Department of Energy March 20, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Oak Ridge Reservation. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish energy conservation standards for certain commercial and industrial equipment, including commercial heating, air-conditioning, and water- heating equipment. Of particular relevance here, the statute also requires that each time the corresponding industry standardthe American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1is amended, DOE must assess whether there is a need to update the uniform national energy conservation standards for the same equipment covered under EPCA. ASHRAE officially released an amended version of this industry standard (ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007) on January 10, 2008, thereby triggering DOE's related obligations under EPCA. Specifically, pursuant to EPCA, DOE assessed whether the revised ASHRAE efficiency levels are more stringent than the existing Federal energy conservation standards; and for those equipment classes for which ASHRAE set more-stringent efficiency levels (i.e., commercial packaged boilers), analyzed the economic and energy savings potential of amended national energy conservation standards (at both the new ASHRAE Standard 90.1 levels and more-stringent efficiency levels). DOE has tentatively concluded that the statutory criteria have been met for commercial packaged boilers and water-cooled and evaporatively- cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a cooling capacity at or above 240,000 Btu/h and less than 760,000 Btu/h, thereby justifying consideration of national energy conservation standards set at the revised levels in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007. Furthermore, DOE has tentatively concluded that clear and convincing evidence does not exist, as would justify more-stringent standard levels than the efficiency levels in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 for commercial packaged boilers. DOE has also tentatively concluded that there are no water-cooled and evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a cooling capacity at or above 240,000 Btu/h and less than 760,000 Btu/h being currently manufactured, and therefore, it is not possible to assess the economic and energy savings potential for adopting efficiency levels at or above the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 efficiency levels for such equipment. Accordingly, in this notice, DOE is proposing to amend the energy conservation standards for commercial packaged boilers and to adopt a new energy conservation standard for water-cooled and evaporatively- cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a cooling capacity at or above 240,000 Btu/h and less than 760,000 Btu/h at the efficiency levels specified by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007. DOE is also proposing related amendments to its test procedures for commercial packaged boilers. In addition, DOE is announcing a public meeting to receive comment on its proposal and related issues.