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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 21, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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III. AHRIs Petition for Rulemaking Summary and Comments IV. DOE Analysis and Discussion V. Denial of Petition VI. Approval of the Office of the Secretary
I. Summary of Final Denial of Petition for Rulemaking This document denies a petition received by the U.S. Department of Energy DOE from the AirConditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute AHRI requesting that DOE
initiate a rulemaking to develop a new combined test procedure addressing covered consumer furnaces and furnace fans, which would replace the two currently required performance metrics for furnaces i.e., annual fuel utilization efficiency AFUE and standby mode/
off mode energy consumption PW,SB/
PW,OFF and the one performance metric for furnace fans i.e., fan efficiency ratio FER with a single new metric called AFUE2. AHRI
asserted that a single performance metric would reduce regulatory burden for furnace manufacturers by streamlining test requirements and aligning regulatory review schedules and promote design flexibility and product innovation.
DOE has determined that a combined test procedure and energy conservation standard for consumer furnaces and furnace fans would enable an increase in the maximum allowable energy use and/or minimum required efficiency of furnaces and furnace fans, each a separate covered product. AHRIs suggested unified metric would allow for trade-offs in energy use between the two separately regulated modes of furnace operation i.e., active mode and standby mode/off mode and furnaces fans. These tradeoffs in turn have the potential to allow for furnaces to consume more energy in active mode or standby mode/off mode than permitted under the active mode and standby/off mode standards, or for furnace fans to consume more energy than permitted under the current furnace fan standard.
This is impermissible under the antibacksliding provision of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended EPCA,1 which prevents the Secretary from prescribing any amended standard that either increases the maximum allowable energy use or decreases the minimum required energy efficiency of a covered product. 42
U.S.C. 6295o1 DOE has also determined that a unified metric for consumer furnaces and furnace fans using the proposed combined metric 1 All references to EPCA in this document refer to the statute as amended through the Energy Act of 2020, Public Law 116260 Dec. 27, 2020.

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AFUE2 would be contrary to DOEs prior determination that it is technologically infeasible to integrate active mode and standby or off mode energy use for furnaces.
Therefore, after carefully considering AHRIs request, supporting materials accompanying the request, and submitted comments, DOE is declining to grant AHRIs request for the reasons set forth in the following discussion.
II. Background and Authority EPCA, as amended, among of things, authorizes DOE to regulate the energy efficiency of a number of consumer products and certain industrial equipment. 42 U.S.C. 62916317 Title III, Part B 2 of EPCA established the Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles, which sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency for certain types of consumer products. These products include consumer furnaces and furnace fans, the focus of this document. 42
U.S.C. 6292a5; 42 U.S.C.
6295f4D
Under EPCA, DOEs energy conservation program consists essentially of four parts: 1 Testing, 2
labeling, 3 Federal energy conservation standards, and 4 certification and enforcement procedures. Relevant provisions of EPCA specifically include definitions 42 U.S.C. 6291, test procedures 42 U.S.C. 6293, labeling provisions 42 U.S.C. 6294, energy conservation standards 42 U.S.C. 6295, and the authority to require information and reports from manufacturers 42
U.S.C. 6296.
The Federal testing requirements consist of test procedures that manufacturers of covered products must use as the basis for: 1 Certifying to DOE that their products comply with the applicable energy conservation standards adopted pursuant to EPCA 42
U.S.C. 6295s, and 2 making representations about the efficiency of that product 42 U.S.C. 6293c.
Similarly, DOE must use these test procedures to determine whether the product complies with relevant standards promulgated under EPCA. 42
U.S.C. 6295s Under 42 U.S.C. 6293, EPCA sets forth the criteria and procedures DOE is required to follow when prescribing or amending test procedures for covered products. Specifically, EPCA requires that any test procedures prescribed or amended must be reasonably designed to produce test results which measure 2 For editorial reasons, upon codification in the U.S. Code, Part B was redesignated as Part A.

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energy efficiency, energy use, or estimated annual operating cost of a covered product during a representative average use cycle or period of use and requires that test procedures not be unduly burdensome to conduct. 42
U.S.C. 6293b3 The test procedures for consumer furnaces and furnace fans are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations CFR at 10 CFR part 430.
More specifically, the test procedure for furnaces is located at 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix N Appendix N, Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Furnaces and Boilers. The test procedure for furnace fans is located at 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix AA Appendix AA, Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Furnaces Fans.
Relevant to this document, EPCA also requires DOE to follow specific statutory criteria for prescribing new or amended standards for covered products, including consumer furnaces and furnace fans. Any new or amended standard for a covered product must be designed to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that the Secretary of Energy determines is technologically feasible and economically justified. 42 U.S.C.
6295o2A and 42 U.S.C.
6295o3B EPCA also contains what is known as an anti-backsliding provision, which prevents the Secretary from prescribing any amended standard that either increases the maximum allowable energy use or decreases the minimum required energy efficiency of a covered product. 42 U.S.C.
6295o1
Additionally, pursuant to the amendments to EPCA contained in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 EISA 2007, Public Law 110
140, any final rule for new or amended energy conservation standards promulgated after July 1, 2010, is required to address standby mode and off mode energy use. 42 U.S.C.
6295gg3 Specifically, when DOE
adopts a standard for a covered product after that date, it must, if justified by the criteria for adoption of standards under EPCA 42 U.S.C. 6295o, incorporate standby mode and off mode energy use into a single standard, or, if that is not feasible, adopt a separate standard for such energy use for that product. 42
U.S.C. 6295gg3AB
DOE has established energy conservation standards for furnace energy efficiency using the AFUE
metric, which is the ratio of annual output energy to annual input energy.
10 CFR 430.32e1ii. DOE also separately established energy
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