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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 58 / Monday, March 29, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Standard 16 to the most current 2016
version, which includes additional clarification on best practices for air sampler and thermocouple placement.
b. Air-Enthalpy Test In the June 2020 NOPR, as discussed in section III.B.2 of this document, DOE
proposed to adopt the use of the calorimeter test method specified in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 162016 for determining the cooling mode performance in appendix F. ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 162016
additionally permits an air-enthalpy test method also referred to as a psychrometric test method, in which a technician places instruments in or near the evaporator air stream to measure the rate of cooled air added to the conditioned space. DOE conducted testing to investigate any differences in test results between air-enthalpy and calorimeter approaches and found a wide range of discrepancies between the two, for both cooling capacity and efficiency. DOE expected that obtaining more accurate results would require specialized test equipment that is limited in availability and costly to design, develop, and produce and, hence, DOE did not propose to include an air-enthalpy test approach for determining cooling mode performance of room ACs. 85 FR 35700, 35715 Jun.
11, 2020.
The California IOUs agreed with DOEs conclusion to exclude the airenthalpy test procedure in ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 162016. The California IOUs noted that DOEs testing, shown in the June 2020 NOPR, demonstrated that this method was unrepresentative and inconsistent, and remedying these deficiencies would be unduly burdensome. California IOUs, No. 14 at pp. 56
Based on DOEs investigative testing data, DOE maintains its proposal to not allow the use of the air-enthalpy method for determining room AC cooling mode performance.34
c. Side Curtain Heat Leakage and Infiltration Air i. Non-Louvered Through-The-Wall Room Air Conditioners In the June 2020 NOPR, DOE
proposed to specify in appendix F that non-louvered room ACs, which are designed for through-the-wall installation, must be installed using a compatible wall sleeve per 34 Although DOE incorporates by reference ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 162016, which includes an optional air-enthalpy method, only those sections in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 162016 that apply to the calorimeter method are referenced in Appendix F.

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manufacturer instructions, with the provided or manufacturer-required rear grille, and with the included trim frame and other manufacturer-provided installation materials. 85 FR 35700, 35716 Jun. 11, 2020.
The California IOUs supported DOEs language on the use of manufacturerprovided wall sleeves. However, the California IOUs expressed concern that it may not be apparent to laboratories that they should not use additional material beyond that supplied by the manufacturer. The California IOUs suggested adding the following sentence to the proposed appendix F to 10 CRF
Part 430: No sealing or insulation material other than that provided by the manufacturer shall be installed between the wall sleeve and the cabinet of the room air conditioner. California IOUs, No. 14 at p. 6 DOE understands the concern about test laboratories using additional sealing and insulation material between the unit and the wall sleeve. As discussed in the June 2020
NOPR, DOE determined that testing non-louvered room ACs, with the provided or manufacturer-required rear grille, and with the included trim frame and other manufacturer-provided installation materials maximized repeatability and reproducibility. 85 FR
35700, 35716 Jun. 11, 2020. To address the concern that test laboratories might provide additional sealing or insulation for a non-louvered room AC, DOE is clarifying in this final rule that these units should only be tested using the manufacturer-provided materials.
Therefore, DOE is modifying its proposal from the June 2020 NOPR in this final rule, specifying in appendix F
that non-louvered room ACs, which are designed for through-the-wall installation, must be installed using a compatible wall sleeve per manufacturer instructions, with a provided or manufacturer-required rear grille, and with only the included trim frame and other manufacturer-provided installation materials.
ii. Louvered Window Room Air Conditioners In the June 2020 NOPR, DOE
proposed, consistent with Sections 6.1.1.4 and Section 8.4.2 of ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 162016, not to require installing louvered room ACs with the manufacturer-provided installation materials, including side curtains, and instead to require testing with the partition wall sealed to the unit. 85 FR 35700, 35717 Jun. 11, 2020.
AHAM agreed with DOEs proposal to not require the use of manufacturerprovided installation materials in
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appendix F for louvered room ACs.
AHAM cited previous DOE testing which showed that using manufacturerprovided materials included in the retail packaging led to only a 2.5-percent increase in cooling capacity, while not using manufacturer-provided installation materials led to a 4.7percent reduction in cooling capacity.
AHAM stated that this testing did now show consistent or significant change in cooling capacity. AHAM, No. 13 at p.
6 The California IOUs and Joint Commenters asserted the need for DOE
to capture the effects of real-world installations of room AC units.
California IOUs, No. 14 at p. 6; Joint Commenters, No. 15 at pp. 56 The California IOUs commented that with the requirement for indoor and outdoor test rooms to have virtually no pressure differential, the inclusion of side curtains would not have a significant effect in laboratory testing. The California IOUs also stated that repeatability of testing is likely to decrease with side curtains included in the operational test. However, the California IOUs also asserted that testing with side curtains during only the operational test of window room AC
units is unlikely to be representative of an average-use cycle. The California IOUs commented that the consumer incurs energy losses during all hours when the room AC is installed, not just while the compressor is on. The California IOUs further commented that the method for calculating the annual cost of operation assumes that the unit is installed for at least 5,865 hours annually, with only 750 hours of compressor operation, and thus including energy losses from side curtains is important to ensure a fair comparison between room ACs with side curtains and competing products that do not incur side curtain losses, such as through-the-wall room ACs and mini-split air conditioners. The California IOUs recommended that DOE
evaluate energy losses due to side curtains regardless of the mode of operation and determine a constant representative adjustment factor to account for the losses based on the size of the window room AC in the CEER.
California IOUs, No. 14 at p. 6 The Joint Commenters cited laboratory performance testing of louvered units in which the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that standard testing simulations do not account for leakage in operation due to manufacturerprovided installation materials.
According to the Joint Commenters, leakage from the manufacturer-provided
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