric heat pump 

pool heater manufacturers) that can be 

considered small businesses. 

3. Description and Estimate of 

Compliance Requirements 

a. Vented Home Heating Equipment 

DOE amends its test procedure for 

vented home heating equipment to 

incorporate by reference the most recent 

or appropriate version of six industry 

standards to replace the outdated 

standards referenced in the existing 

DOE test procedure as described in 

section III. C.2. of this document. These 

updates result in no material change to 

DOE’s test procedure for vented home 

heating equipment. 

In addition, DOE amends the test 

procedure to include a test method to 

determine the AFUE of vented home 

heating equipment that use condensing 

technology. The AFUE test method may 

add a modest cost to testing for 

manufacturers of such products. The 

test can be conducted in the same test 

facility and simultaneous to the former 

AFUE test requirements, but some 

additional testing and calculation is 

required to accurately determine AFUE. 

Specifically, this test procedure requires 

a condensate collection test to be 

conducted on vented heaters utilizing 

condensing technologies. The duration 

of the condensate collection test time 

would be 30 minutes for steady-state 

testing, if conducted subsequent to all 

other steady-state testing and 1–2 hours 

for cyclic testing. In some cases, only 

steady-state testing is required (i.e., all 

manually-controlled vented heaters and 

those vented heaters not utilizing the 

optional tracer gas procedures). In such 

cases, the condensation test provisions 

would not require any additional time 

because the test procedure allows for 

the condensate collection to be 

conducted simultaneously with the 

other steady-state test requirements of 

section 3.1. Vented home heaters are 

tested utilizing the optional tracer gas 

procedures and are required to conduct 

both steady-state and cyclic condensate 

collection procedures. DOE estimates 

that the additional testing for 

condensing units adds a maximum of 

three hours to the AFUE test. DOE 

estimates that lab technicians on 

average, are paid at a rate of $27.50 per 

hour.13 Therefore, DOE estimates the 

added cost will be a maximum of $82.50 

per test unit, which is modest in 

comparison to the overall cost of 

product development and certification. 

b. Pool Heaters 

DOE amends its test procedure for 

pool heaters to adopt provisions for 

testing electric pool heaters, including 

electric heat pump pool heaters. In 

addition, DOE amends the test 

procedure to incorporate by reference 

AHRI 1160 and ASHRAE 146 for both 

electric resistance and electric heat 

pump pool heaters. These pool heaters 

are not currently regulated by DOE, but 

DOE’s research showed that all 

identified domestic small business 

manufacturers of electric heat pump 

pool heaters already rate COP and 

capacity according to the rating 

conditions specified in AHRI 1160 and 

typically at an additional rating point 

outside of the AHRI 1160 test 

conditions. In addition, DOE notes that 

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.1–2010 

contains efficiency levels for electric 

heat pump pool heaters and specifies 

AHRI 1160 as the test method. Several 

States (e.g., Florida, California) also 

have minimum efficiency requirements 

for electric heat pump pool heaters, 

which is another factor that may drive 

manufacturers to rate their products for 

efficiency. Because manufacturers of 

electric heat pump pool heaters are 

already rating their products using 

AHRI 1160 due to the ANSI/ASHRAE 

Standard 90.1–2010 requirements and 

State efficiency requirements, DOE does 

not believe that including an electric 

heat pump pool heater test method that 

references the industry standard will 

cause significant, if any, additional 

burden to manufacturers. The additional 

burdens for measuring standby consist 

of one 60 minute period where the 

electricity use is metered. For a 

technician making an average of $37.50 

per hour, this results in an added cost 

of $37.50, which is not significant in 

comparison to the overall cost of 

product development and certification. 

For electric resistance pool heaters, 

the test method in ASHRAE 146—is 

comparable to that for gas-fired and oilfired pool heaters in the existing DOE 

test method. Since the new test method 

in this final rule is essentially the same 

as the existing test method used by the 

industry and incorporated by reference, 

it is not expected that the new rule will 

add to the burden of manufacturers of 

electric resistance pool heaters. 


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4. Duplication, Overlap, and Conflict 

With Other Rules and Regulations 

DOE is not aware of any rules or 

regulations that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with the rule being adopted 

today. 

5. Significant Alternatives to the Rule 

As noted earlier in the preamble, this 

rule is largely based upon the industry 

testing procedures already in place for 

vented home heating equipment and 

pool heaters. DOE believes the 

amendments will be useful for both 

consumers and industry, and are 

consistent with the Department’s goals 

and statutory requirements, while also 

minimizing the economic burden on 

manufacturers. After a full review of the 

test procedure and comments received 

from the NOPR and public meeting, 

DOE has incorporated changes to the 

vented home heating equipment test 

procedure as discussed in section III. 

and listed in the regulatory text, 

including adding a condensation 

collection test, adding a test to 

determine default draft factor eligibility, 

and updating references to the most 

recent or appropriate version. DOE has 

incorporated changes to the pool heater 

test procedure as listed in the regulatory 

text including adding test provisions for 

electric resistance and electric heat 

pump pool heaters and incorporating a 

new metric, integrated thermal 

efficiency, which incorporates standby 

losses. DOE has determined that there is 

no further need for alternative test 

methods for this test procedure. 

D. Review Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 

Manufacturers of vented home 

heating equipment and pool heaters 

must certify to DOE that their products 

comply with all applicable energy 

conservation standards. In certifying 

compliance, manufacturers must test 

their products according to the DOE test 

procedures for vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters, including 

any amendments adopted for those test 

procedures, on the date that compliance 

is required. DOE has established 

regulations for the certification and 

recordkeeping requirements for all 

covered consumer products and 

commercial equipment, including 

vented home heating equipment and 

pool heaters. 76 FR 12422 (March 7, 

2011). The collection-of-information 

requirement for certification and 

recordkeeping is subject to review and 

approval by OMB under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). This requirement 

has been approved by OMB under OMB 

control number 1910–1400. Public 

reporting burden for the certification is 

estimated to average 30 hours per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

E. Review Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

In this final rule, DOE is amending 

the test procedure that it expects will be 

used to develop and implement future 

energy conservation standards for 

vented home heating equipment and 

pool heaters. DOE has determined that 

this rule falls into a class of actions that 

are categorically excluded from review 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.) and DOE’s implementing 

regulations at 10 CFR part 1021. 

Specifically, this final rule amends the 

existing test procedures without 

affecting the amount, quality, or 

distribution of energy usage, and, 

therefore, would not result in any 

environmental impacts. Thus, this 

rulemaking is covered by Categorical 

Exclusion A5 under 10 CFR part 1021, 

subpart D, which applies to any 

rulemaking that interprets or amends an 

existing rule without changing the 

environmental effect of that rule. 

Accordingly, neither an environmental 

assessment nor an environmental 

impact statement is required. 

F. Review Under Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’ 

64 FR 43255 (August 10, 1999), imposes 

certain requirements on Federal 

agencies formulating and implementing 

policies or regulations that preempt 

State law or that have Federalism 

implications. The Executive Order 

requires agencies to examine the 

constitutional and statutory authority 

supporting any action that would limit 

the policymaking discretion of the 

States, and to carefully assess the 

necessity for such actions. The 

Executive Order also requires agencies 

to have an accountable process to 

ensure meaningful and timely input by 

State and local officials in the 

development of regulatory policies that 

have Federalism implications. On 

March 14, 2000, DOE published a 

statement of policy describing the 

intergovernmental consultation process 

it will follow in the development of 

such regulations. 65 FR 13735. DOE has 

examined this final rule and has 

determined that it will not have a 

substantial direct effect on the States, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. EPCA governs and 

prescribes Federal preemption of State 

regulations as to energy conservation for 

the products that are the subject of this 

final rule. States can petition DOE for 

exemption from such preemption to the 

extent, and based on criteria, set forth in 

EPCA. (42 U.S.C. 6297(d)) No further 

action is required by Executive Order 

13132. 

G. Review Under Executive Order 12988 

Regarding the review of existing 

regulations and the promulgation of 

new regulations, section 3(a) of 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform,’’ 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996), 

imposes on Federal agencies the general 

duty to adhere to the following 

requirements: (1) Eliminate drafting 

errors and ambiguity; (2) write 

regulations to minimize litigation; (3) 

provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard; and (4) promote simplification 

and burden reduction. Regarding the 

review required by section 3(a), section 

3(b) of Executive Order 12988 

specifically requires that Executive 

agencies make every reasonable effort to 

ensure that the regulation: (1) Clearly 

specifies the preemptive effect, if any; 

(2) clearly specifies any effect on 

existing Federal law or regulation; (3) 

provides a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct while promoting 

simplification and burden reduction; (4) 

specifies the retroactive effect, if any; (5) 

adequately defines key terms; and (6) 

addresses other important issues 

affecting clarity and general 

draftsmanship under any guidelines 

issued by the Attorney General. Section 

3(c) of Executive Order 12988 requires 

Executive agencies to review regulations 

in light of applicable standards in 

sections 3(a) and 3(b) to determine 

whether they are met or it is 

unreasonable to meet one or more of 

them. DOE has completed the required 

review and determined that, to the 

extent permitted by law, this final rule 

meets the relevant standards of 

Executive Order 12988. 

H. Review Under the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) requires 


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804 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

each Federal agency to assess the effects 

of Federal regulatory actions on State, 

local, and Tribal governments and the 

private sector. Public Law 104–4, sec. 

201 (codified at 2 U.S.C. 1531). For 

regulatory actions likely to result in a 

rule that may cause the expenditure by 

State, local, and Tribal governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$100 million or more in any one year 

(adjusted annually for inflation), section 

202 of UMRA requires a Federal agency 

to publish a written statement that 

estimates the resulting costs, benefits, 

and other effects on the national 

economy. (2 U.S.C. 1532(a), (b)) The 

UMRA also requires a Federal agency to 

develop an effective process to permit 

timely input by elected officers of State, 

local, and Tribal governments on a 

‘‘significant intergovernmental 

mandate,’’ and requires an agency plan 

for giving notice and opportunity for 

timely input to potentially affected 

small governments before establishing 

any requirements that might 

significantly or uniquely affect them. On 

March 18, 1997, DOE published a 

statement of policy on its process for 

intergovernmental consultation under 

UMRA. 62 FR 12820. (This policy is 

also available at www.gc.doe.gov/gc/

office-general-counsel.) This final rule, 

which modifies the test procedures for 

vented home heating equipment and for 

pool heaters, contains neither an 

intergovernmental mandate, nor a 

mandate that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any year. Accordingly, no further 

assessment or analysis is required under 

UMRA. 

I. Review Under the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105–277) requires 

Federal agencies to issue a Family 

Policymaking Assessment for any rule 

that may affect family well-being. This 

final rule concerning test procedures 

would not have any impact on the 

autonomy or integrity of the family as 

an institution. Accordingly, DOE has 

concluded that it is not necessary to 

prepare a Family Policymaking 

Assessment. 

J. Review Under Executive Order 12630 

Pursuant to Executive Order 12630, 

‘‘Governmental Actions and Interference 

with Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights,’’ 53 FR 8859 (March 18, 1988), 

DOE has determined that this final rule 

will not result in any takings that might 

require compensation under the Fifth 

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

K. Review Under Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2001 

Section 515 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516 note) provides 

for Federal agencies to review most 

disseminations of information to the 

public under information quality 

guidelines established by each agency 

pursuant to general guidelines issued by 

OMB. OMB’s guidelines were published 

at 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002), and 

DOE’s guidelines were published at 67 

FR 62446 (Oct. 7, 2002). DOE has 

reviewed this final rule under the OMB 

and DOE guidelines and has concluded 

that it is consistent with applicable 

policies in those guidelines. 

L. Review Under Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211, ‘‘Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use,’’ 66 FR 28355 (May 

22, 2001), requires Federal agencies to 

prepare and submit to OIRA at OMB, a 

Statement of Energy Effects for any 

significant energy action. A ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ is defined as any action 

by an agency that promulgates or is 

expected to lead to promulgation of a 

final rule, and that: (1) Is a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866, or any successor order; and (2) 

is likely to have a significant adverse 

effect on the supply, distribution, or use 

of energy; or (3) is designated by the 

Administrator of OIRA as a significant 

energy action. For any proposed 

significant energy action, the agency 

must give a detailed statement of any 

adverse effects on energy supply, 

distribution, or use should the proposal 

be implemented, and of reasonable 

alternatives to the action and their 

expected benefits on energy supply, 

distribution, and use. 

This regulatory action to amend the 

test procedure for measuring the energy 

efficiency of vented home heating 

equipment and pool heaters is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866 or any successor 

order. Moreover, it will not have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy, nor has it 

been designated as a significant energy 

action by the Administrator of OIRA. 

Therefore, it is not a significant energy 

action, and, accordingly, DOE has not 

prepared a Statement of Energy Effects 

for this rulemaking. 

M. Review Under Section 32 of the 

Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974 

Under section 301 of the Department 

of Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. 95– 

91; 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), DOE must 

comply with all laws applicable to the 

former Federal Energy Administration, 

including section 32 of the Federal 

Energy Administration Act of 1974 

(Pub. L. 93–275), as amended by the 

Federal Energy Administration 

Authorization Act of 1977 (Pub. L. 95– 

70). (15 U.S.C. 788; FEAA) Section 32 

essentially provides, in relevant part, 

that, where a proposed rule authorizes 

or requires use of commercial standards, 

the notice of proposed rulemaking must 

inform the public of the use and 

background of such standards. In 

addition, section 32(c) requires DOE to 

consult with the Attorney General and 

the Chairman of the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) concerning the 

impact of the commercial or industry 

standards on competition. 

This final rule incorporates testing 

methods contained in the following 

commercial standards: (1) ANSI/

ASHRAE Standard 103–2007, ‘‘Method 

of Test for Annual Fuel Utilization 

Efficiency of Residential Central 

Furnaces and Boilers’’; (2) ANSI 

Z21.86–2008, ‘‘Vented Gas-Fired Space 

Heating Appliances’’; (3) ASTM D2156– 

09, ‘‘Standard Test Method for Smoke 

Density in Flue Gases from Burning 

Distillate Fuels’’; (4) UL 729–2003, 

‘‘Standard for Safety for Oil-Fired Floor 

Furnaces’’; (5) UL 730–2003, ‘‘Standard 

for Safety for Oil-Fired Wall Furnaces’’; 

(6) UL 896–1993, ‘‘Standard for Safety 

for Oil-Burning Stoves’’; (7) AHRI 1160– 

2009, ‘‘Performance Rating of Heat 

Pump Pool Heaters’’; and (8) ANSI/

ASHRAE Standard 146–2011, ‘‘Method 

of Testing and Rating Pool Heaters.’’ 

While the test procedures are not 

exclusively based on these standards, 

components of the test procedures are 

adopted directly from these standards 

without amendment. The Department 

has evaluated these standards and is 

unable to conclude whether they fully 

comply with the requirements of section 

32(b) of the FEAA, (i.e., that they were 

developed in a manner that fully 

provides for public participation, 

comment, and review). DOE has 

consulted with the Attorney General 

and the Chairman of the FTC 

concerning the impact on competition 

of requiring manufacturers to use the 

test methods contained in these 

standards, and neither recommended 

against incorporation of these standards. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 805 

N. Congressional Notification 

As required by 5 U.S.C. 801, DOE will 

report to Congress on the promulgation 

of this rule before its effective date. The 

report will state that it has been 

determined that the rule is not a ‘‘major 

rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

V. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this final rule. 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Energy conservation, 

Household appliances, Imports, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Small 

businesses. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

23, 2014. 

Kathleen B. Hogan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DOE amends part 430 of 

Chapter II, Subchapter D of Title 10, 

Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth 

below: 

PART 430—ENERGY CONSERVATION 

PROGRAM FOR CONSUMER 

PRODUCTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 430 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291–6309; 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note. 

■ 2. Section 430.2 is amended by 

revising the definition of ‘‘vented home 

heating equipment or vented heater’’ to 

read as follows: 

§ 430.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Vented home heating equipment or 

vented heater means a class of home 

heating equipment, not including 

furnaces, designed to furnish warmed 

air to the living space of a residence, 

directly from the device, without duct 

connections (except that boots not to 

exceed 10 inches beyond the casing may 

be permitted) and includes: vented wall 

furnace, vented floor furnace, and 

vented room heater. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 430.3 is amended by: 

■ a. Redesignating paragraphs (d)(18) as 

(d)(19), (t) as (v), and (i) through (s) as 

(j) through (t), respectively; and 

■ b. Adding paragraphs (b)(2), (d)(18), 

(f)(13), (i), and (u). 

■ c. Revising paragraph (f)(11). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 430.3 Materials incorporated by 

reference. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) AHRI Standard 1160–2009 (‘‘AHRI 

1160’’), Performance Rating of Heat 

Pump Pool Heaters, 2009, IBR approved 

for appendix P to subpart B. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(18) ANSI Z21.86–2008, (‘‘ANSI 

Z21.86’’), Vented Gas-Fired Space 

Heating Appliances, Fifth Edition, 

approved March 28, 2008, IBR approved 

for appendix O to subpart B. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(11) ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 103– 

2007, (‘‘ASHRAE 103–2007’’), Method 

of Testing for Annual Fuel Utilization 

Efficiency of Residential Central 

Furnaces and Boilers, ANSI approved 

March 25, 2008, IBR approved for 

appendices O and AA to subpart B. 

* * * * * 

(13) ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 146– 

2011 (‘‘ASHRAE 146’’), Method of 

Testing and Rating Pool Heaters, 

ASHRAE approved February 2, 2011, 

IBR approved for appendix P to subpart 

B. 

* * * * * 

(i) ASTM. American Society for 

Testing and Materials International, 100 

Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West 

Conshohocken, PA 19428–2959 

(www.astm.org) 

(1) ASTM D2156–09, (‘‘ASTM 

D2156’’), Standard Test Method for 

Smoke Density in Flue Gases from 

Burning Distillate Fuels, ASTM 

approved December 1, 2009, IBR 

approved for appendix O to subpart B. 

(2) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

(u) UL. Underwriters Laboratories, 

Inc., 2600 NW. Lake Rd., Camas, WA 

98607–8542 (www.UL.com) 

(1) UL 729–2003 (‘‘UL 729’’), 

Standard for Safety for Oil-Fired Floor 

Furnaces, Sixth Edition, dated August 

29, 2003, including revisions through 

April 22, 2010, IBR approved for 

appendix O to subpart B. 

(2) UL 730–2003 (‘‘UL 730’’), 

Standard for Safety for Oil-Fired Wall 

Furnaces, Fifth Edition, dated August 

29, 2003, including revisions through 

April 22, 2010, IBR approved for 

appendix O to subpart B. 

(3) UL 896–1993 (‘‘UL 896’’), 

Standard for Safety for Oil-Burning 

Stoves, Fifth Edition, dated July 29, 

1993, including revisions through May 

7, 2010, IBR approved for appendix O 

to subpart B. 

■ 4. Section 430.23 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (o) and (p) to read 

as follows: 

§ 430.23 Test procedures for the 

measurement of energy and water 

consumption. 

* * * * * 

(o) Vented home heating equipment. 

(1) When determining the annual fuel 

utilization efficiency (AFUE) of vented 

home heating equipment (see the note at 

the beginning of appendix O), expressed 

in percent (%), calculate AFUE in 

accordance with section 4.1.17 of 

appendix O of this subpart for vented 

heaters without either manual controls 

or thermal stack dampers; in accordance 

with section 4.2.6 of appendix O of this 

subpart for vented heaters equipped 

with manual controls; or in accordance 

with section 4.3.7 of appendix O of this 

subpart for vented heaters equipped 

with thermal stack dampers. 

(2) When estimating the annual 

operating cost for vented home heating 

equipment, calculate the sum of: 

(i) The product of the average annual 

fuel energy consumption, in Btus per 

year for natural gas, propane, or oil 

fueled vented home heating equipment, 

determined according to section 4.6.2 of 

appendix O of this subpart, and the 

representative average unit cost in 

dollars per Btu for natural gas, propane, 

or oil, as appropriate, as provided 

pursuant to section 323(b)(2) of the Act; 

plus 

(ii) The product of the average annual 

auxiliary electric energy consumption in 

kilowatt-hours per year determined 

according to section 4.6.3 of appendix O 

of this subpart, and the representative 

average unit cost in dollars per kilowatthours as provided pursuant to section 

323(b)(2) of the Act. Round the resulting 

sum to the nearest dollar per year. 

(3) When estimating the operating 

cost per million Btu output for gas or oil 

vented home heating equipment with an 

auxiliary electric system, calculate the 

product of: 

(i) The quotient of one million Btu 

divided by the sum of: 

(A) The product of the maximum fuel 

input in Btus per hour as determined in 

sections 3.1.1 or 3.1.2 of appendix O of 

this subpart times the annual fuel 

utilization efficiency in percent as 

determined in sections 4.1.17, 4.2.6, or 

4.3.7 of this appendix (as appropriate) 

divided by 100, plus 

(B) The product of the maximum 

electric power in watts as determined in 

section 3.1.3 of appendix O of this 

subpart times the quantity 3.412; and 

(ii) The sum of: 

(A) the product of the maximum fuel 

input in Btus per hour as determined in 


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806 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

sections 3.1.1 or 3.1.2 of this appendix 

times the representative unit cost in 

dollars per Btu for natural gas, propane, 

or oil, as appropriate, as provided 

pursuant to section 323(b)(2) of the Act; 

plus 

(B) the product of the maximum 

auxiliary electric power in kilowatts as 

determined in section 3.1.3 of appendix 

O of this subpart times the 

representative unit cost in dollars per 

kilowatt-hour as provided pursuant to 

section 323(b)(2) of the Act. Round the 

resulting quantity to the nearest 0.01 

dollar per million Btu output. 

(p) Pool heaters. (1) Determine the 

thermal efficiency (Et) of a pool heater 

expressed as a percent (%) in 

accordance with section 5.1 of appendix 

P to this subpart. 

(2) Determine the integrated thermal 

efficiency (TEI) of a pool heater 

expressed as a percent (%) in 

accordance with section 5.4 of appendix 

P to this subpart. 

(3) When estimating the annual 

operating cost of pool heaters, calculate 

the sum of: 

(i) The product of the average annual 

fossil fuel energy consumption, in Btus 

per year, determined according to 

section 5.2 of appendix P to this 

subpart, and the representative average 

unit cost in dollars per Btu for natural 

gas or oil, as appropriate, as provided 

pursuant to section 323(b)(2) of the Act; 

plus 

(ii) The product of the average annual 

electrical energy consumption in 

kilowatt-hours per year determined 

according to section 5.3 of appendix P 

to this subpart and converted to 

kilowatt-hours using a conversion factor 

of 3412 Btus = 1 kilowatt-hour, and the 

representative average unit cost in 

dollars per kilowatt-hours as provided 

pursuant to section 323(b)(2) of the Act. 

Round the resulting sum to the nearest 

dollar per year. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Appendix O to subpart B of part 

430 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising the note at the beginning 

of appendix O; 

■ b. Redesignating section 1.33 

(following 1.37) as 1.39; 

■ c. Redesignating sections 1.5 through 

1.37 as 1.6 through 1.38; 

■ d. Adding section 1.5; 

■ e. Revising sections 1.27, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 

2.1.3, 2.2.2; 

■ f. Adding section 2.2.4; 

■ g. Revising section 2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3, 

2.3.4, 2.4.2, 2.5.1; 

■ h. Removing in section 2.6.1 in the 

last paragraph ‘‘ANSI Z21.49–1975, 

section 2.14.’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘Part VIII section 8.7 of ANSI Z21.86 

(incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.3)’’; 

■ i. Removing in section 2.6.2 in the 

first paragraph ‘‘Figure 34.4 of UL 730– 

1974, or Figures 35.1 and 35.2 of UL 

729–1976’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘Figure 36.4 of UL 730, or Figure 38.1 

and 38.2 of UL 729 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3)’’ and removing in 

the last paragraph ‘‘sections 35.12 

through 35.17 of UL 730–1974’’ and 

adding in its place ‘‘sections 37.5.8 

through 37.5.18 of UL 730 (incorporated 

by reference, see § 430.3)’’; 

■ j. Revising section 2.9; 

■ k. Adding section 2.11; 

■ l. Revising sections 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2, 

3.3; 

■ m. Adding sections 3.6.1, 3.6.2, 

3.6.2.1, 3.6.2.2, 3.6.2.2.1, 3.6.2.2.2, 

3.6.2.3, 3.6.2.4, 3.6.2.4.1, 3.6.2.4.2, 

3.6.2.4.3, 3.8, 3.8.1, 3.8.2; 

■ n. Revising sections 4.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 

4.1.6; 

■ o. Adding sections 4.1.6.1, 4.1.6.2, 

4.1.6.3, and 4.1.6.4; 

■ p. Revising sections 4.1.8, 4.1.10, 

4.1.15, 4.1.16, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.4.1, 4.3, 

4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.3.6, 

4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.5.3 and Table 1. 

These additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

Appendix O to Subpart B of Part 430— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Vented Home 

Heating Equipment 

Note: On and after July 6, 2015, any 

representations made with respect to the 

energy use or efficiency of vented home 

heating equipment must be made in 

accordance with the results of testing 

pursuant to this appendix. On and after this 

date, if a manufacturer makes representations 

of standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption, then testing must also include 

the provisions of this appendix related to 

standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption. Until July 6, 2015, 

manufacturers must test vented home heating 

equipment in accordance with this appendix 

or appendix O as it appeared at 10 CFR part 

430, subpart B revised as of January 1, 2014. 

Any representations made with respect to the 

energy use or efficiency of such vented home 

heating equipment must be made in 

accordance with whichever version is 

selected. DOE notes that, because testing 

under this appendix O is required as of July 

6, 2015, manufacturers may wish to begin 

using this test procedure immediately. 

* * * * * 

1.5 ‘‘Condensing vented heater’’ means a 

vented heater that, during the laboratory tests 

prescribed in this appendix, condenses part 

of the water vapor in the flue gases. 

* * * * * 

1.27 ‘‘Single-stage thermostat’’ means a 

thermostat that cycles a burner at the 

maximum heat input rate and off. 

* * * * * 

2.1.1 Vented wall furnaces (including 

direct vent systems). Install non-direct vent 

gas fueled vented wall furnaces as specified 

in section 8.1.3 and figure 7 or figure 10 of 

ANSI Z21.86 (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.3). Install direct vent gas fueled vented 

wall furnaces as specified in section 6.1.3 

and figure 6 of ANSI Z21.86 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3). Install oil fueled 

vented wall furnaces as specified in section 

36.1 of UL 730 (incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3). 

2.1.2 Vented floor furnaces. Install vented 

floor furnaces for test as specified in section 

38.1 of UL 729 (incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3). 

2.1.3 Vented room heaters. Install vented 

room heaters for test in accordance with the 

manufacturer’s installation and operations 

(I&O) manual provided with the unit. 

* * * * * 

2.2.2 Oil fueled vented home heating 

equipment (excluding direct vent systems). 

Use flue connections for oil fueled vented 

floor furnaces as specified in section 38.2 of 

UL 729, sections 36.2 of UL 730 for oil fueled 

vented wall furnaces, and sections 37.1.2 and 

37.1.3 of UL 896 (all incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3) for oil fueled vented 

room heaters. 

* * * * * 

2.2.4 Condensing vented heater, 

additional flue requirements. The flue pipe 

installation must not allow condensate 

formed in the flue pipe to flow back into the 

unit. An initial downward slope from the 

unit’s exit, an offset with a drip leg, annular 

collection rings, or drain holes must be 

included in the flue pipe installation without 

disturbing normal flue gas flow. Flue gases 

should not flow out of the drain with the 

condensate. For condensing vented heaters 

that do not include means for collection of 

condensate, a means to collect condensate 

must be supplied by the test lab for the 

purposes of testing. 

* * * * * 

2.3.1 Natural gas. For a gas fueled vented 

heater, maintain the gas supply to the unit 

under test at a normal inlet test pressure 

immediately ahead of all controls at 7 to 10 

inches water column. Maintain the regulator 

outlet pressure at normal test pressure 

approximately at that recommended by the 

manufacturer. Use natural gas having a 

specific gravity of approximately 0.65 and a 

higher heating value within ±5 percent of 

1,025 Btu’s per standard cubic foot. 

Determine the actual higher heating value in 

Btu’s per standard cubic foot for the natural 

gas to be used in the test with an error no 

greater than one percent. 

2.3.2 Propane gas. For a propane-gas 

fueled vented heater, maintain the gas supply 

to the unit under test at a normal inlet 

pressure of 11 to 13 inches water column and 

a specific gravity of approximately 1.53. 

Maintain the regulator outlet pressure, on 

units so equipped, approximately at that 

recommended by the manufacturer. Use 

propane having a specific gravity of 

approximately 1.53 and a higher heating 

value within ±5 percent of 2,500 Btu’s per 

standard cubic foot. Determine the actual 

higher heating value in Btu’s per standard 


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cubic foot for the propane to be used in the 

test 

2.3.3 Other test gas. Use other test gases 

with characteristics as described in Table 4 

of ANSI Z21.86 (incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3). Use gases with a measured 

higher heating value within ±5 percent of the 

values specified in the Tables section of 

ANSIZ21.86. Determine the actual higher 

heating value of the gas used in the test with 

an error no greater than one percent. 

2.3.4 Oil supply. For an oil fueled vented 

heater, use No. 1 fuel oil (kerosene) for 

vaporizing-type burners and either No. 1 or 

No. 2 fuel oil, as specified by the 

manufacturer in the I&O manual provided 

with the unit, for mechanical atomizing type 

burners. Use test fuel conforming to the 

specifications given in Tables 2 and 3 of 

ASHRAE 103–2007 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3). Measure the higher 

heating value of the test fuel within ±1 

percent. 

* * * * * 

2.4.2 Oil burner adjustments. Adjust the 

burners of oil fueled vented heaters to give 

the CO2 reading recommended by the 

manufacturer and an hourly Btu input, 

during the steady-state performance test 

described below, which is within ±2 percent 

of the heater manufacturer’s specified normal 

hourly Btu input rating. On units employing 

a power burner, do not allow smoke in the 

flue to exceed a No. 1 smoke during the 

steady-state performance test as measured by 

the procedure in ASTM D2156 (incorporated 

by reference, see § 430.3). If, on units 

employing a power burner, the smoke in the 

flue exceeds a No. 1 smoke during the steadystate test, readjust the burner to give a lower 

smoke reading, and, if necessary a lower CO2

reading, and start all tests over. Maintain the 

average draft over the fire and in the flue 

during the steady-state performance test at 

that recommended by the manufacturer 

within ±0.005 inches of water gauge. Do not 

make additional adjustments to the burner 

during the required series of performance 

tests. The instruments and measuring 

apparatus for this test are described in 

section 6 and shown in Figure 8 of ASHRAE 

103–2007 (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.3). 

* * * * * 

2.5.1 Forced air vented wall furnaces 

(including direct vent systems). During 

testing, maintain the air flow through the 

heater as specified by the manufacturer in the 

I&O manual provided with the unit and 

operate the vented heater with the outlet air 

temperature between 80 °F and 130 °F above 

room temperature. If adjustable air discharge 

registers are provided, adjust them so as to 

provide the maximum possible air 

restriction. Measure air discharge 

temperature as specified in section 8.7 of 

ANSI Z21.86 (incorporated by reference, see 

§ 430.3). 

* * * * * 

2.9 Room ambient temperature. The room 

ambient temperature shall be the arithmetic 

average temperature of the test area, 

determined by measurement with four No. 24 

AWG bead-type thermocouples with 

junctions shielded against radiation, located 

approximately at 90-degree positions on a 

circle circumscribing the heater or heater 

enclosure under test, in a horizontal plane 

approximately at the vertical midpoint of the 

appliance or test enclosure, and with the 

junctions approximately 24 inches from sides 

of the heater or test enclosure and located so 

as not to be affected by other than room air. 

The value TRA is the room ambient 

temperature measured at the last of the three 

successive readings taken 15 minutes apart 

described in section 3.1.1 or 3.1.2 as 

applicable. During the time period required 

to perform all the testing and measurement 

procedures specified in section 3.0 of this 

appendix, maintain the room ambient 

temperature within ±5 °F (±2.8 C) of the 

value TRA. At no time during these tests shall 

the room ambient temperature exceed 100 °F 

(37.8 C) or fall below 65 °F (18.3 C). 

Locate a thermocouple at each elevation of 

draft relief inlet opening and combustion air 

inlet opening at a distance of approximately 

24 inches from the inlet openings. The 

temperature of the air for combustion and the 

air for draft relief shall not differ more than 

±5 °F from the room ambient temperature as 

measured above at any point in time. This 

requirement for combustion air inlet 

temperature does not need to be met once the 

burner is shut off during the testing described 

in sections 3.3 and 3.6 of this appendix. 

* * * * * 

2.11 Equipment with multiple control 

modes. For equipment that has both manual 

and automatic thermostat control modes, test 

the unit according to the procedure for its 

automatic control mode, i.e. single-stage, two 

stage, or step-modulating. 

* * * * * 

3.1.1 Gas fueled vented home heating 

equipment (including direct vent systems). 

Set up the vented heater as specified in 

sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 of this appendix. 

The draft diverter shall be in the normal open 

condition and the stack shall not be 

insulated. (Insulation of the stack is no longer 

required for the vented heater test.) Begin the 

steady-state performance test by operating 

the burner and the circulating air blower, on 

units so equipped, with the adjustments 

specified by sections 2.4.1 and 2.5 of this 

appendix, until steady-state conditions are 

attained as indicated by three successive 

readings taken 15 minutes apart with a 

temperature variation of not more than ±3 °F 

(1.7 C) in the stack gas temperature for 

vented heaters equipped with draft diverters 

or ±5 °F (2.8 C) in the flue gas temperature 

for vented heaters equipped with either draft 

hoods or direct vent systems. The 

measurements described in this section are to 

coincide with the last of these 15 minute 

readings. 

On units employing draft diverters, 

measure the room temperature (TRA) as 

described in section 2.9 of this appendix and 

measure the steady-state stack gas 

temperature (TS,SS) using the nine 

thermocouples located in the 5 foot test stack 

as specified in section 2.6.1 of this appendix. 

Secure a sample of the stack gases in the 

plane where TS,SS is measured or within 3.5 

feet downstream of this plane. Determine the 

concentration by volume of carbon dioxide 

(XCO2S) present in the dry stack gas. If the 

location of the gas sampling differs from the 

temperature measurement plane, there shall 

be no air leaks through the stack between 

these two locations. 

On units employing draft hoods or direct 

vent systems, measure the room temperature 

(TRA) as described in section 2.9 of this 

appendix and measure the steady-state flue 

gas temperature (TF,SS), using the nine 

thermocouples located in the flue pipe as 

described in section 2.6.1 of this appendix. 

Secure a sample of the flue gas in the plane 

of temperature measurement and determine 

the concentration by volume of CO2 (XCO2F) 

present in dry flue gas. In addition, for units 

employing draft hoods, secure a sample of 

the stack gas in a horizontal plane in the five 

foot test stack located one foot from the test 

stack inlet; and determine the concentration 

by volume of CO2 (XCO2S) present in dry stack 

gas. 

Determine the steady-state heat input rate 

(Qin) including pilot gas by multiplying the 

measured higher heating value of the test gas 

by the steady-state gas input rate corrected to 

standard conditions of 60 °F and 30 inches of 

mercury. Use measured values of gas 

temperature and pressure at the meter and 

the barometric pressure to correct the 

metered gas flow rate to standard conditions. 

After the above test measurements have 

been completed on units employing draft 

diverters, secure a sample of the flue gases 

at the exit of the heat exchanger(s) and 

determine the concentration of CO2 (XCO2F) 

present. In obtaining this sample of flue gas, 

move the sampling probe around or use a 

sample probe with multiple sampling ports 

in order to assure that an average value is 

obtained for the CO2 concentration. For units 

with multiple heat exchanger outlets, 

measure the CO2 concentration in a sample 

from each outlet to obtain the average CO2

concentration for the unit. A manifold 

(parallel connected sampling tubes) may be 

used to obtain this sample. 

For heaters with single-stage thermostat 

control (wall mounted electric thermostats), 

determine the steady-state efficiency at the 

maximum fuel input rate as specified in 

section 2.4 of this appendix. 

For gas fueled vented heaters equipped 

with either two stage control or stepmodulating control, determine the steadystate efficiency at the maximum fuel input 

rate and at the reduced fuel input rate, as 

specified in section 2.4.1 of this appendix. 

For manually controlled gas fueled vented 

heaters with various input rates, determine 

the steady-state efficiency at a fuel input rate 

that is within ±5 percent of 50 percent of the 

maximum rated fuel input rate as indicated 

on the nameplate of the unit or in the 

manufacturer’s installation and operation 

manual shipped with the unit. If the heater 

is designed to use a control that precludes 

operation at other than maximum rated fuel 

input rate (single firing rate) determine the 

steady state efficiency at the maximum rated 

fuel input rate only. 

3.1.2 Oil fueled vented home heating 

equipment (including direct vent systems). 

Set up and adjust the vented heater as 

specified in sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3.4 of this 

appendix. Begin the steady-state performance 

test by operating the burner and the 


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circulating air blower, on units so equipped, 

with the adjustments specified by sections 

2.4.2 and 2.5 of this appendix, until steadystate conditions are attained as indicated by 

a temperature variation of not more than 

±5 °F (2.8 C) in the flue gas temperature in 

three successive readings taken 15 minutes 

apart. The measurements described in this 

section are to coincide with the last of these 

15 minutes readings. 

For units equipped with power burners, do 

not allow smoke in the flue to exceed a No. 

1 smoke during the steady-state performance 

test as measured by the procedure described 

in ASTM D2156 (incorporated by reference, 

see § 430.3). Maintain the average draft over 

the fire and in the breeching during the 

steady-state performance test at that 

recommended by the manufacturer ±0.005 

inches of water gauge. 

Measure the room temperature (TRA) as 

described in section 2.9 of this appendix. 

Measure the steady-state flue gas temperature 

(TF,SS) using nine thermocouples located in 

the flue pipe as described in section 2.6.2 of 

this appendix. From the plane where TF,SS

was measured, collect a sample of the flue 

gas and determine the concentration by 

volume of CO2 (XCO2F) present in dry flue 

gas. Measure and record the steady-state heat 

input rate (Qin). 

For manually controlled oil fueled vented 

heaters, determine the steady-state efficiency 

at a fuel input rate that is within ±5 percent 

of 50 percent of the maximum fuel input rate; 

or, if the design of the heater is such that the 

fuel input rate cannot be set to ±5 percent of 

50 percent of the maximum rated fuel input 

rate, determine the steady-state efficiency at 

the minimum rated fuel input rate as 

measured in section 3.1.2 of this appendix 

for manually controlled oil fueled vented 

heaters. 

* * * * * 

3.2 Jacket loss measurement. Conduct a 

jacket loss test for vented floor furnaces. 

Measure the jacket loss (Lj) in accordance 

with ASHRAE 103–2007 section 8.6 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3), 

applying the provisions for furnaces and not 

the provisions for boilers. 

3.3 Measurement of the off-cycle losses 

for vented heaters equipped with thermal 

stack dampers. Unless specified otherwise, 

the thermal stack damper should be at the 

draft diverter exit collar. Attach a five foot 

length of bare stack to the outlet of the 

damper. Install thermocouples as specified in 

section 2.6.1 of this appendix. 

For vented heaters equipped with singlestage thermostats, measure the off-cycle 

losses at the maximum fuel input rate. For 

vented heaters equipped with two stage 

thermostats, measure the off-cycle losses at 

the maximum fuel input rate and at the 

reduced fuel input rate. For vented heaters 

equipped with step-modulating thermostats, 

measure the off-cycle losses at the reduced 

fuel input rate. 

Allow the vented heater to heat up to a 

steady-state condition. Feed a tracer gas at a 

constant metered rate into the stack directly 

above and within one foot above the stack 

damper. Record tracer gas flow rate and 

temperature. Measure the tracer gas 

concentration in the stack at several locations 

in a horizontal plane through a cross-section 

of the stack at a point sufficiently above the 

stack damper to ensure that the tracer gas is 

well mixed in the stack. 

Continuously measure the tracer gas 

concentration and temperature during a 10- 

minute cool-down period. Shut the burner off 

and immediately begin measuring tracer gas 

concentration in the stack, stack temperature, 

room temperature, and barometric pressure. 

Record these values as the midpoint of each 

one-minute interval between burner shutdown and ten minutes after burner shutdown. Meter response time and sampling 

delay time shall be considered in timing 

these measurements. 

* * * * * 

3.6.1 Procedure for determining (DF and

DP) of vented home heating equipment with 

no measurable airflow. On units whose 

design is such that there is no measurable 

airflow through the combustion chamber and 

heat exchanger when the burner(s) is off (as 

determined by the test procedure in section 

3.6.2 of this appendix), DF and DP may be set 

equal to 0.05. 

3.6.2 Test Method to Determine Whether 

the Use of the Default Draft Factors (DF and

DP) of 0.05 is Allowed. Manufacturers may 

use the following test protocol to determine 

whether air flows through the combustion 

chamber and heat exchanger when the 

burner(s) is off using a smoke stick device. 

The default draft factor of 0.05 (as allowed 

per section 3.6.1 of this appendix) may be 

used only for units determined pursuant to 

this protocol to have no air flow through the 

combustion chamber and heat exchanger. 

3.6.2.1 Test Conditions. Wait for two 

minutes following the termination of the 

vented heater’s on-cycle. 

3.6.2.2 Location of Test Apparatus 

3.6.2.2.1 After all air currents and drafts 

in the test chamber have been minimized, 

position the operable smoke stick/pencil as 

specified, based on the following equipment 

configuration: for horizontal combustion air 

intakes, approximately 4 inches from the 

vertical plane at the termination of the intake 

vent and 4 inches below the bottom edge of 

the combustion air intake, or for vertical 

combustion air intakes, approximately 4 

inches horizontal from vent perimeter at the 

termination of the intake vent and 4 inches 

down (parallel to the vertical axis of the 

vent). In the instance where the boiler 

combustion air intake is closer than 4 inches 

to the floor, place the smoke device directly 

on the floor without impeding the flow of 

smoke. 

3.6.2.2.2 Monitor the presence and the 

direction of the smoke flow. 

3.6.2.3 Duration of Test. Continue 

monitoring the release of smoke for no less 

than 30 seconds. 

3.6.2.4 Test Results 

3.6.2.4.1 During visual assessment, 

determine whether there is any draw of 

smoke into the combustion air intake. 

3.6.2.4.2 If absolutely no smoke is drawn 

into the combustion air intake, the vented 

heater meets the requirements to allow use of 

the default draft factor of 0.05 pursuant to 

Section 8.8.3 and/or 9.10 of ASHRAE 103– 

2007 (incorporated by reference, see § 430.3). 

3.6.2.4.3 If there is any smoke drawn into 

the intake, use of default draft factor of 0.05 

is prohibited. Proceed with the methods of 

testing as prescribed in section 3.6 of this 

appendix, or select the appropriate default 

draft factor from Table 1. 

* * * * * 

3.8 Condensing vented heaters— 

measurement of condensate under steadystate and cyclic conditions. Attach 

condensate drain lines to the vented heater 

as specified in the manufacturer’s I&O 

manual provided with the unit. The test unit 

shall be level prior to all testing. A 

continuous downward slope of drain lines 

from the unit shall be maintained. The drain 

lines must facilitate uninterrupted flow of 

condensate during the test. The condensate 

collection container must be glass or 

polished stainless steel to facilitate removal 

of interior deposits. The collection container 

shall have a vent opening to the atmosphere, 

be dried prior to each use, and be at room 

ambient temperature. The humidity of the 

room air shall at no time exceed 80 percent 

relative humidity. For condensing units not 

designed for collecting and draining 

condensate, drain lines must be provided 

during testing that meet the criteria set forth 

in this section 3.8. Units employing manual 

controls and units not tested under the 

optional tracer gas procedures of sections 3.3 

and 3.6 of this appendix shall only conduct 

the steady-state condensate collection test. 

3.8.1 Steady-state condensate collection 

test. Begin steady-state condensate collection 

concurrently with or immediately after 

completion of the steady-state testing of 

section 3.1 of this appendix. The steady-state 

condensate collection period shall be 30 

minutes. Condensate mass shall be measured 

immediately at the end of the collection 

period to minimize evaporation loss from the 

sample. Record fuel input during the 30- 

minute condensate collection steady-state 

test period. Measure and record fuel higher 

heating value (HHV), temperature, and 

pressures necessary for determining fuel 

energy input (Qc,ss). The fuel quantity and 

HHV shall be measured with errors no greater 

than ±1 percent. Determine the mass of 

condensate for the steady-state test (Mc,ss) in 

pounds by subtracting the tare container 

weight from the total container and 

condensate weight measured at the end of the 

30-minute condensate collection test period. 

The error associated with the mass 

measurement instruments shall not exceed 

±0.5 percent of the quantity measured. 

For units with step-modulating or two 

stage controls, the steady-state condensate 

collection test shall be conducted at both the 

maximum and reduced input rates. 

3.8.2 Cyclic condensate collection tests. If 

existing controls do not allow for cyclical 

operation of the tested unit, control devices 

shall be installed to allow cyclical operation 

of the vented heater. Run three consecutive 

test cycles. For each cycle, operate the unit 

until flue gas temperatures at the end of each 

on-cycle, rounded to the nearest whole 

number, are within 5°F of each other for two 

consecutive cycles. On-cycle and off-cycle 

times are 4 minutes and 13 minutes 

respectively. Control of ON and OFF 

operation actions shall be within ±6 seconds 

of the scheduled time. For fan-type vented 

heaters, maintain circulating air adjustments 


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as specified in section 2.5 of this appendix. 

Begin condensate collection at one minute 

before the on-cycle period of the first test 

cycle. Remove the container one minute 

before the end of each off-cycle period. 

Measure condensate mass for each test-cycle. 

The error associated with the mass 

measurement instruments shall not exceed 

±0.5 percent of the quantity measured. 

Fuel input shall be recorded during the 

entire test period starting at the beginning of 

the on-time period of the first cycle to the 

beginning of the on-time period of the second 

cycle, from the beginning of the on-time 

period of the second cycle to the beginning 

of the on-time period of the third cycle, etc., 

for each of the test cycles. Fuel HHV, 

temperature, and pressure necessary for 

determining fuel energy input, Qc, shall be 

recorded. Determine the mass of condensate 

for each cycle, Mc, in pounds. If at the end 

of three cycles, the sample standard 

deviation is within 20 percent of the mean 

value for three cycles, use total condensate 

collected in the three cycles as Mc; if not, 

continue collection for an additional three 

cycles and use the total condensate collected 

for the six cycles as Mc. Determine the fuel 

energy input, Qc, during the three or six test 

cycles, expressed in Btu. 

4.0 Calculations 

4.1 Annual fuel utilization efficiency for 

gas fueled or oil fueled vented home heating 

equipment equipped without manual 

controls or with multiple control modes as 

per 2.11 and without thermal stack dampers. 

The following procedure determines the 

annual fuel utilization efficiency for gas 

fueled or oil fueled vented home heating 

equipment equipped without manual 

controls and without thermal stack dampers. 

* * * * * 

4.1.2 Off-cycle flue gas draft factor. Based 

on the system number, determine the offcycle flue gas draft factor (DF) from Table 1 

of this appendix or the test method and 

calculations of sections 3.6 and 4.5 of this 

appendix. 

4.1.3 Off-cycle stack gas draft factor. 

Based on the system number, determine the 

off-cycle stack gas draft factor (Ds) from Table 

1 of this appendix or from the test method 

and calculations of sections 3.6 and 4.5 of 

this appendix,. 

* * * * * 

4.1.6 Latent heat loss. For noncondensing vented heaters, obtain the latent 

heat loss (LL,A) from Table 2 of this appendix. 

For condensing vented heaters, calculate a 

modified latent heat loss (LL,A*) as follows: 

For steady-state conditions: 

LL,A*= LL,A¥LG,SS + LC,SS

where: 

LL,A = Latent heat loss, based on fuel type, 

from Table 2 of this appendix, 

LG,SS = Steady-state latent heat gain due to 

condensation as determined in section 

4.1.6.1 of this appendix, and 

LC,SS = Steady-state heat loss due to hot 

condensate going down the drain as 

determined in 4.1.6.2 of this appendix. 

For cyclic conditions: (only for vented 

heaters tested under the optional tracer 

gas procedures of section 3.3 or 3.6) 

LL,A*= LL,A¥LG + LC

where: 

LL,A = Latent heat loss, based on fuel type, 

from Table 2 of this appendix, 

LG = Latent heat gain due to condensation 

under cyclic conditions as determined in 

section 4.1.6.3 of this appendix, and 

LC = Heat loss due to hot condensate going 

down the drain under cyclic conditions 

as determined in section 4.1.6.4 of this 

appendix. 

4.1.6.1 Latent heat gain due to 

condensation under steady-state conditions. 

Calculate the latent heat gain (LG,SS) 

expressed as a percent and defined as: 

where: 

100 = conversion factor to express a decimal 

as a percent, 

1053.3 = latent heat of vaporization of water, 

Btu per pound, 

Mc,ss = mass of condensate for the steadystate test as determined in section 3.8.1 

of this appendix, pounds, and 

Qc,ss = fuel energy input for steady-state test 

as determined in section 3.8.1 of this 

appendix, Btu. 

4.1.6.2 Heat loss due to hot condensate 

going down the drain under steady-state 

conditions. Calculate the steady-state heat 

loss due to hot condensate going down the 

drain (LC,SS) expressed as a percent and 

defined as: 

where: 

LG,SS = Latent heat gain due to condensation 

under steady-state conditions as defined 

in section 4.1.6.1 of this appendix, 

1.0 = specific heat of water, Btu/lb¥°F, 

TF,SS = Flue (or stack) gas temperature as 

defined in section 3.1 of this appendix, 

°F, 

70 = assumed indoor temperature, °F, 

0.45 = specific heat of water vapor, 

Btu/lb¥°F, and 

45 = average outdoor temperature for vented 

heaters, °F. 

4.1.6.3 Latent heat gain due to 

condensation under cyclic conditions. (only 

for vented heaters tested under the optional 

tracer gas procedures of section 3.3 or 3.6 of 

this appendix) Calculate the latent heat gain 

(LG) expressed as a percent and defined as: 

where: 

100 = conversion factor to express a decimal 

as a percent, 

1053.3 = latent heat of vaporization of water, 

Btu per pound, 

Mc = mass of condensate for the cyclic test 

as determined in 3.8.2 of this appendix, 

pounds, and 

Qc = fuel energy input for cyclic test as 

determined in 3.8.2 of this appendix, 

Btu. 

4.1.6.4 Heat loss due to hot condensate 

going down the drain under cyclic 

conditions. (only for vented heaters tested 

under the optional tracer gas procedures of 

section 3.3 or 3.6 of this appendix) Calculate 

the cyclic heat loss due to hot condensate 

going down the drain (LC) expressed as a 

percent and defined as: 

where: 

LG = Latent heat gain due to condensation 

under cyclic conditions as defined in 

section 4.1.6.3 of this appendix, 

1.0 = specific heat of water, Btu/lb¥°F, 

TF,SS = Flue (or stack) gas temperature as 

defined in section 3.1 of this appendix, 

70 = assumed indoor temperature, °F, 

0.45 = specific heat of water vapor, Btu/

lb¥°F, and 

45 = average outdoor temperature for vented 

heaters, °F. 

* * * * * 

4.1.8 Ratio of combustion and relief air 

mass flow rate to stoichiometric air mass flow 

rate. For vented heaters equipped with either 

an integral draft diverter or a draft hood, 

determine the ratio of combustion and relief 

air mass flow rate to stoichiometric air mass 

flow rate (RT,S), and defined as: 

RT,S = A + [B/XCO2S] 

where: 

A = as determined from Table 2 of this 

appendix, 


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B = as determined from Table 2 of this 

appendix, and 

XCO2S = as defined in section 3.1 of this 

appendix. 

* * * * * 

4.1.10 Steady-state efficiency. For vented 

heaters equipped with single-stage 

thermostats, calculate the steady-state 

efficiency (excluding jacket loss), hSS,

expressed in percent and defined as: 

hSS = 100¥LL,A¥LS,SS,A

where: 

LL,A = latent heat loss, as defined in section 

4.1.6 of this appendix (for condensing 

vented heaters LL,A* for steady-state 

conditions), and 

LS,SS,A = sensible heat loss at steady-state 

operation, as defined in section 4.1.9 of 

this appendix. 

For vented heaters equipped with either 

two stage controls or with step-modulating 

controls, calculate the steady-state efficiency 

at the reduced fuel input rate, hSS¥L, 

expressed in percent and defined as: 

hSS¥L = 100¥LL,A¥LS,SS,A

where: 

LL,A = latent heat loss, as defined in section 

4.1.6 of this appendix (for condensing 

vented heaters LL,A* for steady-state 

conditions at the reduced firing rate), 

and 

LS,SS,A = sensible heat loss at steady-state 

operation, as defined in section 4.1.9 of 

this appendix, in which LS,SS,A is 

determined at the reduced fuel input 

rate. 

For vented heaters equipped with two 

stage controls, calculate the steady-state 

efficiency at the maximum fuel input rate, 

hSS¥H, expressed in percent and defined as: 

hSS¥H = 100¥LL,A¥LS,SS,A

where: 

LL,A = latent heat loss, as defined in section 

4.1.6 of this appendix (for condensing 

vented heaters LL,A* for steady-state 

conditions at the maximum fuel input 

rate), and 

LS,SS,A = sensible heat loss at steady-state 

operation, as defined in section 4.1.9 of 

this appendix, in which LS,SS,A is 

measured at the maximum fuel input 

rate. 

For vented heaters equipped with stepmodulating thermostats, calculate the 

weighted-average steady-state efficiency in 

the modulating mode, hSS¥MOD, expressed in 

percent and defined as: 

where: 

hSS–H = steady-state efficiency at the 

maximum fuel input rate, as defined in 

section 4.1.10 of this appendix, 

hSS–L = steady-state efficiency at the reduced 

fuel input rate, as defined in section 

4.1.10 of this appendix, 

TOA* = average outdoor temperature for 

vented heaters with step-modulating 

thermostats operating in the modulating 

mode and is obtained from Table 3 or 

Figure 1 of this appendix, and 

TC = balance point temperature which 

represents a temperature used to 

apportion the annual heating load 

between the reduced input cycling mode 

and either the modulating mode or 

maximum input cycling mode and is 

obtained either from Table 3 of this 

appendix or calculated by the following 

equation: 

TC = 65¥[(65¥15)R] 

where: 

65 = average outdoor temperature at which 

a vented heater starts operating, 

15 = national average outdoor design 

temperature for vented heaters, and 

R = ratio of reduced to maximum heat output 

rates, as defined in section 4.1.13 of this 

appendix. 

* * * * * 

4.1.15 Fraction of heating load at 

maximum operating mode or noncycling 

mode. For vented heaters equipped with 

either two stage thermostats or stepmodulating thermostats, determine the 

fraction of heating load at the maximum 

operating mode or noncycling mode (X2) 

expressed as a decimal and listed in Table 3 

of this appendix or obtained from Figure 2 

of this appendix. 

4.1.16 Weighted-average steady-state 

efficiency. For vented heaters equipped with 

single-stage thermostats, the weightedaverage steady-state efficiency (hSS–WT) is 

equal to hSS, as defined in section 4.1.10 of 

this appendix. For vented heaters equipped 

with two stage thermostats, hSS–WT is defined 

as: 

hSS–WT = X1hSS–L + X2hSS–H

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

hSS–L = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

hSS–H = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

For vented heaters equipped with stepmodulating controls, hSS–WT is defined as: 

hSS–WT = X1hSS–L + X2hSS–MOD

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

hSS–L = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

hSS–MOD = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

* * * * * 

4.2.1 Average ratio of stack gas mass flow 

rate to flue gas mass flow rate at steady-state 

operation. For vented heaters equipped with 

either direct vents or direct exhaust or that 

are outdoor units, the average ratio of stack 

gas mass flow rate to flue gas mass flow rate 

at steady-state operation (S/F) shall be equal 

to unity. (S/F=1) For all other types of vented 

heaters, calculate (S/F) defined as: 

where: 

RT,S = as defined in section 4.1.8 of this 

appendix with XCO2s as measured in 

section 3.1. of this appendix 

RT,F = as defined in section 4.1.7 of this 

appendix with XCO2F as measured in 

section 3.1. of this appendix 

4.2.2 Multiplication factor for infiltration 

loss during burner on-cycle. Calculate the 

multiplication factor for infiltration loss 

during burner on-cycle (KI,ON) defined as: 

where: 

100 = converts a decimal fraction into a 

percent 

0.24 = specific heat of air 

A/F = stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, 

determined in accordance with Table 2 

of this appendix 

S/F = as defined in section 4.2.1 of this 

appendix 

0.7 = infiltration parameter 

RT,F = as defined in section 4.1.7 of this 

appendix 

HHVA = average higher heating value of the 

test fuel, determined in accordance with 

Table 2 of this appendix 

* * * * * 

4.2.4.1 For manually controlled heaters 

with various input rates the weighted average 


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steady-state efficiency (hSS¥WT), is 

determined as follows: 

hSS–WT = 100¥LL,A¥LS,SS,A

where: 

LL,A = latent heat loss, as defined in section 

4.1.6 of this appendix (for condensing 

vented heaters, LL,A* for steady-state 

conditions), and 

LS,SS,A = steady-state efficiency at the reduced 

fuel input rate, as defined in section 

4.1.9 of this appendix and where LL,A

and LS,SS,A are determined: 

(1) at 50 percent of the maximum fuel 

input rate as measured in either section 3.1.1 

of this appendix for manually controlled gas 

vented heaters or section 3.1.2 of this 

appendix for manually controlled oil vented 

heaters, or 

(2) at the minimum fuel input rate as 

measured in either section 3.1.1 of this 

appendix for manually controlled gas vented 

heaters or section 3.1.2 of this appendix for 

manually controlled oil vented heaters if the 

design of the heater is such that the ±5 

percent of 50 percent of the maximum fuel 

input rate cannot be set, provided this 

minimum rate is no greater than 2⁄3 of the 

maximum input rate of the heater. 

* * * * * 

4.3 Annual fuel utilization efficiency by 

the tracer gas method. The annual fuel 

utilization efficiency shall be determined by 

the following tracer gas method for all vented 

heaters equipped with thermal stack 

dampers. 

4.3.1 On-cycle sensible heat loss. For 

vented heaters equipped with single-stage 

thermostats, calculate the on-cycle sensible 

heat loss (LS,ON) expressed as a percent and 

defined as: 

LS,ON = LS,SS,A

where: 

LS,SS,A = as defined in section 4.1.9 of this 

appendix 

For vented heaters equipped with two stage 

thermostats, calculate LS,ON defined as: 

LS,ON = X1LS,SS,A-red + X2LS,SS,A-max

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

LS,SS,A-red = as defined as LS,SS,A in section 

4.1.9 of this appendix at the reduced fuel 

input rate 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

LS,SS,A-max = as defined as LS,SS,A in section 

4.1.9 of this appendix at the maximum 

fuel input rate 

For vented heaters with step-modulating 

controls, calculate LS,ON defined as: 

LS,ON = X1LS,SS,A-red + X2LS,SS,A-avg

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

LLS,SS,A-red = as defined in section 4.3.1 of this 

appendix 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

LS,SS,A-avg = average sensible heat loss for 

step-modulating vented heaters 

operating in the modulating mode 

where: 

LS,SS,A-avg = as defined in section 4.3.1 of this 

appendix 

TC = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

TOA* = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

15 = as defined in section 4.1.10 of this 

appendix 

4.3.2 On-cycle infiltration heat loss. For 

vented heaters equipped with single-stage 

thermostats, calculate the on-cycle 

infiltration heat loss (LI,ON) expressed as a 

percent and defined as: 

LI,ON = KI,ON(70¥45) 

where: 

KI,ON = as defined in section 4.2.2 of this 

appendix 

70 = as defined in section 4.2.3 of this 

appendix 

45 = as defined in section 4.2.3 of this 

appendix 

For vented heaters equipped with two 

stage thermostats, calculate LI,ON defined as: 

LI,ON = X1KI,ON-Max(70¥TOA*) + 

X2KI,ON,red(70¥TOA) 

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

KI,ON-max = as defined as KI,ON in section 4.2.2 

of this appendix at the maximum heat 

input rate 

70 = as defined in section 4.2.3 of this 

appendix 

TOA* = as defined in section 4.3.4 of this 

appendix 

KI,ON,red = as defined as KI,ON in section 4.2.2 

of this appendix at the minimum heat 

input rate 

TOA = as defined in section 4.3.4 of this 

appendix 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

For vented heaters equipped with stepmodulating thermostats, calculate LI,ON

defined as: 

LI,ON = X1KI,ON-avg(70¥TOA*) + 

X2KI,ON,red(70¥TOA) 

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

70 = as defined in section 4.2.3 of this 

appendix 

TOA* = as defined in section 4.3.4 of this 

appendix 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

TOA = as defined in section 4.3.4 of this 

appendix 

4.3.3 Off-cycle sensible heat loss. For 

vented heaters equipped with single-stage 

thermostats, calculate the off-cycle sensible 

heat loss (LS,OFF) at the maximum fuel input 

rate. For vented heaters equipped with stepmodulating thermostats, calculate LS,OFF

defined as: 

LS,OFF = X1 LS,OFF,red

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix, and 

LS,OFF,red = as defined as LS,OFF in section 

4.3.3 of this appendix at the reduced fuel 

input rate. 

For vented heaters equipped with two 

stage controls, calculate LS,OFF defined as: 

LS,OFF = X1 LS,OFF,red +X2 LS,OFF,Max

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix, 

LS,OFF,red = as defined as LS,OFF in section 

4.3.3 of this appendix at the reduced fuel 

input rate, 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix, and 

LS,OFF,Max = as defined as LS,OFF in section 

4.3.3 of this appendix at the maximum 

fuel input rate. 

Calculate the off-cycle sensible heat loss 

(LS,OFF) expressed as a percent and defined 

as: 

where: 

100 = conversion factor for percent, 

0.24 = specific heat of air in Btu per pound— 

°F, 

Qin = fuel input rate, as defined in section 3.1 

of this appendix in Btu per minute (as 

appropriate for the firing rate), 


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ton = average burner on-time per cycle and is 

20 minutes, 

S mS,OFF (TS,OFF ¥TRA) = summation of the 

ten values (for single-stage or stepmodulating models) or twenty values (for 

two tage models) of the quantity, mS,OFF

(TS,OFF ¥TRA), measured in accordance 

with section 3.3 of this appendix, and 

mS,OFF = stack gas mass flow rate pounds per 

minute. 

TS,OFF = stack gas temperature measured in 

accordance with section 3.3 of this 

appendix, 

TRA = average room temperature measured in 

accordance with section 3.3 of this 

appendix, 

PB = barometric pressure in inches of 

mercury, 

VT = flow rate of the tracer gas through the 

stack in cubic feet per minute, 

CT* = concentration by volume of the active 

tracer gas in the mixture in percent and 

is 100 when the tracer gas is a single 

component gas, 

CT = concentration by volume of the active 

tracer gas in the diluted stack gas in 

percent, 

TT = temperature of the tracer gas entering 

the flow meter in degrees Fahrenheit, 

and 

(TT +460) = absolute temperature of the tracer 

gas entering the flow meter in degrees 

Rankine. 

4.3.4 Average outdoor temperature. For 

vented heaters equipped with single-stage 

thermostats, the average outdoor temperature 

(TOA) is 45 °F. For vented heaters equipped 

with either two stage thermostats or stepmodulating thermostats, TOA during the 

reduced operating mode is obtained from 

Table 3 or Figure 1 of this appendix. For 

vented heaters equipped with two stage 

thermostats, TOA* during the maximum 

operating mode is obtained from Table 3 or 

Figure 1 of this appendix. 

4.3.5 Off-cycle infiltration heat loss. For 

vented heaters equipped with single stage 

thermostats, calculate the off-cycle 

infiltration heat loss (LI,OFF) at the maximum 

fuel input rate. For vented heaters equipped 

with step-modulating thermostats, calculate 

LI,OFF defined as: 

LI,OFF = X1LI,OFF,red

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

LI,OFF,red = as defined in LI,OFF in section 4.3.5 

of this appendix at the reduced fuel 

input rate 

For vented heaters equipped with two 

stage thermostats, calculate LI,OFF defined as: 

LI,OFF = X1LI,OFF,red + X2LI,OFF,max

where: 

X1 = as defined in section 4.1.14 of this 

appendix 

LI,OFF,red = as defined as LI,OFF in section 4.3.5 

of this appendix at the reduced fuel 

input rate 

X2 = as defined in section 4.1.15 of this 

appendix 

LI,OFF,Max = as defined as LI,OFF in section 

4.3.5 of this appendix at the maximum 

fuel input rate 

Calculate the off-cycle infiltration heat loss 

(LI,OFF) expressed as a percent and defined as: 

where: 

100 = conversion factor for percent 

0.24 = specific heat of air in Btu per pound— 

°F 

1.3 = dimensionless factor for converting 

laboratory measured stack flow to typical 

field conditions 

0.7 = infiltration parameter 

70 = assumed average indoor air temperature, 

°F 

TOA = average outdoor temperature as 

defined in section 4.3.4 of this appendix 

Qin = fuel input rate, as defined in section 3.1 

of this appendix in Btu per minute (as 

appropriate for the firing rate) 

ton = average burner on-time per cycle and is 

20 minutes 

S mS,OFF = summation of the twenty values 

of the quantity, mS,OFF, measured in 

accordance with section 3.3 of this 

appendix 

mS,OFF = as defined in section 4.3.3 of this 

appendix 

4.3.6 Part-load fuel utilization efficiency. 

Calculate the part-load fuel utilization 

efficiency (hu) expressed as a percent and 

defined as: 

where: 

Cj = 2.8, adjustment factor, 

Lj = jacket loss as defined in section 4.1.5, 

LL,A = Latent heat loss, as defined in section 

4.1.6 of this appendix (for condensing 

vented heaters LL,A* for cyclic 

conditions), 

ton = Average burner on time which is 20 

minutes, 

LS,ON = On-cycle sensible heat loss, as 

defined in section 4.3.1 of this appendix, 

LS,OFF = Off-cycle sensible heat loss, as 

defined in section 4.3.3 of this appendix, 

LI,ON = On-cycle infiltration heat loss, as 

defined in section 4.3.2 of this appendix, 

LI,OFF = Off-cycle infiltration heat loss, as 

defined in section 4.3.5 of this appendix, 

PF = Pilot fraction, as defined in section 4.1.4 

of this appendix, and 

tOFF = average burner off-time per cycle, 

which is 20 minutes. 

* * * * * 

4.5.1 Optional procedure for determining 

DP for vented home heating equipment. 

Calculate the ratio (DP) of the rate of flue gas 

mass through the vented heater during the 

off-period, MF,OFF(TF,SS), to the rate of flue 

gas mass flow during the on-period, 

MF,SS(TF,SS), and defined as: 

DP = MF,OFF(TF,SS)/MF,SS(TF,SS) 

For vented heaters in which no draft is 

maintained during the steady-state or cool 

down tests, MF,OFF(TF,SS) is defined as: 

For oil fueled vented heaters in which an 

imposed draft is maintained, as described in 

section 3.6 of this appendix, MF,OFF(TF,SS) is 

defined as: 

MF,OFF(TF,SS) = MF,OFF(T*F,OFF) 

where: 

TF,SS = as defined in section 3.1.1 of this 

appendix, 


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T*F,OFF = flue gas temperature during the offperiod measured in accordance with section 3.6 of this appendix in degrees 

Fahrenheit, and 

TRA = as defined in section 2.9 of this 

appendix. 

PB = barometric pressure measured in 

accordance with section 3.6 of this 

appendix in inches of mercury, 

VT = flow rate of tracer gas through the 

vented heater measured in accordance 

with section 3.6 of this appendix in 

cubic feet per minute, 

CT = concentration by volume of tracer gas 

present in the flue gas sample measured 

in accordance with section 3.6 of this 

appendix in percent, 

CT* = concentration by volume of the active 

tracer gas in the mixture in percent and 

is 100 when the tracer gas is a single 

component gas, 

TT = the temperature of the tracer gas 

entering the flow meter measured in 

accordance with section 3.6 of this 

appendix in degrees Fahrenheit, and 

(TT + 460) = absolute temperature of the 

tracer gas entering the flow meter in 

degrees Rankine. 

MF,SS(TF,SS) = Qin[RT,F(A/F)+1]/[60HHVA] 

Qin = as defined in section 3.1 of this 

appendix, 

RT,F = as defined in section 4.1.7 of this 

appendix, 

A/F = as defined in section 4.2.2 of this 

appendix, and 

HHVA = as defined in section 4.2.2 of this 

appendix. 

4.5.2 Optional procedure for determining 

off-cycle draft factor for flue gas flow for 

vented heaters. For systems numbered 1 

through 10, calculate the off-cycle draft factor 

for flue gas flow (DF) defined as: 

DF = DP

For systems numbered 11 or 12: DF = DP DO

For systems complying with section 3.6.1 or 

3.6.2, DF = 0.05 

Where: 

DP = as defined in section 4.5.1. of this 

appendix, and 

DO = as defined in section 4.4 of this 

appendix. 

4.5.3 Optional procedure for determining 

off-cycle draft factor for stack gas flow for 

vented heaters. Calculate the off-cycle draft 

factor for stack gas flow (DS) defined as: 

For systems numbered 1 or 2: DS = 1.0 

For systems numbered 3 or 4: DS = (DP+0.79)/ 

1.4 

For systems numbered 5 or 6: DS = DO

For systems numbered 7 or 8 and if DO(S/

F)<1:DS = DO DP

For systems numbered 7 or 8 and if DO(S/

F)>1: 

DS = DO DP+[0.85¥DO DP] [DO(S/F)¥1]/[S/

F¥1] 

where: 

DP = as defined in section 4.5.1 or 3.6.1 of 

this appendix, as applicable 

DO = as defined in section 4.4 of this 

appendix 

* * * * * 

TABLE 1—OFF–CYCLE DRAFT FACTORS FOR FLUE GAS FLOW (DF) AND FOR STACK GAS FLOW (DS) FOR VENTED HOME

HEATING EQUIPMENT EQUIPPED WITHOUT THERMAL STACK DAMPERS

System 

number (DF) (DS) Burner type Venting system type 1

1 ........... 1.0 ........................ 1.0 ........................ Atmospheric .......................... Draft hood or diverter. 

2 ........... 0.4 ........................ 1.0 ........................ Power .................................... Draft hood or diverter. 

3 ........... 1.0 ........................ 1.0 ........................ Atmospheric .......................... Barometric draft regulator. 

4 ........... 0.4 ........................ 0.85 ...................... Power .................................... Barometric draft regulator. 

5 ........... 1.0 ........................ DO ........................ Atmospheric .......................... Draft hood or diverter with damper. 

6 ........... 0.4 ........................ DO ........................ Power .................................... Draft hood or diverter with damper. 

7 ........... 1.0 ........................ DO ........................ Atmospheric .......................... Barometric draft regulator with damper. 

8 ........... 0.4 ........................ DODP .................... Power .................................... Barometric draft regulator with damper. 

9 ........... 1.0 ........................ 0 ........................... Atmospheric .......................... Direct vent. 

10 ......... 0.4 ........................ 0 ........................... Power .................................... Direct vent. 

11 ......... DO ........................ 0 ........................... Atmospheric .......................... Direct vent with damper. 

12 ......... 0.4 DO .................. 0 ........................... Power .................................... Direct vent with damper. 

1Venting systems listed with dampers means electromechanical dampers only. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Revise Appendix P to subpart B of 

part 430 to read as follows: 

Appendix P to Subpart B of Part 430— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring the 

Energy Consumption of Pool Heaters 

Note: On and after July 6, 2015, any 

representations made with respect to the 

energy use or efficiency of all pool heaters 

must be made in accordance with the results 

of testing pursuant to this appendix. On and 

after this date, if a manufacturer makes 

representations of standby mode and off 

mode energy consumption, then testing must 

also include the provisions of this appendix 

related to standby mode and off mode energy 

consumption. Until July 6, 2015, 

manufacturers must test gas-fired pool 

heaters in accordance with this appendix, or 

appendix P as it appeared at 10 CFR part 430, 

subpart B revised as of January 1, 2014. Any 

representations made with respect to the 

energy use or efficiency of such pool heaters 

must be in accordance with whichever 

version is selected. DOE notes that, because 

testing under this appendix P must be 

completed as of July 6, 2015, manufacturers 

may wish to begin using this test procedure 

immediately. 

1. Definitions. 

1.1 Active mode means the condition 

during the pool heating season in which the 

pool heater is connected to the power source, 

and the main burner, electric resistance 

element, or heat pump is activated to heat 

pool water. 

1.2 Coefficient of performance (COP), as 

applied to heat pump pool heaters, means the 

ratio of heat output in kW to the total power 

input in kW. 

1.3 Electric heat pump pool heater means 

an appliance designed for heating nonpotable 

water and employing a compressor, watercooled condenser, and outdoor air coil. 

1.4 Electric resistance pool heater means 

an appliance designed for heating nonpotable 

water and employing electric resistance 

heating elements. 

1.5 Fossil fuel-fired pool heater means an 

appliance designed for heating nonpotable 

water and employing natural gas or oil 

burners. 

1.6 Hybrid pool heater means an 

appliance designed for heating nonpotable 

water and employing both a heat pump 

(compressor, water-cooled condenser, and 

outdoor air coil) and a fossil fueled burner as 

heating sources. 

1.7 Off mode means the condition during 

the pool non-heating season in which the 

pool heater is connected to the power source, 


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and neither the main burner, nor the electric 

resistance elements, nor the heat pump is 

activated, and the seasonal off switch, if 

present, is in the ‘‘off’’ position. 

1.8 Seasonal off switch means a switch 

that results in different energy consumption 

in off mode as compared to standby mode. 

1.9 Standby mode means the condition 

during the pool heating season in which the 

pool heater is connected to the power source, 

and neither the main burner, nor the electric 

resistance elements, nor the heat pump is 

activated. 

2. Test method. 

2.1 Active mode. 

2.1.1 Fossil fuel-fired pool heaters. The 

test method for testing fossil fuel-fired pool 

heaters in active mode is as specified in 

section 2.10 of ANSI Z21.56 (incorporated by 

reference, see § 430.3), with the following 

additional clarifications. 

1. Burner input rate is adjusted as specified 

in section 2.3.3 of ANSI Z21.56, 

2. Equilibrium is defined as in section 9.1.3 

of ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by reference; 

see § 430.3) 

3. Units are only to be tested using a 

recirculating loop and a pump if: the use of 

the recirculating loop and pump are listed as 

required; a minimum flow rate is specified in 

the installation or operation manual provided 

with the unit; the pump is packaged with the 

unit by the manufacturer; or such use is 

required for testing. 

4. A water temperature rise of less than 40° 

F is allowed only as specified in the 

installation or operation manual(s) provided 

with the unit. 

2.1.2 Electric resistance pool heaters. The 

test method for testing electric resistance 

pool heaters in active mode is as specified in 

ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by reference; see 

§ 430.3). 

2.1.3 Electric heat pump pool heaters. 

The test method for testing electric heat 

pump pool heaters in active mode is as 

specified in AHRI 1160 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3), which references 

ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by reference; see 

§ 430.3). 

2.1.4 Hybrid pool heaters. [Reserved] 

2.2 Standby mode. The test method for 

testing the energy consumption of pool 

heaters in standby mode is as described in 

sections 3 through 5 of this appendix. 

2.3 Off mode. 

2.3.1 Pool heaters with a seasonal off 

switch. For pool heaters with a seasonal off 

switch, no off mode test is required. 

2.3.2 Pool heaters without a seasonal off 

switch. For pool heaters without a seasonal 

off switch, the test method for testing the 

energy consumption of the pool heater is as 

described in sections 3 through 5 of this 

appendix. 

3. Test conditions. 

3.1 Active mode. 

3.1.1 Fossil fuel-fired pool heaters. 

Establish the test conditions specified in 

section 2.10 of ANSI Z21.56 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3). 

3.1.2 Electric resistance pool heaters. 

Establish the test conditions specified in 

section 9.1.4 of ASHRAE 146 (incorporated 

by reference; see § 430.3). 

3.1.3 Electric heat pump pool heaters. 

Establish the test conditions specified in 

section 5 of AHRI 1160. The air temperature 

surrounding the unit shall be at the ‘‘High 

Air Temperature—Mid Humidity (63% RH)’’ 

level specified in section 6 of AHRI 1160 

(incorporated by reference, see § 430.3) (80.6 

°F [27.0 °C] Dry-Bulb, 71.2 °F [21.8 °C]). 

3.1.4 Hybrid pool heaters. [Reserved] 

3.2 Standby mode and off mode. After 

completing the active mode tests described in 

sections 3.1 and 4.1 of this appendix, reduce 

the thermostat setting to a low enough 

temperature to put the pool heater into 

standby mode. Reapply the energy sources 

and operate the pool heater in standby mode 

for 60 minutes. 

4. Measurements 

4.1 Active mode 

4.1.1 Fossil fuel-fired pool heaters. 

Measure the quantities delineated in section 

2.10 of ANSI Z21.56 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3). The measurement of 

energy consumption for oil-fired pool heaters 

in Btu is to be carried out in appropriate 

units (e.g., gallons). 

4.1.2 Electric resistance pool heaters. 

Measure the quantities delineated in section 

9.1.4 of ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3) during and at the end 

of the 30-minute period when water is 

flowing through the pool heater. 

4.1.3 Electric heat pump pool heaters. 

Measure the quantities delineated in section 

9.1.1 and Table 2 of ASHRAE 146 

(incorporated by reference; see § 430.3). 

Record the elapsed time, tHP, from the start 

of electric power metering to the end, in 

minutes. 

4.1.4 Hybrid pool heaters. [Reserved] 

4.2 Standby mode. For all pool heaters, 

record the average electric power 

consumption during the standby mode test, 

PW,SB, in W, in accordance with section 5 of 

IEC 62301 (incorporated by reference; see 

§ 430.3). For fossil fuel-fired pool heaters, 

record the fossil fuel energy consumption 

during the standby test, Qp, in Btu. (Milli-volt 

electrical consumption need not be 

considered in units so equipped.) Ambient 

temperature and voltage specifications in 

section 4.1 of this appendix shall apply to 

this standby mode testing. Round the 

recorded standby power (PW,SB) to the second 

decimal place, and for loads greater than or 

equal to 10 W, record at least three 

significant figures. 

4.3 Off mode. 

4.3.1 Pool heaters with a seasonal off 

switch. For pool heaters with a seasonal off 

switch, the average electric power 

consumption during the off mode, PW,OFF = 

0, and the fossil fuel energy consumed during 

the off mode, Qoff = 0. 

4.3.2 Pool heaters without a seasonal off 

switch. For all pool heaters without a 

seasonal off switch, record the average 

electric power consumption during the 

standby/off mode test, PW,OFF = PW,SB, in W, 

in accordance with section 5 of IEC 62301 

(incorporated by reference; see § 430.3). For 

fossil fuel-fired pool heaters without a 

seasonal off switch, record the fossil fuel 

energy consumption during the off mode test, 

Qoff (= Qp), in Btu. (Milli-volt electrical 

consumption need not be considered in units 

so equipped.) Ambient temperature and 

voltage specifications in section 4.1 of this 

appendix shall apply to this off mode testing. 

Round the recorded off mode power (PW,OFF) 

to the second decimal place, and for loads 

greater than or equal to 10 W, record at least 

three significant figures. 

5. Calculations. 

5.1 Thermal efficiency. 

5.1.1 Fossil fuel-fired pool heaters. 

Calculate the thermal efficiency, Et

(expressed as a percent), as specified in 

section 2.10 of ANSI Z21.56 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3). The expression of fuel 

consumption for oil-fired pool heaters shall 

be in Btu. 

5.1.2 Electric resistance pool heaters. 

Calculate the thermal efficiency, Et

(expressed as a percent), as specified in 

section 11.1 of ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3). 

5.1.3 Electric heat pump pool heaters. 

Calculate the COP according to section 11.1 

of ASHRAE 146. Calculate the thermal 

efficiency, Et (expressed as a percent): Et = 

COP. 

5.1.4 Hybrid pool heaters. [Reserved] 

5.2 Average annual fossil fuel energy for 

pool heaters. For electric resistance and 

electric heat pump pool heaters, the average 

annual fuel energy for pool heaters, EF =0. 

For fossil fuel-fired pool heaters, the 

average annual fuel energy for pool heaters, 

EF, is defined as: 

EF = BOH QIN + (POH¥BOH)QPR + (8760 ¥ 

POH) Qoff,R

Where: 

BOH = average number of burner operating 

hours = 104 h, 

POH = average number of pool operating 

hours = 4,464 h, 

QIN = rated fuel energy input as defined 

according to section 2.10.1 or section 

2.10.2 of ANSI, Z21.56 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3), as appropriate. 

(For electric resistance and electric heat 

pump pool heaters, QIN = 0.), 

QPR = average energy consumption rate of 

continuously operating pilot light, if 

employed, = (QP/1 h), 

QP = energy consumption of continuously 

operating pilot light, if employed, as 

measured in section 4.2 of this appendix, 

in Btu, 

8760 = number of hours in one year, 

Qoff,R = average off mode fossil fuel energy 

consumption rate = Qoff/(1 h), and 

Qoff = off mode energy consumption as 

defined in section 4.3 of this appendix. 

5.3 Average annual electrical energy 

consumption for pool heaters. The average 

annual electrical energy consumption for 

pool heaters, EAE, is expressed in Btu and 

defined as: 

(1) EAE = EAE,active + EAE,standby,off

(2) EAE,active = BOH * PE 

(3) EAE,standby,off = (POH¥BOH) PW,SB(Btu/h) + 

(8760¥POH) PW,OFF(Btu/h) 

where: 

EAE,active = electrical consumption in the 

active mode, 

EAE,standby,off = auxiliary electrical 

consumption in the standby mode and 

off mode, 

PE = 2Ec, for fossil fuel-fired heaters tested 

according to section 2.10.1 of ANSI 

Z21.56 (incorporated by reference; see 


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§ 430.3) and for electric resistance pool 

heaters, in Btu/h, 

= 3.412 PErated, for fossil fuel-fired heaters 

tested according to section 2.10.2 of 

ANSI Z21.56, in Btu/h, 

= Ec,HP * (60/tHP), for electric heat pump pool 

heaters, in Btu/h. 

Ec = electrical consumption in Btu per 30 

min. This includes the electrical 

consumption (converted to Btus) of the 

pool heater and, if present, a 

recirculating pump during the 30-minute 

thermal efficiency test. The 30-minute 

thermal efficiency test is defined in 

section 2.10.1 of ANSI Z21.56 for fossil 

fuel-fired pool heaters and section 9.1.4 

of ASHRAE 146 (incorporated by 

reference; see § 430.3) for electric 

resistance pool heaters. 

2 = conversion factor to convert unit from per 

30 min. to per h. 

PErated = nameplate rating of auxiliary 

electrical equipment of heater, in Watts 

Ec,HP = electrical consumption of the electric 

heat pump pool heater (converted to 

equivalent unit of Btu), including the 

electrical energy to the recirculating 

pump if used, during the thermal 

efficiency test, as defined in section 9.1 

of ASHRAE 146, in Btu. 

tHP = elapsed time of data recording during 

the thermal efficiency test on electric 

heat pump pool heater, as defined in 

section 9.1 of ASHRAE 146, in minutes. 

BOH = as defined in section 5.2 of this 

appendix, 

POH = as defined in section 5.2 of this 

appendix, 

PW,SB (Btu/h) = electrical energy 

consumption rate during standby mode 

expressed in Btu/h = 3.412 PW,SB, Btu/h, 

PW,SB = as defined in section 4.2 of this 

appendix, 

PW,OFF (Btu/h) = electrical energy 

consumption rate during off mode 

expressed in Btu/h = 3.412 PW,OFF, Btu/ 

h, and 

PW,OFF = as defined in section 4.3 of this 

appendix. 

5.4 Integrated thermal efficiency. 

5.4.1 Calculate the seasonal useful output 

of the pool heater as: 

EOUT = BOH[(Et/100)(QIN + PE)] 

where: 

BOH = as defined in section 5.2 of this 

appendix, 

Et = thermal efficiency as defined in section 

5.1 of this appendix, 

QIN = as defined in section 5.2 of this 

appendix, 

PE = as defined in section 5.3 of this 

appendix, and 

100 = conversion factor, from percent to 

fraction. 

5.4.2 Calculate the annual input to the 

pool heater as: 

EIN = EF + EAE

where: 

EF = as defined in section 5.2 of this 

appendix, and 

EAE = as defined in section 5.3 of this 

appendix. 

5.4.3 Calculate the pool heater integrated 

thermal efficiency (TEI) (in percent). 

TEI = 100(EOUT/EIN) 

where: 

EOUT = as defined in section 5.4.1 of this 

appendix, 

EIN = as defined in section 5.4.2 of this 

appendix, and 

100 = conversion factor, from fraction to 

percent. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30748 Filed 1–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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