[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 145 (Monday, July 28, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43611-43613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17222]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EE-RM/STD-01-350]
RIN 1904-AA78


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy 
Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces and Boilers

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

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: This final rule clarifies the standards that are applicable to 
residential furnaces and boilers that were not subject to a final rule 
published by the Department of Energy

[[Page 43612]]

on November 19, 2007. Additionally, today's final rule codifies in the 
Department's regulations the requirements that are applicable to 
residential boilers as established in the Energy Independence and 
Security Act of 2007.

DATES: This technical amendment is effective August 27, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohammed Khan, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Forrestal 
Building, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-
0121, (202) 586-7892, e-mail: [email protected]; or Christopher 
Calamita, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 
Forrestal Building, GC-72, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20585, (202) 586-7432, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 19, 2007, DOE published a final 
rule in which it amended the energy conservation standards for non-
weatherized gas furnaces, weatherized gas furnaces, mobile home gas 
furnaces, oil-fired furnaces, gas-fired hot-water boilers, and oil-
fired hot-water boilers. (72 FR 65136.) The November 19, 2007 final 
rule established a compliance date of November 19, 2015, for the 
amended standards.
    In the notice of proposed rulemaking, DOE noted that gas steam 
boilers, oil-fired steam boilers, weatherized oil-fired furnaces, and 
mobile home oil-fired furnaces were not subject to the rulemaking. (71 
FR 59204, 59214; October 6, 2006.) Standards applicable to gas steam 
boilers, oil-fired steam boilers, weatherized oil-fired furnaces, and 
mobile home oil-fired furnaces in effect prior to the November 19, 2007 
final rule remained in effect following the November 19, 2007 final 
rule.
    In the November 19, 2007 final rule, DOE amended the regulatory 
text that specifies the energy conservation standards for residential 
furnaces and boilers (10 CFR 430.32(e)) by adding a table containing 
amended standards applicable to non-weatherized gas furnaces, 
weatherized gas furnaces, mobile home gas furnaces, non-weatherized 
oil-fired furnaces, gas-fired hot-water boilers, and oil-fired hot-
water boilers, manufactured on or after November 19, 2015. The 
regulatory text as amended by the November 19, 2007 final rule 
presented the required standards for residential furnaces and boilers 
in two tables. The first table presented the standards for all subject 
residential furnaces and boilers. The second table presented only the 
standards amended by the November 19, 2007 final rule, which as 
established, are applicable to the specified products that are 
manufactured on and after November 19, 2015. (72 FR 65169.)
    Subsequently, on December 19, 2007, the Energy Independence and 
Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) was signed into law and included 
amended energy conservation standards and design requirements for 
residential boilers. (Pub. L. 110-140) Specifically, section 303 of 
EISA 2007 amended section 325(f)(3)(A)-(B) of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (EPCA) to establish energy conservation standards and 
design requirements for gas-fired hot water boilers, gas-fired steam 
boilers, oil-fired hot water boilers, oil-fired steam boilers, and 
electric hot water boilers. (42 U.S.C. 6295(f)(3)(A)-(B)) EISA 2007 
includes minimum annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) requirements 
for gas-fired hot water and oil-fired hot water boilers, which 
supersede those established in the November 19, 2007, final rule. The 
minimum AFUE requirements for gas-fired hot water boilers are the same 
as those in the November 19, 2007, final rule.
    The design requirements added by EISA 2007 prohibit constant 
burning pilot lights for gas-fired hot water boilers and gas-fired 
steam boilers and require an automatic means for adjusting the water 
temperature for gas-fired hot water boilers, oil-fired hot water 
boilers, and electric hot water boilers. Both the energy conservation 
standards and the design requirements for these five classes of 
residential boilers are applicable to residential boilers manufacturers 
on or after September 1, 2012. DOE notes this effective date supersedes 
the later effective date specified by the November 19, 2007 final rule.
    In order to clarify the applicability of standards for residential 
furnaces and boilers following the November 19, 2007 final rule and 
EISA 2007, DOE is amending the regulatory text. Today's final rule 
presents the standards grouped by product (i.e., furnaces or boilers), 
and by compliance date. Today's final rule will allow manufacturers to 
reference an applicable standard by product and compliance date, and 
should make it easier for a manufacturer to determine the appropriate 
standard for a product. Today's final rule does not amend the standards 
applicable to residential furnaces and boilers as established in the 
November 19, 2007 final rule, except to the extent that standards were 
amended by EISA 2007.
    Additionally, DOE notes that in the preamble of the November 19, 
2007, final rule, DOE indicated that the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is mandating a phase-out of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) 
refrigerants and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. (72 FR 
65149) This statement was in error. The EPA is mandating a phase-out of 
HCFC refrigerants, but not HFC refrigerants. (58 FR 65018; December 10, 
1993) DOE realizes this inadvertent statement may have caused confusion 
within the industry. DOE notes that HFC refrigerants are the choice of 
the residential air conditioning industry to replace HCFC refrigerants 
that will be phased out.\1\ This error did not impact the final 
analyses relied on in establishing the standards for the final rule.
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    \1\ See, Acceptable Substitutes in Household and Light 
Commercial Air Conditioning, The U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency. http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/refrigerants/lists/homeac.html.
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    DOE has determined, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), that prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this final rule are 
unnecessary. The reorganization of the tables in the CFR is not a 
substantive change, and the public would have no particular interest in 
providing comments. In addition, codification of standards for certain 
residential boilers established in law by EISA involves no exercise of 
discretion or interpretation by DOE for the public to comment upon. 
DOE, therefore, finds that good cause exists to waive prior notice and 
an opportunity to comment for this rulemaking. In addition, because 
there is no requirement for publication of a notice of proposed 
rulemaking, the analytical provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., do not apply to this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430

    Administrative practice and procedure, Energy conservation, 
Household appliances.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2008.
Alexander A. Karsner,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 430 of Title 10, Code 
of Federal Regulations, is amended to read as follows:

[[Page 43613]]

PART 430--ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 430 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6291-6309; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.


0
2. Section 430.32 is amended by revising paragraph (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  430.32  Energy and water conservation standards and their 
effective dates.

* * * * *
    (e) Furnaces and boilers. (1) Furnaces. (i) The Annual Fuel 
Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) of residential furnaces manufactured 
before November 19, 2015, shall not be less than the following:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               AFUE \1\
                        Product class                          (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Furnaces (excluding classes noted below)................          78
(B) Mobile Home furnaces....................................          75
(C) Small furnaces (other than those designed solely for
 installation in mobile homes) having an input rate of less
 than 45,000 Btu/hr
  (1) Weatherized (outdoor).................................          78
  (2) Non-weatherized (indoor)..............................          78
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, as determined in Sec.
  430.23(n)(2) of this part.

    (ii) The AFUE of residential furnaces manufactured on or after 
November 19, 2015, shall not be less than the following:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               AFUE \1\
                        Product class                          (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Non-weatherized gas furnaces............................          80
(B) Weatherized gas furnaces................................          81
(C) Mobile home oil-fired furnaces..........................          75
(D) Mobile home gas furnaces................................          80
(E) Non-weatherized oil-fired furnaces......................          82
(F) Weatherized oil-fired furnaces..........................          78
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, as determined in Sec.
  430.23(n)(2) of this part.

    (2) Boilers. (i) The AFUE of residential boilers manufactured 
before September 1, 2012, shall not be less than the following:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               AFUE \1\
                        Product class                          (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Boilers (excluding gas steam)...........................          80
(B) Gas steam boilers.......................................          75
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, as determined in Sec.
  430.22(n)(2) of this part.

    (ii) Except as provided in paragraph (e)(2)(iv) of this section, 
the AFUE of residential boilers, manufactured on or after September 1, 
2012, shall not be less than the following and must comply with the 
design requirements as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    AFUE \1\
         Product class              (percent)      Design requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Gas-fired hot water boiler.              82  Constant burning pilot
                                                  not permitted.
                                                 Automatic means for
                                                  adjusting water
                                                  temperature required
                                                  (except for boilers
                                                  equipped with tankless
                                                  domestic water heating
                                                  coils).
(B) Gas-fired steam boiler.....              80  Constant burning pilot
                                                  not permitted.
(C) Oil-fired hot water boiler.              84  Automatic means for
                                                  adjusting temperature
                                                  required (except for
                                                  boilers equipped with
                                                  tankless domestic
                                                  water heating coils).
(D) Oil-fired steam boiler.....              82  None.
(E) Electric hot water boiler..            None  Automatic means for
                                                  adjusting temperature
                                                  required (except for
                                                  boilers equipped with
                                                  tankless domestic
                                                  water heating coils).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, as determined in Sec.
  430.22(n)(2) of this part.

    (iii) Automatic means for adjusting water temperature. (A) The 
automatic means for adjusting water temperature as required under 
paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section must automatically adjust the 
temperature of the water supplied by the boiler to ensure that an 
incremental change in inferred heat load produces a corresponding 
incremental change in the temperature of water supplied.
    (B) For boilers that fire at a single input rate, the automatic 
means for adjusting water temperature requirement may be satisfied by 
providing an automatic means that allows the burner or heating element 
to fire only when the means has determined that the inferred heat load 
cannot be met by the residual heat of the water in the system.
    (C) When there is no inferred heat load with respect to a hot water 
boiler, the automatic means described in this paragraph shall limit the 
temperature of the water in the boiler to not more than 140 degrees 
Fahrenheit.
    (D) A boiler for which an automatic means for adjusting water 
temperature is required shall be operable only when the automatic means 
is installed.
    (iv) A boiler that is manufactured to operate without any need for 
electricity or any electric connection, electric gauges, electric 
pumps, electric wires, or electric devices is not required to meet the 
AFUE or design requirements applicable to the boiler requirements of 
paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section, but must meet the requirements of 
paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, as applicable.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-17222 Filed 7-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P