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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules
appropriate. 42 U.S.C. 6316e1; 42
U.S.C. 6295m1
DOE is issuing this RFI to collect data and information to inform its decision of whether to propose amended energy conservation standards consistent with its obligations under EPCA. 42 U.S.C.
6313c6B; 42 U.S.C. 6316e1; 42
U.S.C. 6295m B. Rulemaking History Pursuant to EPCA, DOE published a final rule establishing amended standards for CRE on March 28, 2014
the March 2014 Final Rule, for which compliance was required as of March 27, 2017. 79 FR 17725. The current energy conservation standards consist of maximum daily energy consumption MDEC values as a function of either refrigerated volume or total display area TDA and are located in title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR part 431, subpart C.3
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 energy conservation standards rulemaking. DOE has identified certain topics for which information and data are requested to assist in the evaluation of the potential for amended energy conservation standards. DOE also welcomes comments on other issues relevant to its early assessment that may not specifically be identified in this document. Specifically, for any future rulemaking to consider amended energy conservation standards, DOE would likely follow an analysis approach consistent with that used in the March 2014 Final Rule.4 DOE welcomes comment on the applicability of that analysis approach in addition to the specific issues discussed in the following sections.
A. Scope of Coverage and Equipment Classes
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1. Equipment Classes When evaluating and establishing energy conservation standards, DOE
may divide equipment into equipment classes by the type of energy used, or by capacity or other performance-related 3 The currently applicable DOE test procedures for CRE appear at 10 CFR part 431, subpart C, Appendix B.
4 The analysis conducted in support of developing the March 2014 Final Rule is available in the Technical Support Document TSD
available at: https www.regulations.gov/
document?D=EERE-2010-BT-STD-0003-0102.

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features that justify a different standard.
42 U.S.C. 6316e1; 42 U.S.C. 6295q In making a determination whether capacity or another performance-related feature justifies a different standard, DOE must consider such factors as the utility to the consumer of such a feature and other factors DOE deems appropriate. Id.
For CRE, the current energy conservation standards in 10 CFR
431.66 are based on 49 equipment classes, which are determined according to the following performance-related features that provide utility to the consumer: Operating temperature refrigerator, freezer, or ice cream freezer, presence of doors open or closed, door type solid or transparent, condensing unit type remote or selfcontained, configuration horizontal, vertical, semi-vertical, or service over counter, and temperature pull-down capability.
Issue 1: DOE requests feedback on the current CRE equipment classes and whether changes to these individual equipment classes and their descriptions should be made or whether certain classes should be merged or separated. DOE also requests comment on whether any other new equipment classes are appropriate.
DOE has also identified certain specific topics regarding equipment classes and definitions on which it requests comment, as discussed in the following sections.
a. Door Angle DOE differentiates equipment classes, in part, based on whether the door angle is horizontal or vertical. 10 CFR
431.66e1. Door angle refers to: 1 For equipment with flat doors, the angle between a vertical line and the line formed by the plane of the door, when the equipment is viewed in crosssection; and 2 for equipment with curved doors, the angle formed between a vertical line and the straight line drawn by connecting the top and bottom points where the display area glass joins the cabinet, when the equipment is viewed in cross-section. 10 CFR 431.62.
DOE defines horizontal closed as equipment with hinged or sliding doors and a door angle greater than or equal to 45 degrees. Id. Vertical closed refers to equipment with hinged or sliding doors and a door angle less than 45 degrees. Id.
DOE has identified CRE models with solid doors that do not create a flat plane. For example, a refrigerated case may have one door on the front vertical surface and another on the top horizontal surface, with the doors connecting at the top front corner of the
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case i.e., when both doors are open, the front and top of the case have a continuous opening similar to semivertical open equipment. In this example, the doors do not create a flat plane, as referenced in part 1 of the door angle definition, and the doors are not curved and do not include display glass as referenced in part 2 of the door angle definition.
Issue 2: DOE requests comment on whether it should amend the door angle definition to address CRE models with doors on multiple faces of the equipment or CRE with curved solid doors. DOE also requests comment on the appropriate equipment class for such equipment, including how manufacturers are currently treating such equipment.
b. Open Equipment With Doors Equipment classes are also differentiated based on whether the equipment is open i.e., does not have doors and the orientation of the air curtain horizontal open, semi-vertical open, and vertical open. 10 CFR
431.66e1. DOE has identified CRE
models that meet the open equipment class definitions, except that they also have doors that provide an alternate method of access to the refrigerated space. Based on a review of this equipment, the open portion of the equipment is intended for customer access to the refrigerated space. The doors are typically located at the back of the equipment and provide an alternate or secondary method of access for loading product into the case. The doors are not accessible to customers during normal operation and may have a means for locking.
Issue 3: DOE requests comment on whether the open equipment definitions in 10 CFR 431.62 should be revised to clarify treatment of open equipment with doors providing an alternate or secondary method of access to the refrigerated space. DOE also seeks information on how manufacturers are currently treating such equipment.
c. Equipment With Pass-Through Doors CRE with pass-through doors are typically closed cases with doors on both the front and rear sides of the refrigerated case. The current DOE CRE
test procedure incorporates by reference the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE Standard 72
2005 ASHRAE 722005, Method of Testing Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers. Section 7.2 of ASHRAE 72
2005 specifies that for units with passthrough doors, only the doors on one side of the unit shall be opened during
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