[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4262-4263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2349]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Case No. F-082]


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and 
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Consolidated 
Industries

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-082) 
granting a Waiver to Consolidated Industries (Consolidated) from the 
existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for 
furnaces. The Department is granting Consolidated's Petition for Waiver 
regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization 
Efficiency (AFUE) for its USA and UCA series 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, Consolidated has been granted a 
Waiver for its USA and UCA series furnaces permitting the company to 
use an alternate test method in determining AFUE.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 30, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

DECISION AND ORDER

    In The Matter of: Consolidated Industries. (Case No. F-082)

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 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. 

[[Page 4263]]

    Consolidated filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated April 26, 1995, 
in accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department 
published in the Federal Register on November 22, 1995, Consolidated's 
Petition and solicited comments, data and information respecting the 
Petition. 60 FR 57854, November 22, 1995. Consolidated also filed an 
``Application for Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which 
DOE granted on November 13, 1995. 60 FR 57854, November 22, 1995.
    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 
Consolidated Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the 
issuance of the waiver to Consolidated.

Assertions and Determinations

    Consolidated'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. Consolidated requests 
the allowance to test using a 30-second blower time delay when testing 
its USA and UCA series furnaces. Consolidated states that since the 30-
second delay is indicative of how these models actually operate, and 
since such a delay results in an average furnace AFUE improvement 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. Consolidated indicates that it is unable 
to take advantage of any of these exceptions for its USA and UCA series 
furnaces.
    Since the blower controls incorporated on the Consolidated 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 Consolidated USA and UCA series furnaces. Accordingly, with regard 
to testing the USA and UCA series furnaces, today's Decision and Order 
exempts Consolidated 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 Consolidated Industries. 
(Case No. F-082) 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, Consolidated Industries, shall be permitted to 
test its USA and UCA series 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, 
Consolidated Industries 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 USA and UCA series furnaces manufactured by Consolidated 
Industries.
    (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 1/30/96, this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver 
granted Consolidated Industries on November 13, 1995. 60 FR 57854, 
November 22, 1995 (Case No. F-082).

    Issued In Washington, DC, on January 30, 1996.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-2349 Filed 2-2-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P