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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
additional comment on this topic in this RFI.

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II. Request for Information DOE is publishing this RFI to collect data and information during the early assessment review to inform its decision, consistent with its obligations under EPCA, as to whether the Department should proceed with an amended test procedure rulemaking, and if so, to assist in the development of proposed amendments. Accordingly, in the following sections, DOE has identified specific issues on which it seeks input to aid in its analysis of whether an amended test procedure for consumer furnace fans would more accurately or fully comply with the requirement that the test procedure produces results that measure energy use during a representative average use cycle for the product, and not be unduly burdensome to conduct. DOE also welcomes comments on other issues relevant to its early assessment that may not specifically be identified in this document.
A. Scope and Definitions A furnace fan is an electricallypowered device used in a consumer product for the purpose of circulating air through ductwork. 10 CFR 430.2.
As stated, DOEs furnace fan test procedure is applicable to circulation fans used in weatherized and nonweatherized gas furnaces, oil furnaces, electric furnaces, and modular blowers.
Section 1, Appendix AA. The test procedure is not applicable to nonducted products, such as whole-house ventilation systems without ductwork, central air-conditioning condensing unit fans, room fans, and furnace draft inducer fans.
Section 2 of Appendix AA provides additional definitions relevant to furnace fans through incorporating by reference the definitions of section 3 of ASHRAE 1032007 and defining additional terms both in addition to and in place of those from section 3 of ASHRAE 1032007. Of particular relevance for this RFI see further discussion in section II.B.1 of this document, section 2.2 of Appendix AA
defines Airflow-control settings as programmed or wired control system configurations that control a fan to achieve discrete, differing ranges of airflowoften designated for performing a specific function e.g., cooling, heating, or constant circulationwithout manual adjustment other than interaction with a user-operable control such as a thermostat that meets the manufacturer specifications for installed-use. For the
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purposes of the furnace fan test procedure, manufacturer specifications for installed-use shall be found in the product literature shipped with the unit. Section 2.6 of Appendix AA
defines Default airflow-control settings as the airflow-control settings specified for installed-use by the manufacturer. For the purposes of the furnace fan test procedure, manufacturer specifications for installed-use are those specifications provided for typical consumer installations in the product literature shipped with the product in which the furnace fan is installed. In instances where a manufacturer specifies multiple airflow-control settings for a given function to account for varying installation scenarios, the highest airflow-control setting specified for the given function shall be used for the procedures specified in this appendix.
Issue 1: DOE seeks comment on whether any changes are warranted to the scope of applicable products currently covered by the test procedure in Appendix AA, and if so, how the scope should be revised.
Issue 2: DOE seeks comment on whether any definitions in the test procedure at Appendix AA require any revision, and if so, how the definitions should be revised.
B. Test Procedure Furnace fans are currently tested according to Appendix AA, which is used to calculate the Fan Energy Rating FER. FER is expressed as watts per 1,000 cubic feet per minute of airflow W/1000 cfm and is calculated as the estimated annual electrical energy consumption of the furnace fan in watthours normalized by: a The estimated total number of annual fan operating hours 1,870; and b the airflow in the maximum airflow-control setting. For the purposes of the DOE furnace fan test procedure, the estimated annual electrical energy consumption is the sum of the furnace fan electrical input power in watts, measured separately for multiple airflow-control settings at different ESPs representing a typical installation, multiplied by national average operating hours associated with each setting. Section 10, Appendix AA.
1. Default Airflow-Control Settings For furnace fans used in furnaces or modular blowers with single-stage heating, the three airflow-control settings required to be tested are: The maximum setting, the default constantcirculation setting, and the default setting when operated using the
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maximum heat input rate.3 For furnace fans used in furnaces or modular blowers with multi-stage heating or modulating heating, the airflow-control settings to be tested are: The maximum setting; the default constant-circulation setting; and the default setting when operated using the reduced heat input rate. See sections 8.6.1, 8.6.2 and 8.6.3
of Appendix AA. For both single-stage and two-stage or modulating units, if a default constant-circulation setting is not specified, the lowest airflow-control setting is used to represent constant circulation. See section 8.6.2, Appendix AA. In addition, if the manufacturer specifies multiple heating airflowcontrol settings, the highest airflowcontrol setting specified for the given function i.e., at the maximum or reduced input, as applicable is used.
See section 8.6.3, Appendix AA.
Inquiries sent to DOE since the publication of the January 2014 Final Rule indicate that there are differing interpretations regarding the appropriate airflow-control settings for testing, with some manufacturers possibly interpreting the DOE test procedure as requiring testing only the as-shipped airflow-control settings.
However, as stated in section II.A, the definition for Default airflow-control setting specifically states that in instances where a manufacturer specifies multiple airflow-control settings for a given function to account for varying installation scenarios, the highest airflow-control setting specified for the given function shall be used for the procedures specified in this appendix. Section 2.6 Appendix AA.
Further, the definition defines the default airflow-control settings as airflow-control settings specified for installed-use by the manufacturer, which are those specifications provided for typical consumer installations in the product literature shipped with the product in which the furnace fan is installed. Id. These provisions account for manufacturer installation instructions that specify installation of a furnace fans with a setting other than the as shipped airflow-control settings and that specify multiple potential settings based on varying installation scenarios. For example, a furnace may be shipped with the low speed airflow-control setting configured for the heating function, but the installation manual shipped with the 3 For furnaces where the maximum airflow control setting is a heating setting, the maximum airflow control setting test and the default heating airflow control setting test would be identical, so only two tests are required: 1 Maximum airflow which is the same as the default heating setting and 2 constant circulation.

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