[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 20, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21389-21390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09064]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Parts 429 and 430
[EERE-2022-BT-TP-0028]
RIN 1904-AF49
Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Central Air
Conditioners and Heat Pumps
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Final rule; further delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: This document further delays the effective date of a recently
published final rule amending the test procedures for central air
conditioners and heat pumps.
DATES: As of May 20, 2025, the effective date of the rule amending 10
CFR parts 429 and 430 published in the Federal Register at 90 FR 1224
on January 7, 2025, which was delayed at 90 FR 9001 (Feb. 5, 2025) and
90 FR 13052 (March 20, 2025), is further delayed until July 7, 2025.
The incorporation by reference approval published at 90 FR 1224 on
January 7, 2025, which was delayed at 90 FR 9001 (Feb. 5, 2025) and 90
FR 13052 (March 20, 2025), is further delayed to July 7, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Pradeep Prathibha, 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:
(240) 255-0630. Email: [email protected].
Mr. Pete Cochran, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
Telephone: (202) 586-4798. Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued
the ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review'' memorandum published in the
Federal Register on January 25, 2025 (90 FR 8249). This Presidential
action ordered all executive departments and agencies to consider
postponing for 60 days the effective date of certain rules published in
the Federal Register for the purpose of reviewing any questions of
fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. Additionally, executive
departments and agencies were to consider opening a comment period to
allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of fact, law,
and policy raised by the rules postponed under the memorandum.
Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025,
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) temporarily postponed the effective
date of its final rule amending the test procedures for central air
conditioners and heat pumps (CAC/HP) published in the Federal Register
on January 7, 2025 (90 FR 1224), to March 21, 2025. 90 FR 9001 (Feb. 5,
2025). DOE also requested comments on the impacts of a further delay of
the test procedures as well as legal, factual, or policy issues raised
by the rule.
DOE received comments in response to the February 2025 delay of
effective date from the interested parties listed in Table 1.
Table 1--List of Commenters in Response to the February 2025 Delay of Effective Date
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Comment
Commenter(s) Abbreviation No. Commenter type
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Air-Conditioning, Heating, and AHRI........................ 48 Trade Association.
Refrigeration Institute.
Robert Bosch LLC.................. Bosch....................... 51 Manufacturer.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, CA IOUs..................... 56 Utilities.
San Diego Gas and Electric, and
Southern California Edison.
Carrier Global Corporation........ Carrier..................... 45 Manufacturer.
Daikin Comfort Technologies North Daikin...................... 57 Manufacturer.
America Inc Daikin 36 and 40
Manufacturer.
Fujitsu General America, Inc...... FGAI........................ 59 Manufacturer.
GE Appliances..................... GE Appliances............... 50 Manufacturer.
Johnson Controls.................. JCI......................... 52 Manufacturer.
Appliance Standards Awareness Joint Advocates............. 55 Advocacy Organizations.
Project, American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy,
National Consumer Law Center.
Lennox International Inc.......... Lennox...................... 46 Manufacturer.
LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc........ LG.......................... 54 Manufacturer.
Mitsubishi Electric US............ Mitsubishi.................. 47 Manufacturer.
[[Page 21390]]
Northwest Energy Efficiency NEEA........................ 49 Advocacy Organization.
Alliance.
Rheem Manufacturing Company....... Rheem....................... 53 Manufacturer.
Trane Technologies................ Trane....................... 58 Manufacturer.
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A parenthetical reference at the end of a comment quotation or
paraphrase provides the location of the item in the public record.\1\
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\1\ The parenthetical reference provides a reference for
information located in the docket of DOE's rulemaking to develop
test procedures for CAC/HPs. (Docket No. EERE-2022-BT-TP-0028, which
is maintained at: www.regulations.gov) The references are arranged
as follows: (commenter name, comment docket ID number at page of
that document).
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Several commenters, including CAC/HP manufacturers, stated that DOE
should not delay the effective date of test procedure.\2\ Specifically,
these commenters note that the test procedures incorporate latest
industry standards, which were developed by a broad group of
stakeholders. Additionally, these commenters assert that the test
procedure is reasonable designed to measure energy efficiency without
being unduly burdensome to conduct.
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\2\ CA IOUs, Doc. No. 56 at 2; Carrier, Doc. No. 45 at 1-2;
Joint Advocates, Doc. No. 55 at 1; Lennox, Doc. No. 46 at 1; NEEA,
Doc. No. 49 at 1, 6; Trane, Doc. No. 58 at 2.
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However, other commenters, also including CAC/HP manufacturers,
supported delaying the effective date of the test procedure or delaying
in the enforcement of a specific aspect of the test procedure, the
controls verification procedure (CVP). These commenters note that the
CVP is new and that manufacturers need additional time to determine
whether the tests are accurate and repeatable, as well as not unduly
burdensome to conduct. (JCI, Doc. No. 52 at 1-2; Bosch, Doc. No. 51 at
2; LG, Doc. No. 54 at 1) AHRI, the organization behind the industry
standard that introduced the CVP, recommends DOE to defer the effective
date of the CVP enforcement provisions until after finalized tolerances
have been supported by test data. (AHRI, Doc. No. 48 at 2) AHRI reports
that it is currently analyzing CVP test data collected by third-party
test laboratories and will work to collect additional data during the
2025 certification year. AHRI and others recommend that DOE defer
enforcing the CVP provisions until after this analysis is complete
(estimated to be July 2026). (Id.; Bosch, Doc. No. 51 at 2; Daikin,
Doc. No. 57 at 3; Rheem, Doc. No. 53 at 2) In the alternative,
commenters suggested that DOE exercise enforcement discretion to delay
the CVP enforcement provisions. (Daikin, Doc No. 57 at 2; GE, Doc. No.
50 at 3)
In addition to concerns related to the consistency and
repeatability of the CVP test, commenters also expressed concern
related to the potential regulatory burden. Specifically, Daikin stated
that, after it tested several models, it determined that CVP will
require re-design of some existing products. (Daikin, Doc No. 57. at 4)
Daikin also asserted that the cost of conducting CVP tests is a heavy
burden on manufacturers. (Id.; see JCI, Doc. No. 52 at 2; Mitsubishi,
Doc. No. 47 at 2)
On March 20, 2025, DOE noted that it was in the process of
reviewing these comments and, as such, and consistent with the
Presidential memorandum of January 20, 2025, DOE further delayed the
effective date of this rule another 60 days to May 20, 2025. 90 FR
13052 (Mar. 20, 2025). DOE continues to review comments related to the
accuracy and burden of the test procedure. As such, and consistent with
the Presidential memorandum of January 20, 2025, DOE further delays the
effective date of this rule until July 7, 2025.
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is
exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of
procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and for which no notice of hearing
is required by statute. Further, the delay of the effective date to
July 7, 2025, does not affect the compliance date for this rule, which
remains July 7, 2025. As such, this action is not a ``substantive
rule'' for which a 30-day delay in effective date is required under 5
U.S.C. 553(d).
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 15,
2025, by Louis Hrkman, Principal Deputy 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 15, 2025.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2025-09064 Filed 5-19-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P