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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules changes since the March 2014 Final Rule would indicate that installation costs vary by efficiency level, and, if so, what the factors and technologies affecting installation costs are, and how costs vary as CRE efficiency increases, for each equipment class.
Issue 33: DOE also requests comment and data on installation costs for any additional categories of CRE under consideration for potential standards i.e., refrigerated salad bars, buffet tables, and preparation tables; soliddoor equipment for pull-down applications; chef bases or griddle stands; high-temperature CRE; and CRE
with dedicated remote condensing units.

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c. Repair and Maintenance Costs Maintenance costs are associated with maintaining equipments operation, whereas repair costs are associated with repairing or replacing components that have failed in a refrigeration system and envelope i.e., panels and doors. In the March 2014 Final Rule, DOE estimated maintenance and repair costs as annualized values applied over the life of the considered equipment. For maintenance costs, DOE considered lamp replacements and other lighting maintenance activities as required maintenance for CRE, with varying costs by efficiency level. For repair costs, DOE considered costs for component failures i.e., evaporator fans, condenser fans, compressors, coils, doors during the lifetime of CRE, which varied by efficiency level. 79 FR 17726, 17766; see chapter 8 of the March 2014 Final Rule TSD for details on this approach.
Issue 34: DOE seeks comment and data on whether it should estimate maintenance and repair costs for CRE
based on the March 2014 Final Rule approach in a potential future rulemaking for CRE, considering any additional technology options discussed in this RFI, and any market and technology changes since the March 2014 Final Rule. In particular, DOE is interested in data on the maintenance and repair costs of CRE with alternative refrigerants, and how those vary, if at all, compared to CRE with traditionally used refrigerants.
Issue 35: DOE also requests comment and data on maintenance and repair costs for any additional categories of CRE under consideration for potential standards i.e., refrigerated salad bars, buffet tables, and preparation tables;
solid-door equipment for pull-down applications; chef bases or griddle stands; high-temperature CRE; and CRE
with dedicated remote condensing units.

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d. Equipment Lifetimes The equipment lifetime is the age at which the equipment is retired from service. In the March 2014 Final Rule, DOE based its estimates of CRE lifetime on discussions with industry experts and assumed a 10-year average lifetime for most CRE in large grocery/multi-line stores and restaurants. For small food retail stores and other small businesses, DOE used a 15-year average lifetime to account for longer consumer usage of CRE. DOE reflects the uncertainty of equipment lifetimes in the LCC analysis for both equipment markets by using probability distributions. 79 FR 17726, 17766; see chapter 8 of the March 2014
Final Rule TSD for details on this approach.
Issue 36: DOE requests comment and data on whether any market and technology changes since the March 2014 Final Rule would affect its equipment lifetime estimates for CRE for which DOE currently has standards, and if so, how.
Issue 37: DOE also requests comment and data on lifetimes of any additional categories of CRE under consideration for potential standards i.e., refrigerated salad bars, buffet tables, and preparation tables; solid-door equipment for pulldown applications; chef bases or griddle stands; high-temperature CRE; and CRE
with dedicated remote condensing units.

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price trend for CRE, as well as on the merits of incorporating price trends for certain design options that may experience price declines during the expected 30-year analysis period, following potential future energy conservation standards for CRE.

4. Net Present Value To develop the national NPV from potential standards, DOE calculates annual energy expenditures and annual equipment expenditures for the no-newstandards case and the standards case.
The discounted difference between energy bill savings and increased equipment expenditures in each year is the NPV.
In the March 2014 Final Rule, DOE
developed an equipment price trend for CRE, based on the inflation-adjusted index of the producer price index PPI for air conditioning, refrigeration, and forced air heating from 1978 to 2012,16 which showed a slight downward trend. DOE projected a future trend in the analysis period by extrapolating the historic trend using linear regression. Were DOE to conduct a rulemaking, DOE may consider incorporating price trends for certain design options that may experience price declines during the analysis period e.g., LED lighting and ECM fan motors.
Issue 38: DOE requests comment on its approach for projecting a long-term
5. Manufacturer Impact Analysis The purpose of the manufacturer impact analysis MIA is to estimate the financial impact of amended energy conservation standards on manufacturers of CRE, and to evaluate the potential impact of such standards on direct employment and manufacturing capacity. As part of the MIA, DOE intends to analyze impacts of amended energy conservation standards on subgroups of manufacturers of covered equipment, including small business manufacturers. DOE uses the Small Business Administrations SBA small business size standards to determine whether manufacturers qualify as small businesses, which are listed by the North American Industry Classification System NAICS.17
Manufacturing of CRE is classified under NAICS 333415, Air-conditioning and warm air heating equipment and commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturing, and the SBA sets a threshold of 1,250 employees or less for a domestic entity to be considered as a small business. This employee threshold includes all employees in a business parent company and any other subsidiaries.
One aspect of assessing manufacturer burden involves examining the cumulative impact of multiple DOE
standards and the product-specific regulatory actions of other Federal agencies that affect the manufacturers of a covered product or equipment. In addition to energy conservation standards, other regulations can significantly affect manufacturers financial operations. Multiple regulations affecting the same manufacturer can strain profits and lead companies to abandon product lines or markets with lower expected future returns than competing products. For these reasons, DOE conducts an analysis of cumulative regulatory burden as part of its rulemakings pertaining to appliance efficiency.
Issue 39: To the extent feasible, DOE
seeks the names and contact information of any domestic or foreignbased manufacturers that distribute CRE
in the United States.
Issue 40: DOE requests the names and contact information of small business
16 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index Industry Data, Series: PCU3334153334153.

17 Available online at: https www.sba.gov/sites/
default/files/files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf.

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