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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 23, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
2. October 2016 Final Determination a. Unvented Heaters In the October 2016 final determination, DOE concluded that energy conservation standards for unvented heaters would result in negligible energy savings. 81 FR 71325, 71327 Oct. 17, 2016. DOE also explained that the test procedure for unvented heaters in Appendix G, includes a calculation of annual energy consumption based on a single assignment of active mode hours for unvented heaters that are used as the primary heating source for the home. Id.
at 81 FR 71328. For unvented heaters that are not used as the primary heating source for the home, there are no provisions for calculating either the energy efficiency or annual energy consumption. Id. DOE further explained that pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6295o3, DOE is prohibited from prescribing a new or amended standard for a covered consumer product if a test procedure has not been prescribed for that consumer product, and as such, DOE
could not consider standards for these products at that time. Id.
b. Vented Heaters
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In the October 2016 final determination, DOE found that few changes to the industry and product offerings had occurred since the April 2010 final rule, and, therefore, the conclusions presented in that final rule were still valid. 81 FR 71325, 71327
71328 Oct. 17, 2016. For the October 2016 final determination, DOE reviewed the vented heater market, including product literature and product listings in the DOE Compliance Certification Management System CCMS database and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute AHRI product directory.4 Id. at 81 FR 71327. DOE
found that the number of models offered in each of the vented heater product classes had decreased overall since the April 2010 final rule, and the agency concluded that this finding supported the notion that the vented heater market was shrinking and that product lines were mainly maintained as replacements for existing vented heater 4 The AHRI directory for DHE can be found at:
www.ahridirectory.org/
NewSearch?programId=23&searchTypeId=3 Last accessed for the October 2016 final determination on July 16, 2015. The DOE CCMS database can be found at: www.regulations.doe.gov/certificationdata/CCMS-4-Direct_Heating_
Equipment.htmlq=Product_Group_
s%3A%22Direct%20Heating%20Equipment%22
Last accessed for the October 2016 final determination on July 16, 2015.

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units, and that new product lines generally were not being developed. Id.
For the October 2016 final determination DOE also examined available technologies used to improve the efficiency of vented heaters. DOE
analyzed products on the market at the time through product teardowns and engaged in manufacturer interviews to obtain further information in support of its analysis. 81 FR 71325, 71327 Oct.
17, 2016. Most of the technology options on the market and evaluated for the October 2016 final determination i.e., improved heat exchanger, induced draft, electronic ignition, and a twospeed blower for gas wall fan type vented heaters were those considered as part of the vented heater rulemaking analysis for the April 2010 final rule. Id.
DOE determined that the technology options available for vented heaters were likely to have limited potential for achieving energy savings.5 Id.
Furthermore, DOE concluded that the costs of technology options would likely be similar or higher than in the previous rulemaking analysis due to reduced shipments and, therefore, reduced purchasing power of vented heater manufacturers. Id. DOE also evaluated condensing technology for gas wall fan type vented heaters, which had become available after the April 2010 final rule, and, therefore, was not evaluated as part of that rulemaking. Id. DOE concluded that this technology option would not be economically justified when analyzed for the Nation as a whole due to the significant increase in initial product cost for products using this technology and the potential for severe manufacturer impacts due to the necessary capital conversion costs if an energy conservation standard were adopted at this level. Id. at 81 FR
7132771328.
DOE acknowledged that the vented heater industry had seen further consolidation since the April 2010 final rule, with the total number of manufacturers declining from six to four. Id. at 81 FR 71328. Furthermore, according to manufacturers,6 shipments further decreased since the April 2010
5 DOE noted that for gas room vented heaters with input capacity up to 20,000 Btu/h, the maximum AFUE available on the market increased from 59
percent in 2009 only one unit at this input capacity was available on the market at that time to 71
percent in 2015. DOE found that this was due to heat exchanger improvements only because these units do not use electricity. Due to the small input capacity, DOE found that this increase in AFUE
based on heat exchanger improvements relative to input capacity was not representative of or feasible for the other gas room vented heater product classes.
6 Information obtained during confidential manufacturer interviews.

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final rule, and, therefore, it would be more difficult for manufacturers to recover capital expenditures resulting from increased standards. Id. DOE
acknowledged that vented heater units continue to be produced primarily as replacements and that the market is small, and expected that shipments would continue to decrease and amended standards would likely accelerate the trend of declining shipments. Id. Moreover, DOE
anticipated that small business impacts resulting from amended standards could be significant, as two of the four remaining manufacturers subject to vented heater standards were small businesses. Id.
DOE concluded in the October 2016
final determination that due to the lack of advancement in the vented heater industry since the April 2010 final rule in terms of product offerings, available technology options and associated costs, and declining shipment volumes, amending the vented heater energy conservation standards would impose a substantial burden on manufacturers of vented heaters, particularly to small manufacturers. 81 FR 71325, 71328
Oct. 17, 2016. DOE noted that it had rejected higher TSLs for vented heaters in the April 2010 final rule due to significant impacts on industry profitability, risks of accelerated industry consolidation, and the likelihood that small manufacturers would experience disproportionate impacts that could lead them to discontinue product lines or exit the market altogether, and the Department stated that the market and the manufacturers circumstances at the time were similar to when DOE
evaluated amended energy conservation standards for vented heaters for the April 2010 final rule. Id. at 81 FR
7132871329. Accordingly, DOE
concluded that amended energy conservation standards for vented heaters were not economically justified at any level above the current standard levels because benefits of more-stringent standards would not outweigh the burdens, and the Department determined not to amend the vented heater energy conservation standards.
Id. at 81 FR 71329.
In the October 2016 final determination, DOE also considered whether to establish energy conservation standards for standby mode and off mode electrical energy use, noting that fossil fuel energy use in standby mode and off mode is already included in the AFUE metric and that electric standby mode and off mode energy use is small in comparison to fossil fuel energy use. Id. Given that the
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