Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Goodman Manufacturing Company

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Case No. F-084]

Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and

Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Goodman

Manufacturing Company

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

Energy.

ACTION: Decision and Order.

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SUMMARY: Notice is given of the Decision and Order (Case No. F-084)

granting a Waiver to Goodman Manufacturing Company (Goodman) from the

existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for

furnaces. The Department is granting Goodman's Petition for Waiver

regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization

Efficiency (AFUE) for its GSU series central furnaces.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

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

Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121,

(202) 586-9138

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

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(j), notice

is hereby given of the issuance of the Decision and Order as set out

below. In the Decision and Order, Goodman has been granted a Waiver for

its GSU series central furnaces permitting the company to use an

alternate test method in determining AFUE.

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1996.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order

In the Matter of: Goodman Manufacturing Company (Case No. F-

084).

Background

The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products (other than

automobiles) was established pursuant to the Energy Policy and

Conservation Act, Public Law 94-163, 89 Stat. 917, 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 10 CFR Part 430,

Subpart B.

The Department amended the prescribed test procedures by adding 10

CFR 430.27 to create a waiver process. 45 FR 64108, September 26, 1980.

Thereafter, DOE further amended its appliance test procedure waiver

process to allow the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and

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

test procedure

[[Page 17290]]

requirements to manufacturers that have petitioned DOE for a waiver of

such prescribed test procedures. 51 FR 42823, November 26, 1986.

The waiver process allows the Assistant Secretary to waive

temporarily test procedures for a particular basic model when a

petitioner shows that the basic model contains one or more design

characteristics which prevent testing according to the prescribed test

procedures or when the prescribed test procedures may evaluate the

basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy

consumption as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data.

Waivers generally remain in effect until final test procedure

amendments become effective, resolving the problem that is the subject

of the waiver.

Goodman filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated July 19, 1995, in

accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department

published in the Federal Register on January 30, 1996, Goodman's

Petition and solicited comments, data and information respecting the

Petition. 61 FR 3025, January 30, 1996. Goodman also filed an

``Application for Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which

DOE granted on January 24, 1996. 61 FR 3025, January 30, 1996.

No comments were received concerning either the ``Petition for

Waiver'' or the ``Application for Interim Waiver.'' The Department

consulted with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning the

Goodman Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance

of the waiver to Goodman.

Assertions and Determinations

Goodman's Petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions that

require a 1.5-minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and

the starting of the circulating air blower. Goodman requests the

allowance to test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing its

GSU series central furnaces. Goodman states that since the 30-second

delay is indicative of how these models actually operate, and since

such a delay results in an increase in AFUE of 1.0 percent, the

Petition should be granted.

Under specific circumstances, the DOE test procedure contains

exceptions which allow testing with blower delay times of less than the

prescribed 1.5-minute delay. Goodman indicates that it is unable to

take advantage of any of these exceptions for its GSU series central

furnaces.

Since the blower controls incorporated on the Goodman furnaces are

designed to impose a 30-second blower delay in every instance of start

up, and since the current test procedure provisions do not specifically

address this type of control, DOE agrees that a waiver should be

granted to allow the 30-second blower time delay when testing the

Goodman GSU series central furnaces. Accordingly, with regard to

testing the GSU series central furnaces, today's Decision and Order

exempts Goodman from the existing test procedure provisions regarding

blower controls and allows testing with the 30-second delay.

It is, therefore, ordered that:

(1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Goodman Manufacturing

Company (Case No. F-084) is hereby granted as set forth in paragraph

(2) below, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5).

(2) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of Appendix N of 10 CFR

Part 430, Subpart B, Goodman Manufacturing Company, shall be permitted

to test its GSU series central furnaces on the basis of the test

procedure specified in 10 CFR Part 430, with modifications set forth

below:

(i) Section 3.0 of Appendix N is deleted and replaced with the

following paragraph:

3.0 Test Procedure. Testing and measurements shall be as specified

in section 9 in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 103-82 with the exception of

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

additional procedures:

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

3.10 Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. The following paragraph

is in lieu of the requirement specified in section 9.3.1 of ANSI/ASHRAE

Standard 103-82. After equilibrium conditions are achieved following

the cool-down test and the required measurements performed, turn on the

furnace and measure the flue gas temperature, using the thermocouple

grid described above, at 0.5 and 2.5 minutes after the main burner(s)

comes on. After the burner start-up, delay the blower start-up by 1.5

minutes (t-), unless: (1) the furnace employs a single motor to drive

the power burner and the indoor air circulating blower, in which case

the burner and blower shall be started together; or (2) the furnace is

designed to operate using an unvarying delay time that is other than

1.5 minutes, in which case the fan control shall be permitted to start

the blower; or (3) the delay time results in the activation of a

temperature safety device which shuts off the burner, in which case the

fan control shall be permitted to start the blower. In the latter case,

if the fan control is adjustable, set it to start the blower at the

highest temperature. If the fan control is permitted to start the

blower, measure time delay, (t-), using a stopwatch. Record the

measured temperatures. During the heat-up test for oil-fueled furnaces,

maintain the draft in the flue pipe within 0.01 inch of

water column of the manufacturer's recommended on-period draft.

(iii) With the exception of the modifications set forth above,

Goodman Manufacturing Company shall comply in all respects with the

test procedures specified in Appendix N of 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B.

(3) The Waiver shall remain in effect from the date of issuance of

this Order until DOE prescribes final test procedures appropriate to

the GSU series central furnaces manufactured by Goodman Manufacturing

Company.

(4) This Waiver is based upon the presumed validity of statements,

allegations, and documentary materials submitted by the petitioner.

This Waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination

that the factual basis underlying the Petition is incorrect.

(5) Effective April 4, 1996, this Waiver supersedes the Interim

Waiver granted Goodman Manufacturing Company on January 24, 1996. 61 FR

3025, January 30, 1996 (Case No. F-084).

Issued In Washington, DC, on April 4, 1996.

Christine A. Ervin,

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

[FR Doc. 96-9680 Filed 4-18-96; 8:45 am]

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