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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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measurement to be rounded to the nearest 0.01 in. This effectively would provide a tolerance range of approximately 0.01 in.
DOE requests comment on the proposed instrument measurement resolution, rounding and tolerance requirements for blade edge thickness measurements.
3. Blade RPM Tolerance For LDCFs, section 3.52 of appendix U specifies that when testing at 40
percent speed for ceiling fans that can operate over an infinite number of speeds, ensure the average measured RPM is within the greater of 1% of the average RPM at high speed or 1 RPM.
Appendix U does not prescribe a tolerance for measuring RPM of the high speed itself. In the September 2019
NOPR, DOE proposed to extend these tolerances to high speed for all ceiling fans, and to consider the represented blade RPM at high speed to be valid if the measurements either the measured value for a single unit, or the mean of the measured values for a multiple unit sample, rounded to the nearest RPM are within the greater of 1% or 1 RPM of the represented blade RPM at high speed. 84 FR 51440, 51451.
In response, ALA asked DOE to clarify whether the 1 percent verification measurement would apply only to LDCFs. ALA, No. 34, at p. 4 Hunter commented that the tolerance of 1
percent is too tight because too many variables, such as variation in voltage and measuring equipment, exist between laboratories for manufacturers to be able to meet this tight tolerance.
Hunter suggested that instead, the tolerance should be increased from 1%
to 3%. Hunter No. 29 at p. 4
In this SNOPR, DOE further considered the appropriate tolerances for voltage and measuring equipment variations, recognizing that such variation directly impacts the blade RPM measurements. For voltage, section 3.3.15iii of appendix U allows the test voltage to vary by 1% throughout the test. For measuring equipment variation, Appendix U does not specify a required accuracy for tachometers used in testing. However, the tachometer used by several of the participating round-robin laboratories has an accuracy of 0.01% of the reading.24 Combining the voltage variation tolerance and equipment accuracy variation with the September 2019 NOPR proposal of 1% tolerance of represented blade RPM at high speed 24 The data sheet for the referenced tachometer can be found here: https monarchserver.com/
Files/pdf/ACT3x_Datasheet_May_19.pdf.

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would result in an overall tolerance of 2.01%. Therefore, DOE proposes to increase the tolerance for blade RPM
measurements at high speed from 1%
to 2% to account for voltage variation and equipment resolution.
DOE seeks comment on its proposal to define a tolerance of 2% for blade RPM
measurements at high speed. If other tolerances are recommended, DOE seeks specific equipment and/or voltage variation data to justify the recommended tolerance.
4. Represented Values Within Product Class Definitions In the September 2019 NOPR, DOE
proposed updates to the product class definitions in appendix U to reference the proposed represented value provisions to specify that the product class for each basic model is determined using the represented values of blade span, blade RPM, blade edge thickness, and the distance between the ceiling and the lowest point on the fan blades.
84 FR 51440, 51450. In reviewing the September 2019 NOPR proposed updates to the definitions, DOE noted that the definitions referenced the incorrect regulatory text sections for the represented values proposed in 10 CFR
429.32. As such, in this SNOPR, DOE
proposes updates to the references within the product class definitions to reference the appropriate represented value regulatory text sections.
K. Test Procedure Costs, Harmonization, and Other Topics 1. Test Procedure Costs and Impact In this SNOPR, DOE proposes to amend the existing test procedure for ceiling fans by 1 including a definition for circulating air for the purpose of the ceiling fan definition; 2 expanding test procedure scope to include largediameter ceiling fans with a diameter greater than 24 feet; 3 expanding the test procedure to high-speed belt-driven ceiling fans and large-diameter beltdriven ceiling fans; 4 including a provisions for measuring standby energy consumption for large-diameter ceiling fans; 5 amending the definition for low-speed; 6 allowing two-arm sensor setup; 7 requiring sensor arm to stabilize for 30 seconds prior to rotating sensor axes; 8 further specifying air velocity sensor mounting position; 9
providing instructions to measure blade thickness; 10 clarifying test procedures for ceiling fans with accessories; and 11 amending product-specific rounding and enforcement provisions for ceiling fans to reflect the most recent amendments to the test procedures and energy conservation standards for
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ceiling fans. Additionally, this SNOPR
includes proposed regulatory text 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; 2 increasing the tolerance for the stability criteria for the average air velocity measurements for LSSD and VSD ceiling fans; 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 value, rounding and enforcement provisions. 84 FR 51440, 51442. DOE has tentatively determined that the test procedure as proposed in this September 2019 NOPR and as modified by this SNOPR will not be unduly burdensome for manufacturers to conduct.
Further discussion of the cost impacts of the test procedure amendments are presented in the following paragraphs.
a. Cost Impacts for Scope As discussed in section III.A and III.B
of this SNOPR, DOE is proposing to define circulating air to differentiate fans for circulating air i.e., ceiling fans from other products that are not considered to be a ceiling fan for the purposes of the EPCA definition for ceiling fans, and include large-diameter ceiling fans greater than 24 feet in diameter.
Regarding DOEs proposal to include a definition for circulating air, DOE
identified that certain high-speed VSD
ceiling fans with a diameter-tomaximum operating speed ratio less than 0.06 would be excluded from the ceiling fan scope. As discussed, VSD
ceiling fans represent less than one percent of the total ceiling fan market.
Furthermore, the segment of VSD
ceiling fans that would be excluded from the ceiling fan scope would represent a portion of the less than one percent of the market. While the definition as proposed would likely result in a small cost savings for VSD
ceiling fan manufacturers, DOE
conservatively did not include these de minimis cost savings as part of the cost impact calculations.
Regarding including within the scope of the test procedure large-diameter ceiling fans greater than 24 feet in diameter, DOE is not aware of any large diameter ceiling fans greater than 24 feet commercially available on the market.

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