Department of Energy December 29, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in this final rule, establishes mathematical conversion factors to translate the current energy conservation standards and the measured values determined under the energy factor, thermal efficiency, and standby loss test procedures for consumer water heaters and certain commercial water heaters to those determined under the more recently adopted uniform energy factor test procedure. As required by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, DOE initially presented proposals for establishing a mathematical conversion factor in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) published on April 14, 2015 (April 2015 NOPR). Upon further analysis and review of the public comments received in response to the April 2015 NOPR, DOE published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on August 30, 2016 (August 2016 SNOPR). These proposed rulemakings serve as the basis for the final rule.