[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 87 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24483-24484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09705]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
 
 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 87 / Friday, May 7, 2021 / Rules and 
Regulations  

[[Page 24483]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 430

[EERE-2017-BT-TP-0012]
RIN 1904-AD47


Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Room Air 
Conditioners; Correction

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

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On March 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') 
published a final rule adopting test procedures for room air 
conditioners (hereafter the ``March 2021 final rule''). This document 
corrects errors and omissions in the Federal test procedure for room 
air conditioners as amended by the March 2021 final rule, including an 
incorrect mathematical notation and missing detail regarding the full 
compressor speed setpoint in the testing instructions. Neither the 
errors and omissions, nor the corrections in this document, affect the 
substance of the rulemaking or any conclusions reached in support of 
the final rule.

DATES: Effective May 7, 2021. The incorporation by reference of certain 
publications listed in the rule was approved by the Director of the 
Federal Register on April 28, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Mr. Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-5B, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: 
(202) 586-0371. Email: [email protected].
    Ms. Sarah Butler, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. 
Telephone: (202) 586-1777. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    DOE published a final rule in the Federal Register on March 29, 
2021, establishing test procedures for room air conditioners in 
appendix F to subpart B of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) part 430 (``appendix F''). 86 FR 16446. Following publication of 
the March 2021 final rule, DOE received a request on April 12, 2021 
from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers to correct an 
error to a mathematical notation in the calculation for annual energy 
consumption in inactive and off mode.\1\ DOE reviewed the test 
procedure as amended and agrees that the mathematical notation as 
finalized in the March 2021 final rule is incorrect. Upon review, DOE 
also identified an omission in the regulatory text as amended by the 
March 2021 final rule regarding a detail for the full compressor speed 
setpoint in the testing instructions. As discussed in the following 
paragraphs, the errors and omission in the regulatory text were 
correctly presented in the preamble to the March 2021 final rule. This 
correction rule revises appendix F to correct these typographical 
errors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers' request is 
filed in the docket of this test procedure rulemaking (Docket No. 
EERE-2017-BT-TP-0012-0022) and available for review at http://www.regulations.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The appendix F test procedure specifies a formula to calculate 
annual energy consumption in inactive and off mode. Section 5.1 of 
appendix F. However, the formula as established by the March 2021 final 
rule does not properly size one of the subscripts and inadvertently 
uses an incorrect mathematical notation. DOE is therefore fixing these 
issues in this notice, and notes that the ``ia'' in the ``Pia'' 
variable should be in subscript, and the addition symbol in the second 
parenthetical term should instead be a multiplication symbol. The 
parenthetical term refers to the annual energy consumption of the room 
air conditioner in off mode, in kilowatt-hours (``kWh'') per year, 
which is the product of the measured average power in off mode, 
Pom, in watts (``W''), and the annual operating hours in off 
mode multiplied by a conversion factor from watt-hours to kWh, 
tom, in kWh/W. It would therefore be mathematically 
incorrect to sum Pom and tom to obtain an annual 
energy consumption term, rather than multiply the two variables. The 
corrected equation is as follows:

AECia/om = (Pia x tia) + (Pom x tom).

    The March 2021 final rule amended appendix F to include a 
definition of ``full compressor speed (full),'' which is referenced in 
the procedure for testing variable-speed room air conditioners. 86 FR 
16446, 16477; see also section 2.12 of appendix F. Although the 
preamble to the March 2021 final rule stated that the full compressor 
speed is achieved when testing using a 75 [deg]F setpoint, that testing 
instruction was inadvertently omitted in the regulatory text. 86 FR 
16446, 16456. Thus, DOE revises the definition for full compressor 
speed as discussed in the preamble of the March 2021 final rule as 
follows:
    2.12 ``Full compressor speed (full)'' means the compressor speed at 
which the unit operates at full load test conditions, when using user 
settings with a unit thermostat setpoint of 75 [deg]F to achieve 
maximum cooling capacity, according to the instructions in ANSI/ASHRAE 
Standard 16-2016 Section 6.1.1.4.''

II. Need for Correction

    As published, the regulatory text in March 2021 final rule may 
result in confusion due to the typographical errors and omission 
explained above. Because this final rule would simply correct errors in 
the text without making substantive changes in the March 2021 final 
rule, the changes addressed in this document are technical in nature.

III. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review

    DOE has concluded that the determinations made pursuant to the 
various procedural requirements applicable to the March 2021 final rule 
remain unchanged for this final rule technical correction. These 
determinations are set forth in the March 2021 final rule. 86 FR 16446, 
16472.
    Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b), DOE 
has determined there is good cause to find that prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment on the changes contained in this 
document are impracticable, unnecessary, and

[[Page 24484]]

contrary to the public interest. Neither the errors nor the corrections 
in this document affect the substance of the March 2021 final rule or 
any of the conclusions reached in support of the final rule. Providing 
prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on correcting 
objective, typographical errors and omissions that do not change the 
substance of the test procedure serves no useful purpose. As such, this 
rule is not subject to the 30-day delay in effective date requirement 
of 5 U.S.C. 553(d) otherwise applicable to rules that make substantive 
changes.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 430

    Administrative practice and procedure, Confidential business 
information, Energy conservation, Household appliances, Imports, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Small 
businesses.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 2, 
2021, by Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary 
and Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. 
That document with the original signature and date is maintained by 
DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE 
Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit 
the document in electronic format for publication, as an official 
document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no 
way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on May 4, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
    For the reasons stated in the preamble, DOE corrects part 430 of 
chapter II, subchapter D, of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations by making the following correcting amendments:

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. Appendix F to subpart B of part 430 is amended by revising sections 
2.12 and 5.1 to read as follows:

Appendix F to Subpart B of Part 430--Uniform Test Method for Measuring 
the Energy Consumption of Room Air conditioners

* * * * *
    2. * * *
    2.12 ``Full compressor speed (full)'' means the compressor speed 
at which the unit operates at full load test conditions, when using 
user settings with a unit thermostat setpoint of 75 [deg]F to 
achieve maximum cooling capacity, according to the instructions in 
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 16-2016.
* * * * *
    5. * * *
    5.1 Annual energy consumption in inactive mode and off mode. 
Calculate the annual energy consumption in inactive mode and off 
mode, AECia/om, expressed in kilowatt-hours per year 
(kWh/year).

AECia/om = (Pia x tia + Pom x tom)

Where:

AECia/om = annual energy consumption in inactive mode and 
off mode, in kWh/year.
Pia = average power in inactive mode, in watts, 
determined in section 4.2 of this appendix.
Pom = average power in off mode, in watts, determined in 
section 4.2 of this appendix.
tia = annual operating hours in inactive mode and 
multiplied by a 0.001 kWh/Wh conversion factor from watt-hours to 
kilowatt-hours. This value is 5.115 kWh/W if the unit has inactive 
mode and no off mode, 2.5575 kWh/W if the unit has both inactive and 
off mode, and 0 kWh/W if the unit does not have inactive mode.
tom = annual operating hours in off mode and multiplied 
by a 0.001 kWh/Wh conversion factor from watt-hours to kilowatt-
hours. This value is 5.115 kWh/W if the unit has off mode and no 
inactive mode, 2.5575 kWh/W if the unit has both inactive and off 
mode, and 0 kWh/W if the unit does not have off mode.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-09705 Filed 5-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P