Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for Waiver of Thermo Products Inc. From the DOE Furnace Test Procedure. (Case No. F-083)

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Granting of

the Application for Interim Waiver and Publishing of the Petition for

Waiver of Thermo Products Inc. From the DOE Furnace Test Procedure.

(Case No. F-083)

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

Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Today's notice grants an Interim Waiver to Thermo Products

Inc. (Thermo Products) from the existing Department of Energy (DOE or

Department) test procedure regarding blower time delay for the

company's CHA-upflow and CCA-downflow condensing gas furnaces.

Today's notice also publishes a ``Petition for Waiver'' from Thermo

Products. Thermo Products Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant

relief from the DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time

delay specification. Thermo Products seeks to test using a blower delay

time of 45 seconds for its CHA-upflow and CCA-downflow condensing gas

furnaces instead of the specified 1.5-minute delay between burner on-

time and blower on-time. The Department is soliciting comments, data,

and information respecting the Petition for Waiver.

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, and information not later than

February 29, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and statements shall be sent to: Department

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Case No.

F-083, Mail Stop EE-43, Room 1J-108, Forestall Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-7140.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cyrus H. Nasseri, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail Station EE-431, Forestall

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, D.C. 20585-0121,

(202) 586-9138

Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General

Counsel, Mail Station GC-72, Forestall Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, D.C. 20585-0103, (202) 586-9507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer

Products (other than automobiles) was established pursuant to the

Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA), which requires

DOE to prescribe standardized test procedures to measure the energy

consumption of certain consumer products, including furnaces. The

intent of the test procedures is to provide a comparable measure of

energy consumption that will assist consumers in making purchasing

decisions. These test procedures appear at Title 10 CFR Part 430,

Subpart B.

The Department amended the test procedure rules to provide for a

waiver process by adding Section 430.27 to Title 10 CFR Part 430. 45 FR

64108, September 26, 1980. Subsequently, DOE amended the waiver process

to allow the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Energy (Assistant Secretary) to grant an Interim Waiver from test

procedure requirements to manufacturers that have petitioned DOE for a

waiver of such prescribed test procedures. Title 10 CFR Part 430,

Section 430.27(a)(2).

The waiver process allows the Assistant Secretary to waive

temporarily test procedures for a particular basic model when a

petitioner shows that the basic model contains one or more design

characteristics which prevent testing according to the prescribed test

procedures, or when the prescribed test procedures may evaluate the

basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy

consumption as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data.

Waivers generally remain in effect until final test procedure

amendments become effective, resolving the problem that is the subject

of the waiver.

An Interim Waiver will be granted if it is determined that the

applicant will experience economic hardship if the Application for

Interim Waiver is denied, if it appears likely that the Petition for

Waiver will be granted, and/or the Assistant Secretary determines that

it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate

relief pending a determination on the Petition for Waiver. Title 10 CFR

Part 430, Section 430.27(g). An Interim Waiver remains in effect for a

period of 180 days or until DOE issues its determination on the

Petition for

[[Page 3024]]

Waiver, whichever is sooner, and may be extended for an additional 180

days, if necessary.

On November 29, 1995, Thermo Products filed an Application for

Interim Waiver and a Petition for Waiver regarding blower time delay.

Thermo Products Application seeks an Interim Waiver from the DOE test

provisions that require a 1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of

the burner and starting of the circulating air blower. Instead, Thermo

Products requests the allowance to test using a 45-second blower time

delay when testing its CHA-upflow and CCA-downflow condensing gas

furnaces. Thermo Products states that the 45-second delay is indicative

of how these furnaces actually operate. Such a delay results in an

increase in AFUE improvement of up to 2.0 percent. Since current DOE

test procedures do not address this variable blower time delay, Thermo

Products asks that the Interim Waiver be granted.

The Department has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on

August 23, 1993, (58 FR 44583) to amend the furnace test procedure,

which addresses the above issue.

Previous Petitions for Waiver for this type of time blower delay

control have been granted by DOE to Coleman Company, 50 FR 2710,

January 18, 1985; Magic Chef Company, 50 FR 41553, October 11, 1985;

Rheem Manufacturing Company, 53 FR 48574, December 1, 1988, 56 FR 2920,

January 25, 1991, 57 FR 10166, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 34560, August 5,

1992; 59 FR 30577, June 14, 1994, and 59 FR 55470, November 7, 1994;

Trane Company, 54 FR 19226, May 4, 1989, 56 FR 6021, February 14, 1991,

57 FR 10167, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 22222, May 27, 1992, 58 FR 68138,

December 23, 1993, and 60 FR 62835, December 7, 1995; Lennox

Industries, 55 FR 50224, December 5, 1990, 57 FR 49700, November 3,

1992, 58 FR 68136, December 23, 1993, and 58 FR 68137, December 23,

1993; Inter-City Products Corporation, 55 FR 51487, December 14, 1990,

and 56 FR 63945, December 6, 1991; DMO Industries, 56 FR 4622, February

5, 1991, and 59 FR 30579, June 14, 1994; Heil-Quaker Corporation, 56 FR

6019, February 14, 1991; Carrier Corporation, 56 FR 6018, February 14,

1991, 57 FR 38830, August 27, 1992, 58 FR 68131, December 23, 1993, 58

FR 68133, December 23, 1993, 59 FR 14394, March 28, 1994, and 60 FR

62832, December 7, 1995; Amana Refrigeration Inc., 56 FR 27958, June

18, 1991, 56 FR 63940, December 6, 1991, 57 FR 23392, June 3, 1992, and

58 FR 68130, December 23, 1993; Snyder General Corporation, 56 FR

54960, September 9, 1991; Goodman Manufacturing Corporation, 56 FR

51713, October 15, 1991, 57 FR 27970, June 23, 1992 and 59 FR 12586,

March 17, 1994; The Ducane Company Inc., 56 FR 63943, December 6, 1991,

57 FR 10163, March 24, 1992, and 58 FR 68134, December 23, 1993;

Armstrong Air Conditioning, Inc., 57 FR 899, January 9, 1992, 57 FR

10160, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 10161, March 24, 1992, 57 FR 39193, August

28, 1992, 57 FR 54230, November 17, 1992, and 59 FR 30575, June 14,

1994; Thermo Products, Inc., 57 FR 903, January 9, 1992; Consolidated

Industries Corporation, 57 FR 22220, May 27, 1992; Evcon Industries,

Inc., 57 FR 47847, October 20, 1992, and 59 FR 46968, September 13,

1994; Bard Manufacturing Company, 57 FR 53733, November 12, 1992, and

59 FR 30578, June 14, 1994; and York International Corporation, 59 FR

46969, September 13, 1994, 60 FR 100, January 3, 1995, 60 FR 62834,

December 7, 1995, and 60 FR 62837, December 7, 1995.

Thus, it appears likely that this Petition for Waiver for blower

time delay will be granted. In those instances where the likely success

of the Petition for Waiver has been demonstrated based upon DOE having

granted a waiver for a similar product design, it is in the public

interest to have similar products tested and rated for energy

consumption on a comparable basis.

Therefore, based on the above, DOE is granting Thermo Products an

Interim Waiver for its CHA-upflow and CCA-downflow condensing gas

furnaces. Thermo Products shall be permitted to test its CHA-upflow and

CCA-downflow condensing gas furnaces on the basis of the test

procedures specified in Title 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix N,

with the modification set forth below:

(I) Section 3.0 in Appendix N is deleted and replaced with the

following paragraph:

3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and measurements shall be as specified

in Section 9 in ANSI/ASHRAE 103-82 with the exception of Sections

9.2.2, 9.3.1, and 9.3.2, and the inclusion of the following additional

procedures:

(ii) Add a new paragraph 3.10 in Appendix N as follows:

3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. After equilibrium

conditions are achieved following the cool-down test and the required

measurements performed, turn on the furnace and measure the flue gas

temperature, using the thermocouple grid described above, at 0.5 and

2.5 minutes after the main burner(s) comes on. After the burner start-

up, delay the blower start-up by 1.5 minutes (t-) unless: (1) the

furnace employs a single motor to drive the power burner and the indoor

air circulation blower, in which case the burner and blower shall be

started together; or (2) the furnace is designed to operate using an

unvarying delay time that is other than 1.5 minutes, in which case the

fan control shall be permitted to start the blower; or (3) the delay

time results in the activation of a temperature safety device which

shuts off the burner, in which case the fan control shall be permitted

to start the blower. In the latter case, if the fan control is

adjustable, set it to start the blower at the highest temperature. If

the fan control is permitted to start the blower, measure time delay

(t-) using a stop watch. Record the measured temperatures. During the

heat-up test for oil-fueled furnaces, maintain the draft in the flue

pipe within 0.01

-

.

This Interim Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of

statements and all allegations submitted by the company. This Interim

Waiver may be removed or modified at any time upon a determination that

the factual basis underlying the Application is incorrect.

The Interim Waiver shall remain in effect for a period of 180 days

or until DOE acts on the Petition for Waiver, whichever is sooner, and

may be extended for an additional 180-day period, if necessary.

Thermo Products's Petition for Waiver requests DOE to grant relief

from the DOE furnace test procedure relating to the blower time delay

specification. Thermo Products seeks to test using a blower delay time

of 45 seconds for its CHA-upflow and CCA-downflow condensing gas

furnaces instead of the specified 1.5-minute delay between burner on-

time and blower on-time. Pursuant to paragraph (b) of Title 10 CFR Part

430.27, DOE is hereby publishing the ``Petition for Waiver'' in its

entirety. The Petition contains no confidential information. The

Department solicits comments, data, and information respecting the

Petition.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Thermo Pride

Heating, Cooling, Electronic Air Cleaning and Humidification Equipment

November 29, 1995.

The Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy,

United States Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20585

Subject: Petition for Waiver and Application for Interim Waiver

[[Page 3025]]

Gentlemen: This is a Petition for Waiver and Application for

Interim Waiver which are submitted pursuant to Title 10 CFR 430.27.

Waiver is requested from Test Procedures for Measuring the Energy

Consumption of Furnace found in Appendix N to Subpart B of Part 430.

The test procedure requires a 1.5 minute delay between burner

and blower start-up. Thermo Products requests a waiver from the

specified 1.5 minute delay and requests approval to use a 45-second

delay for our Series CHA- upflow and CCA- downflow condensing type

residential gas fired furnaces.

An electronic fan control is being used on these products that

incorporate a fixed timing.

Current test procedures do not credit Thermo Products for the

energy savings associated with the shorter blower timing. The

shorter timed on fan delay reduces flue losses therefor increasing

furnace efficiency. Test data for these furnaces utilizing a 45-

second timing indicates an increase in AFUE up to 2%. Confidential

supporting test data is available upon request.

Thermo Products is confident that this Waiver will be granted,

as several other manufacturers of gas furnaces received DOE granted

waivers such as Carrier, Lennox Industries, Inter-City Products,

Amana, Rheem Manufacturing and others based on timed blower

operation.

Manufacturers that domestically market similar products are

being sent a copy of this Petition for Waiver and Application for

Interim Waiver.

Sincerely,

Everett E. James,

Director of Engineering.

[FR Doc. 96-1728 Filed 1-29-96; 8:45 am]

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