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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 163 / Thursday, August 26, 2021 / Notices regulations so as to eliminate any need for the continuation of such waiver. 10
CFR 431.401l As soon thereafter as practicable, DOE will publish in the Federal Register a final rule to that effect. Id.
The waiver process also provides that DOE may grant an interim waiver if it appears likely that the underlying petition for waiver will be granted and/
or if DOE determines that it would be desirable for public policy reasons to grant immediate relief pending a determination on the underlying petition for waiver. 10 CFR
431.401e2 10 CFR parts 200 to 499
edition revised as of January 1, 2021.
Within one year of issuance of an interim waiver, DOE will either: i Publish in the Federal Register a determination on the petition for waiver; or ii publish in the Federal Register a new or amended test procedure that addresses the issues presented in the waiver. 10 CFR
431.401h1 10 CFR parts 200 to 499
edition revised as of January 1, 2021.
If DOE ultimately denies the petition for waiver, or if the alternate test procedure specified in the interim waiver differs from the alternate test procedure specified by DOE in a subsequent decision and order, DOE
will provide a period of 180 days before the manufacturer is required to use the DOE test procedure or the alternate test procedure specified in the decision and order to make representations of energy efficiency. 10 CFR 431.401i.6 When DOE amends the test procedure to address the issues presented in a waiver, the waiver will automatically terminate on the date on which use of that test procedure is required to demonstrate compliance. 10 CFR
431.401h2 10 CFR parts 200 to 499
edition revised as of January 1, 2021.

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II. LRC Coils Petition for Waiver and Interim Waiver In a letter docketed on December 1, 2020, LRC Coil filed a petition for 6 In proposing an amendment to 10 CFR
431.401i, DOE stated thatThe 180-day duration was proposed because that time frame is consistent with the EPCA provision that provides manufacturers 180 days from issuance of a new or amended test procedure to begin using that test procedure for representation of energy efficiency.
84 FR 18414, 18416 May 1, 2019; See 42 U.S.C.
6293c2. In the final rule published December 11, 2020, stated that it was maintaining the 180-day grace period as proposed. 85 FR 79802, 79813. As such, were a Decision and Order issued with an alternate test procedure that differed from that required under this interim waiver, beginning 180
days following publication of the Decision and Order any representations made by the petitioner must fairly disclose the results of testing in accordance with the alternate test procedure specified by the final Order and the applicable requirements of 10 CFR part 429.

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waiver and interim waiver from the test procedure for walk-in cooler and walkin freezer refrigeration systems set forth at Appendix C. LRC Coil, No. 1 at pp.
14 7 In response to questions from DOE, LRC submitted an updated petition for waiver and interim waiver, docketed on August 6, 2021. LRC Coil, No. 11 at pp. 13.
The primary assertion in the petition is that absent an interim waiver the prescribed test procedure would evaluate the specified basic models in a manner so unrepresentative of their true energy consumption as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data.
As presented in LRC Coils petition, the specified basic models of walk-in unit coolers operate at a temperature range of 45 F to 65 F; higher than that of a typical walk-in cooler refrigeration system. Thus, the 35 F temperature specified in the DOE test procedure for medium-temperature walk-in refrigeration systems would result in the prescribed test procedures evaluating the specified basic models in a manner so unrepresentative of their true energy consumption characteristics as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data. LRC Coil also states that the specified basic models are split cooling systems for walk-in wine cellars that operate at temperature and relative humidity ranges optimized for the long-term storage of wine and are usually located in air-conditioned spaces. LRC Coil contends that because of these characteristics, wine cellar walk-in unit cooler systems differ from other walk-in cooler refrigeration systems in their walk-in box temperature setpoint, walk-in box relative humidity, low/high load split,8
and compressor efficiency.
LRC Coil states that the specified basic models are designed to provide a cold environment at a temperature range between 45 F to 65 F with 5070
percent relative humidity RH, and 7 A notation in this form provides a reference for information that is in the docket for this test procedure waiver Docket No. EERE2020BT
WAV0040 available at www.regulations.gov/
docket/EERE-2020-BT-WAV-0040. This notation indicates that the statement preceding the reference is document number 1 in the docket and appears at pages 14 of that document.
8 The DOE test procedure incorporates by reference Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute AHRI Test Standard 12502009, Standard for Performance Rating of Walk-in Coolers and Freezers including Errata sheet dated December 2015 AHRI 12502009.
Section 6 of that standard defines walk-in box thermal loads as a function of refrigeration system net capacity for both high-load and low-load periods. The waiver petition asserts that wine cellars do not have distinct high and low load periods, and that the box load levels in the test standard are not representative for wine cellar refrigeration systems.

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typically are kept at 55 F and 55
percent RH rather than the 35 F and <50 percent RH test condition prescribed by the DOE test procedure.
LRC Coil states that the refrigeration systems are designed solely for the purpose of long-term wine storage to mimic the temperature and humidity of natural caves. LRC Coil also asserts that wine cellars optimally operate between 45 F to 65 F, and notes that the design of their units prohibits their operation at room/entering air temperatures of less than 45 F. Although not specifically addressed in LRC Coils request for waiver, DOE understands that operating the subject walk-in cooler refrigeration systems at the 35 F condition would adversely mechanically alter the intended performance of the system, which would include icing of the evaporator coil that could potentially damage the compressor, and would not result in an accurate representation of the performance of the cooling unit.
The basic models listed in LRC Coils petition include Evaporator Only Models which are not sold with a matched condensing unit i.e., the unit cooler and condensing unit are not sold together as a pair. Although not explicitly identified by LRC in its petition, DOE notes that unit coolers that are not part of a matched pair must be tested according to the provisions in AHRI 12502020 for unit coolers tested alone.
DOE has received multiple requests from wine cellar manufacturers for waiver and interim waiver from Appendix C. In light of these requests, DOE met with both AHRI and wine cellar walk-in cooler refrigeration system manufacturers to develop a consistent and representative alternate test procedure that would be relevant to each waiver request. Ultimately, AHRI
sent a letter to DOE on August 18, 2020, summarizing the industrys position on several issues AHRI August 2020
Letter.9 This letter documents industry support for specific wine cellar walk-in cooler refrigeration system test procedure requirements, allowing the provisions to apply only to refrigeration systems with a minimum operating temperature of 45 F, since wine cellar system controls and unit design specifications prevent these walk-ins from reaching a temperature below 45 F. A provision for testing wine cellar walk-in cooler refrigeration systems at 9 DOEs meetings with wine cellar refrigeration systems manufacturers were conducted consistent with the Departments ex parte meeting guidance 74 FR 52795; October 14, 2009. The AHRI August 2020 letter memorializes this communication and is provided in Docket No. EERE2020BTWAV
00400010.

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