[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30555-30556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13093]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 102 / Thursday, May 26, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 30555]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[Docket No. EERE-2009-BT-TP-0004]
RIN 1904-AB94


Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Test 
Procedures for Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps

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

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening the 
public comment period.

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SUMMARY: This document announces a reopening of the time period for 
submitting comments on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking 
(SNOPR) to further amend DOE's proposed amendments to its test 
procedures for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps 
released in a June 2010 notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). The 
comment period closed on May 2, 2011. The comment period is reopened 
from May 26, 2011 until June 9, 2011.

DATES: Comments, data, and information relevant to the SNOPR to amend 
DOE test procedures for residential central air conditioners and heat 
pumps will be accepted until June 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments, identified by docket 
number EERE-2009-BT-TP-0004 or Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 1904-
AB94, by any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected]. Include the docket 
number EERE-2009-BT-TP-0004 and/or RIN 1904-AB94 in the subject line of 
the message.
    3. Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. If possible, please submit all 
items on a compact disc (CD), in which case it is not necessary to 
include printed copies. Otherwise, please submit one signed paper 
original.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Program, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 
600, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. If possible, 
please submit all items on a CD, in which case it is not necessary to 
include printed copies. Otherwise, please submit one signed paper 
original.
    Instructions: No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted. All 
submissions must include the docket number or RIN for this rulemaking. 
For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see section 0, ``Public 
Participation,'' of this document.
    Docket: The docket is available for review at http://www.regulations.gov, including Federal Register notices, framework 
documents, public meetings attendee lists, transcripts, comments, and 
other supporting documents/materials. All documents in the docket are 
listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. However, not all 
documents listed in the index may be publicly available, such as 
information that is exempt from public disclosure.
    A link to the docket Web page can be found at:
    http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/cac_heatpumps_new_rulemaking.html. This Web page will 
contain a link to the docket for this notice on the Web site http://www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov Web page will 
contain simple instructions on how to access all documents, including 
public comments, in the docket. See section 0, ``Public 
Participation,'' for information on how to submit comments through 
regulations.gov.
    For further information on how to submit or review public comments 
or view hard copies of the docket in the Resource Room, contact Ms. 
Brenda Edwards at (202) 586-2945 or e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wes Anderson, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-7335. E-mail: 
[email protected].
Ms. Jennifer Tiedeman, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-71, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. 
Telephone: (202) 287-6111. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    In an April 1, 2011 supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking 
(SNOPR), 76 FR 18105, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed 
amendments to those it proposed to the DOE test procedures for 
residential central air conditioners and heat pumps released in a June 
2010 notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). 75 FR 31224. The proposed 
amendments in the SNOPR would change the off-mode laboratory test steps 
and calculation algorithm to determine off-mode power consumption for 
residential central air conditioners and heat pumps, as well as change 
the requirements for selection and metering of the low-voltage 
transformer used when testing coil-only residential central air 
conditioners and heat pumps. Additionally, the amendments proposed in 
the SNOPR provided a method of calculation to determine the energy 
efficiency ratio (EER) during cooling mode steady-state tests for use 
as a regional metric. Finally, the SNOPR proposed amendments that would 
combine the two seasonal off-mode ratings of P1 and P2 for residential 
central air conditioners and heat pumps, as set forth in the June 2010 
NOPR, to yield a single overall rating, PWOFF. DOE opened a public 
comment period to receive comments, feedback, and other information 
regarding the SNOPR. The public comment period closed on May 2, 2011.
    In a May 11, 2011, letter to DOE, after the close of the comment 
period, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute 
(AHRI) raised concerns regarding the proposals set forth in the SNOPR. 
The specific concerns raised by AHRI include that: (1) THE proposed 
off-mode test requirements are too complex; (2) the

[[Page 30556]]

proposed method for estimating off-mode hours is inaccurate; (3) the 
assumed outdoor temperature values for the shoulder season may be 
incorrect; (4) the proposed test procedures fails to measure power 
input to the crankcase heater; and (5) DOE has severely underestimated 
the cost of testing that would be incurred by manufacturers. (AHRI, No. 
24.1 at pp. 1-2) \1\
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    \1\ This indicates a written comment that was submitted in 
response to the April 2011 SNOPR and is included in the docket for 
this rulemaking. This particular comment refers to a comment (1) by 
AHRI, (2) in document number 24.1 in the public meeting support 
materials, and (3) appearing on pages 1-2.
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    Based on the number and scope of issues raised in the May 11, 2011, 
AHRI letter, DOE believes that reopening the comment period to allow 
additional time for interested parties to submit comments is 
appropriate. Therefore, DOE is reopening the comment period until June 
9, 2011 to provide interested parties additional time to prepare and 
submit comments. DOE will accept comments received no later than June 
9, 2011 and will consider any comments received between May 2, 2011 and 
June 9, 2011 to be timely filed.

II. Public Participation

A. Submission of Comments

    DOE will accept comments, data, and other information regarding the 
SNOPR no later than the date provided in the DATES section at the 
beginning of this notice. Interested parties may submit comments using 
any of the methods described in the ADDRESSES section at the beginning 
of this notice.
    Submitting comments via regulations.gov. The regulations.gov Web 
page will require you to provide your name and contact information. 
Your contact information will be viewable to DOE Building Technologies 
staff only. Your contact information will not be publicly viewable 
except for your first and last names, organization name (if any), and 
submitter representative name (if any). If your comment is not 
processed properly because of technical difficulties, DOE will use this 
information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, DOE 
may not be able to consider your comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment or in any documents attached to your comment. 
Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable should not 
be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to your 
comment. Persons viewing comments will see only first and last names, 
organization names, correspondence containing comments, and any 
documents submitted with the comments.
    Do not submit to regulations.gov information for which disclosure 
is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or 
financial information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business 
Information (CBI)). Comments submitted through regulations.gov cannot 
be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the Web site will waive 
any CBI claims for the information submitted. For information on 
submitting CBI, see the Confidential Business Information section.
    DOE processes submissions made through regulations.gov before 
posting them online. Normally, comments will be posted within a few 
days of being submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are 
processed simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to 
several weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that 
regulations.gov provides after you have successfully uploaded your 
comment.
    Submitting comments via e-mail, hand delivery, or mail. Comments 
and documents submitted via e-mail, hand delivery, or mail also will be 
posted to regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact 
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your comment 
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information on a cover letter. Include your first and last names, e-
mail address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
comments.
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. E-mail submissions are 
preferred. If you submit via mail or hand delivery, please provide all 
items on a CD, if feasible. It is not necessary to submit printed 
copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, are written in English, and are free of any defects or 
viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or any form of 
encryption and, if possible, they should carry the electronic signature 
of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 and 500 form letters 
per PDF, or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names 
compiled into one or more PDFs. This reduces comment processing and 
posting time.
    Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via 
e-mail, postal mail, or hand delivery two well-marked copies: one copy 
of the document marked confidential including all the information 
believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked non-
confidential with the information believed to be confidential deleted. 
Submit these documents via e-mail or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will 
make its own determination about the confidential status of the 
information and treat it according to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 20, 2011.
Kathleen Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Technology Development, Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-13093 Filed 5-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P