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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS4

TABLE II.1SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN PROPOSED TEST PROCEDURE RELATIVE TO CURRENT TEST PROCEDURE
Continued Current DOE test procedure
NOPR proposal
SNOPR proposal
Attribution
Does not include specific instructions on how ceiling fan accessories and/or features should be incorporated into the test procedure.
Does not include any measurement tolerances for blade RPM
and blade edge thickness and any rounding requirement for represented values.

N/A

Specifies that accessories/additional features should be turned off, when possible, before testing ceiling fans for active mode and standby mode.
Updates measurement tolerances for blade RPM to 2% and blade edge thickness to 0.01 inch.
Also updates rounding requirements for blade edge thickness to 0.01 inch. Includes new rounding proposal for airflow at high speed.

Improve representativeness and reproducibility of the test procedure.

Included measurement tolerance of at least 0.1 inch for blade edge thickness; within the greater of 1% of the average RPM at high speed rounded to the nearest RPM or 1 RPM. Includes proposal that blade edge thickness be rounded to 0.1
inch.

Additionally, to provide interested parties with a complete set of proposed amendments, this SNOPR includes all proposed regulatory text for the proposals from the September 2019
NOPR and this SNOPR. DOE maintains the following proposals from the September 2019 NOPR: 1 Specifying that VSD ceiling fans that do not also meet the definition of LSSD fan are not required to be tested pursuant to the DOE test method for purposes of demonstrating compliance with DOEs energy conservation standards for ceiling fans or representations of efficiency; 2 increasing the tolerance for the stability criteria for the average air velocity measurements for LSSD and VSD ceiling fans that also meet the definition of LSSD fan; 3 codifying in regulation existing guidance on the method for calculating several values reported on the Federal Trade Commission FTC EnergyGuide label using results from the ceiling fan test procedures in Appendix U to subpart B
of 10 CFR part 430 and represented values in 10 CFR part 429; and 4
amending product-specific represented values, rounding and enforcement provisions. 84 FR 51440, 51442. DOE
continues to review and consider comments received on these proposals and will address such comments in a future stage of the rulemaking. DOE will be addressing certification and reporting requirements in a separate rulemaking.
DOE has tentatively determined that the proposed amendments described in section III of this SNOPR would not require re-testing for a majority of ceiling fans. The proposal to redefine low speed would require retesting for a limited number of LSSD ceiling fans, if made final. Discussion of DOEs proposed actions are addressed in detail in section III of this SNOPR, including test procedure costs and cost savings.

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III. Discussion
Include rounding and enforcement requirements for current standards.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act defines ceiling fan as a nonportable device that is suspended from a ceiling for circulating air via the rotation of fan blades. 42 U.S.C.
629149 DOE codified the statutory definition in 10 CFR 430.2. In the July 2016 Final Rule, DOE stated that the test procedure applies to any product meeting this definition, including hugger fans, fans designed for applications where large airflow volume may be needed, and highly decorative fans. 81 FR 48620, 48622. DOE stated, however, that manufacturers were not required to test the following fans according to the test procedure: Beltdriven ceiling fans, centrifugal ceiling fans, oscillating ceiling fans, and ceiling fans whose blades plane of rotation cannot be within 45 degrees of horizontal. Id.
In the September 2019 NOPR, DOE
proposed to clarify its interpretation of the statutory definition in response to an inquiry from the AMCA regarding the application of the term ceiling fan to products known as air circulating fan heads ACFHs. 7 84 FR 51440, 5144351445. In letters submitted to DOE in May and July of 2019, AMCA
asserted that air circulating fan heads have distinct characteristics and functions compared to traditional ceiling fans, including that air circulating fan heads provide concentrated directional airflow as
opposed to circulating air.8 AMCA, No.
23 in both May and July 2019 letters, at p. 1 AMCA recommended that DOE use the physical characteristics of fan diameter and rotational tip speed or outlet air speed as a means to distinguish fans that circulate air as necessary to meet the statutory definition of ceiling fan from ACFHs that provide directional air flow i.e., fans excluded from the statutory definition of ceiling fan.9 AMCA, No. 23 in the July 2019 letter at p. 2
Accordingly, in the September 2019
NOPR, DOE proposed to clarify the definition of ceiling fan and proposed two alternate definitions of the term.
The first proposed definition would provide additional direction to distinguish a ceiling fan from other fans based on the non-portable element and suspended from a ceiling i.e., mounting element of the statutory definition. 84 FR 51440, 51444. Specifically, DOE proposed to include within the definition that for purposes of the definition, the term suspended from a ceiling means offered for mounting on a ceiling, and the term nonportable means not offered for mounting on a surface other than a ceiling. Id.
The second proposed definition would specifically reference ACFHs and provide additional clarification on the mounting element. 84 FR 51440, 51444.
Specifically, DOE proposed to include within the definition that any fan, including those meeting the definition of an air circulating fan head in
7 Section 5.1.1 of ANSI/AMCA Standard 23015
AMCA 23015, Laboratory Methods of Testing Air Circulating Fans for Rating and Certification, defines air circulating fan head as an assembly consisting of a motor, impeller and guard for mounting on a pedestal having a base and column, wall mount bracket, ceiling mount bracket, I-beam bracket or other commonly accepted mounting means.

8 The May and July 2019 letters are available at www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2013-BTTP-0050-0023.
9 AMCA specifically recommended the use of tip speed, which is calculated as blade diameter
3.14159 rotational speed in RPM, and suggested that the maximum tip speed of a ceiling fan would be 4000 feet per minute. See May 2019 letter, page 2.

A. Scope of Ceiling Fan Definition
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