Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS4

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules not proposing a definition for air circulating fan head in this SNOPR.
In summary, in this SNOPR, DOE
proposes the following definition for circulating air for the purpose of the ceiling fan definition:
Ceiling fan means a nonportable device that is suspended from a ceiling for circulating air via the rotation of fan blades. For the purpose of this definition:
1 Circulating Air means the discharge of air in an upward or downward direction with the air returning to the intake side of the fan.
A ceiling fan that has a ratio of fan blade span in inches to maximum rotation rate in revolutions per minute greater than 0.06 provides circulating air.
2 For all other ceiling fan related definitions, see appendix U to this subpart.
In proposing this amendment, DOE
notes that the design standards of EPCA
would not be applicable to ceiling fans that do not meet the criteria of the proposed definition. Specifically, EPCA
requires all ceiling fans manufactured after January 1, 2007, to have: i Fan speed controls separate from any lighting controls; ii adjustable speed controls either more than 1 speed or variable speed; and iii the capability of reversible fan action, except for fans sold for industrial applications, fans sold for outdoor applications, and cases in which safety standards would be violated by the use of the reversible mode. 42 U.S.C. 6295ff1A The energy conservation standards established by DOE would also not be applicable to such products.
Alternatively, DOE is considering including the definition of circulating air discussed previously within appendix U, instead of within the ceiling fan definition of 10 CFR 430.2.
DOE seeks comment on the proposed definition of circulating air for the purpose of the ceiling fan definition.
Specifically, DOE requests comment on the use of a diameter-to-maximum operating speed ratio to distinguish fans with circulating airflow from directional airflow, and the appropriateness of using 0.06 in/RPM as the threshold ratio. If another ratio should be considered, DOE requests additional data to corroborate that ratio.
DOE seeks comment on the characterization of fans that would fall below the 0.06 in/RPM threshold ratio, such as certain high-speed VSD ceiling fans that do not also meet the definition of an LSSD fan. Specifically, DOE
request comment on the appropriateness of excluding high-speed VSD ceiling fans from scope of ceiling fans.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

19:07 Dec 06, 2021

Jkt 256001

DOE seeks comment regarding whether circulating air should be defined within the definition of ceiling fan at 10 CFR 430.2, as DOE has proposed, or if circulating air should be defined separately within appendix U.
B. Scope of Test Procedure for LargeDiameter Ceiling Fans Currently, section 3.4.1 of appendix U
specifies that the test procedure for LDCFs is applicable for ceiling fans up to 24 feet in diameter. While the test procedure is only applicable for ceiling fans up to 24 feet in diameter, there is no language in the energy conservation standards for large diameter ceiling fans in 10 CFR 430.32s2ii that explicitly limits the scope of the largediameter ceiling fan standards to largediameter ceiling fans with blade spans 24 feet or smaller.13
In the September 2019 NOPR, DOE
proposed that LDCFs with blade spans greater than 24 feet do not need to be tested pursuant to the DOE test procedure for purposes of determining compliance with DOE energy conservation standards or making other representations of efficiency due to the lack of LDCFs on the market availability of test facilities capable of testing LDCFs, especially those with blade spans greater than 24 feet. 84 FR 51440, 51449 citing 81 FR 48620, 48632 July 25, 2016. In response, BAF provided written comments and statements in the public meeting that BAF does not foresee a need for establishing a limit of 24 feet, which it described as artificial.
Public Meeting Transcript at pp. 9899;
see also BAF, No. 36 at p.2 AMCA
commented that ceiling fans larger than 24 feet in diameter are uncommon in the United States due to requirements in the United States Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems NFPA
13. AMCA stated that in some situations ceiling fans larger than 24 feet in diameter could be used e.g., where sprinklers are not present, and that the AMCA 23015 test method should be used for those ceiling fans. AMCA, No.
33 at p. 8
In this SNOPR, DOE is proposing to remove the 24-foot blade span limit in section 3.4.1 of appendix U. This proposal is based on two primary factors. First, because DOEs test procedure for LDCFs is based on AMCA
23015, nothing inherent to the test 13 While, the Energy Act of 2020 updated 10 CFR
432s2ii to specify that large diameter ceiling fans are subject to the CFEI metric, the previous energy conservation standards or the amended energy conservation standards imposed any upper limit on the blade span for large-diameter ceiling fans.

PO 00000

Frm 00009

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4702

69551

procedure would prevent testing of a ceiling fan greater than 24 feet. AMCA
23015 provides minimum clearances as a function of blade span, and does not specify an upper limit on blade span. Second, DOE received confirmation that AMCA has a test facility capable of testing ceiling fans with blade spans substantially larger than 24 feet, according to the minimum clearances specified in AMCA 23015.
DOE seeks comment on its proposal to remove the 24-foot blade span limit in section 3.4.1 of appendix U, which would expand the scope of the test procedure for LDCFs to ceiling fans with blade span larger than 24 feet.
DOE was made aware that AMCA
23015 was inconsistent in its conversion of measurements to standard air density. Whereas calculated thrust is converted to standard air density section 9.3 of AMCA 23015, electric input power is not. Thrust which is used to determine airflow in cubic feet per minute CFM and electric input power are inputs to the CFEI metric described in AMCA 20818. Therefore, without the correction, the same fan can have different values for CFEI
depending on the density of the air where the fan is being tested. On May 5, 2021, AMCA made a correction to address the inconsistency in the industry standard in the form of a technical errata sheet for AMCA 23015.
The technical errata sheet details that the corrections listed in the errata sheet apply to all copies of AMCA 23015.
Accordingly, in this SNOPR, DOE
clarifies that the technical errata sheet applies to AMCA 23015, which is currently incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 430.3b4.
C. Belt-Driven Ceiling Fans Section 1.3 of appendix U defines a belt-driven ceiling fan as a ceiling fan with a series of one or more fan heads, each driven by a belt connected to one or more motors that are located outside of the fan head. Moreover, in section 2 of appendix U, DOE excludes beltdriven ceiling fans from the scope of the test procedure.
In response to the May 2021 RFI, DOE
received a number of comments recommending including certain beltdriven ceiling fans within the scope of the test procedure. Specifically, BAF
commented that a new type of beltdriven ceiling fan has come onto the market since the last final rule that uses larger motors and has higher tip speeds above 5000 feet per minute, or fpm.
BAF, EERE2021BTSTD0011, No.
14 at p. 2. AMCA also commented that a new type of belt-driven fan has come onto the market with a larger motor 1

E:FRFM07DEP4.SGM

07DEP4