[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]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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\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.
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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