[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34048-34049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16383]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Rheem (Case No. F-089)]


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and 
Order Granting a Waiver From the Furnace Test Procedure to Rheem 
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-089) 
granting a Waiver to Rheem Manufacturing Company (Rheem) from the 
existing Department of Energy (DOE or Department) test procedure for 
furnaces. The Department is granting Rheem's Petition for Waiver 
regarding blower time delay in calculation of Annual Fuel Utilization 
Efficiency (AFUE) for its GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-
fired furnaces.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 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, or Mr. 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, Rheem has been granted a Waiver for 
its GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces 
permitting the company to use an alternate test method in determining 
AFUE.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13, 1997.
Joseph J. Romm,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Decision and Order

    Rheem (Case No. F-089).

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.
    Rheem filed a ``Petition for Waiver,'' dated January 29, 1997, in 
accordance with section 430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. The Department 
published in the Federal Register on April 4, 1997, Rheem's Petition 
and solicited comments, data, and information respecting the Petition. 
62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997. Rheem also filed an ``Application for 
Interim Waiver'' under section 430.27(b)(2), which DOE granted on March 
31, 1997. 62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997.
    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 Rheem 
Petition. The FTC did not have any objections to the issuance of the 
waiver to Rheem.
    The Department on February 28, 1997, issued the Final Rule on test 
procedures for furnaces/boilers, vented home heating equipment, and 
pool heaters. 62 FR 26140, May 12, 1997. This Final Rule incorporates 
test procedure Waivers granted to different manufacturers for air 
circulation blower delay time at start-up for furnaces with unvarying 
control on blower delay time. This Waiver granted to Rheem expires on 
November 10, 1997, the date when the final test procedure rule becomes 
effective, resolving the issue necessitating this Waiver.

Assertions and Determinations

    Rheem'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. Rheem requests the 
allowance to test using a 20-second blower time delay when testing its 
GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces. Rheem 
states that since the 20-second delay is indicative of how these models 
actually operate, and since such a delay results in an average of 
approximately 2.0 percent increase in AFUE, 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. Rheem indicates that it is unable to take 
advantage of any of these exceptions for its GFD upflow residential, 
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces.
    Since the blower controls incorporated on the Rheem furnaces are 
designed to impose a 20-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 20-second blower time delay when testing the Rheem 
GFD upflow residential, modulating type, gas-fired furnaces. 
Accordingly, with regard to testing the GFD upflow residential, 
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces, today's Decision and Order exempts 
Rheem from the existing test procedure provisions regarding blower 
controls

[[Page 34049]]

and allows testing with the 20-second delay.
    It is, therefore, ordered that:
    (1) The ``Petition for Waiver'' filed by Rheem Manufacturing 
Company (Case No. F-089) 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, Rheem shall be permitted to test its GFD upflow 
residential, modulating type, gas-fired 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/ASHRAM 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/ASHRAM 
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, 
Rheem 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 November 10, 1997, the date when the Department's 
final test procedure appropriate to the GFD upflow residential, 
modulating type, gas-fired furnaces manufactured by Rheem goes into 
effect.
    (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 6-13-97, this Waiver supersedes the Interim Waiver 
granted Rheem on March 31, 1997. 62 FR 16146, April 4, 1997 (Case No. 
F-089).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 13, 1997.
Joseph J. Romm,
Acting Assistant Secretary,
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 97-16383 Filed 6-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P