[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4202-4203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2173]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 430
[Docket No. EE-RM-94-230]
RIN 1904-AA88
Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Notice of
Public Workshop on Residential Water Heater Test Procedures
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: In today's notice, the Department of Energy (the Department or
DOE) is convening a public workshop for water heaters to discuss
comments received on its notice of proposed rulemaking and from the
public hearing. All persons are hereby given notice of the opportunity
to attend and participate in the public workshop.
DATES: The public workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 12,
1997, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the comments may be obtained from: U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal
Building, Mail Stop: EE-43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington,
DC 20585, (202) 586-7574. These documents may be read at the DOE
Freedom of Information Reading Room, U.S. DOE, Forrestal Building, Room
1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
6020, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
The public workshop will be held at the U.S. Department of Energy,
Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal Building, Mail Stop EE-43,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-
0371; or
Ms. Sandy Beall, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy, Mail Stop EE-43, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0121, (202) 586-7574.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 23, 1995, the Department of Energy
published a notice of Proposed Rule and Public Hearing on proposed
amendments to clarify the water heater; kitchen range, oven, and
microwave; and clothes washer test procedures. (60 FR 15330, March 23,
1995) The notice requested data and comments until the close of comment
period on August 31, 1995 (Docket No: EE-RM-94-230). A public hearing
was held on July 12, 1995.
The Department is convening a public workshop for water heaters to
discuss the large number of comments received on the notice and from
the public hearing. The Department seeks to gather additional
information and/or data on certain unresolved issues being considered
by the Department in its development of the Final Rule for Water Heater
Test Procedure.
The tentative topics and issues to be discussed at the February 12,
1997, public workshop include the following:
1. First Hour Rating for Storage-Type Water Heaters
Should DOE consider the 1979 test method (44 FR 52632,
September 7, 1979) for measuring first hour rating?
Should DOE retain the current test method (55 FR 42162,
October 17, 1990) for measuring first hour rating?
Should DOE adopt the 1995 proposed test method (60 FR
15330, March 23, 1995) for measuring first hour rating (with revision
to include a temperature correction factor of 120 deg.F for each draw
if an internal mixing device is used)?
Should DOE adopt the alternate test method proposed by Dr.
Carl Hiller of Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) (EE-RM-94-230,
No. 17)?
2. Instantaneous water heaters
Do oil-fired instantaneous water heaters exist in the
marketplace, and, if so, should test procedures be developed for them?
Should test procedures be developed for single point-of-
use type electric instantaneous water heaters?
Should DOE adopt an alternate first-hour rating method for
instantaneous water heaters using a maximum draw rate at a temperature
rise of 77 deg.F as proposed by Gas Appliance Manufacturers
Association (GAMA) (EE-RM-94-230, No. 1 & 35), or a temperature rise of
50 deg.F as proposed by Edison Electric Institute (EEI) (EE-RM-94-230,
No. 2 & 27) and EPRI (EE-RM-94-230, No. 17)?
3. Storage-type water heaters with rated storage capacities of less
than 20 gallons
Should test procedures developed for storage-type water
heaters be applied to storage-type water heaters with rated storage
capacities of less than 20 gallons?
If so, should the draw rate and daily draw volume in
ASHRAE Standard 118.2--1993, as referenced in the 1995 DOE proposed
rule, be used in the 24-hour simulated use test for storage-type water
heaters with rated storage capacities of less than 20 gallons? Or
should some other draw rate and total daily drawn volume be used?
Should test procedures be developed for storage-type water
heaters with rated storage capacities of less than 10 gallons (single
point-of-use type heaters)?
4. Daily hot water usage
Does the daily usage assumed in the current test
procedures, 64.3 gallons, reflect realistic daily hot water usage, and
if not, what volume should it be?
How will the Energy Factor be affected if testing were
conducted at a daily hot water usage volume other than 64.3 gallons?
5. Thermostat settings
Should the current setting of 135 deg.F be lowered to 120
deg.F to reflect manufacturers' recommendation that thermostat setting
be set at a lower setting to avoid potential scalding?
How will the Energy Factor be effected if testing were
conducted at a thermostat setting of 120 deg.F?
6. Test procedures for heat pump water heaters
Does the current test procedure (draw schedule of six
hourly draws of 10.7 gallons per draw) provide operating conditions
which would allow the resistance element(s) to be activated?
Should DOE consider an alternate draw schedule to be used
in the 24-hr simulated use test for heat pump water heaters and if so,
what should this draw schedule be?
How will the Energy Factor be effected if testing were
conducted using different alternate draw schedules?
7. Definitions for heat pump water heaters, add-on heat pump water
heaters, integral heat pump water heaters, solar water heaters, and
heat pump water heater storage tanks
Should any of the proposed definition be adopted by DOE?
Should any proposed definition be revised and if so, which
one(s) and how should it (they) be revised?
Which, if any proposed definition should be completely
deleted?
After completion of the workshop, the Department will review all of
the findings and other recommendations. The Department will use this
information to develop the final rule for the water heater test
procedures. The workshop will be professionally facilitated.
Please notify Mr. Bryan Berringer at the above listed address of
your
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intention to attend the workshop, or if you wish to be added to the DOE
mailing list for receipt of future rules and information concerning
water heater matters relating to energy efficiency.
Issued in Washington, DC on January 22, 1997.
Christine A. Ervin,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 97-2173 Filed 1-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P