Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Compressors

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY <CFR>10 CFR Part 431</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EERE-2022-BT-TP-0019]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1904-AF08</RIN> <SUBJECT>Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Compressors</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) is amending the test procedure for compressors to correct an error and to ensure that pressure ratio is expressed in terms of absolute pressure. DOE is also correcting the formula for isentropic efficiency and specific energy consumption of the packaged compressor by incorporating a K <E T="52">6</E> correction factor to correct for differences in pressure ratio when testing at differing elevations. Finally, DOE is amending the definition of “air compressor” to include a minor clarification and revise a typographical error. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> The effective date of this rule is April 2, 2025. The amendments will be mandatory for product testing starting July 16, 2025. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register on April 2, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The docket, which includes <E T="04">Federal Register</E> notices, public meeting attendee lists and transcripts, comments, and other supporting documents/materials, is available for review at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> All documents in the docket are listed in the <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> index. However, not all documents listed in the index may be publicly available, such as those containing information that is exempt from public disclosure. A link to the docket web page can be found at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov/docket/EERE-2022-BT-TP-0019.</E> The docket web page contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, in the docket. For further information on how to review the docket contact the Appliance and Equipment Standards Program staff at (202) 287-1445 or by email: <E T="03">ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Mr. Jeremy Dommu, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-9870. Email: <E T="03">ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov.</E> Mr. Pete Cochran, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. Telephone: (202) 586-9496. Email: <E T="03">Peter.Cochran@hq.doe.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> DOE incorporates by reference the following industry standards into title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulation (“CFR”) part 431: IEC 60584-1:2013, <E T="03">Thermocouples—Part 1: EMF specifications and tolerances,</E> edition 3.0, August 2013 (“IEC 60584-1:2013”). IEC 60584-3:2021, Thermocouples— <E T="03">Part 3: Extension and compensating cables—Tolerances and identification system,</E> edition 3.0, February 2021 (“IEC 60584-3:2021”). Copies of IEC 60584-1:2013 and IEC 60584-3:2021 may be purchased from International Electrotechnical Commission (“IEC”) Central Office, 3, rue de Varembé, Case Postale 131, CH-1211, Geneva, Switzerland +41 22 919 02 11, or by going to <E T="03">webstore.iec.ch.</E> ISO 1217:2009(E), <E T="03">Displacement compressors—Acceptance tests,</E> fourth edition, July 1, 2009 (“ISO 1217:2009(E)”). ISO 1217:2009/Amd.1:2016(E), <E T="03">Displacement compressors—Acceptance tests</E> (fourth edition, July 1, 2009), AMENDMENT 1: Calculation of isentropic efficiency and relationship with specific energy, April 15, 2016 (“ISO 1217:2009/Amd.1:2016(E)”). ISO 5167-1:2022(E), <E T="03"> Measurement of fluid flow by means of pressure differential devices inserted in circular cross-section conduits running full—Part 1: General principles and requirements, </E> third edition, June 2022 (“ISO 5167-1:2022(E)”). ISO 9300:2022(E), <E T="03">Measurement of gas flow by means of critical flow nozzles,</E> third edition, June 2022 (“ISO 9300:2022(E)”). Copies of ISO 1217:2009(E), ISO 1217:2009/Amendment 1:2016(E), ISO 5167-1:2022(E), and ISO 9300:2022(E) may be purchased from International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”) at Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland +41 22 749 01 11, or by going to <E T="03">www.iso.org.</E> See section IV.N of this document for further discussion of these standards. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Authority and Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Synopsis of the Final Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Discussion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Scope of Applicability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Reciprocating Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Centrifugal Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Compressor Motor Nominal Horsepower</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Lubricant-Free Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. Brushed Motors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">6. Output Pressure Less Than 75 psig</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">7. Integrated Dryers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Updates to Industry Standards</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. ISO 1217:2009(E) as the Basis for This Test Procedure</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Ambient Temperature Range Requirement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Definitions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Multi-Element Air Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Efficiency Metrics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Load Point for Fixed-Speed Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Load Points for Variable-Speed Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Inclusion of Unloaded Operation for Fixed-Speed Compressors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Part-Load Performance of Fixed-Speed Compressors With Variable-Airflow Controls</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Test Method</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> 1. K <E T="52">6</E> Correction Factor </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Correction of Pressure Ratio at Full-Load Operating Pressure Formula</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Tolerances for Measured Energy Efficiency Values</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Reporting</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Test Procedure Costs and Harmonization</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> 1. Amendment to Incorporate K <E T="52">6</E> Correction Factor </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Amendment To Update Formula for Pressure Ratio at Full-Load Operating Pressure</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Amendment to Update Definition of “Air Compressor”</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Harmonization With Industry Standards</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Effective and Compliance Dates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Renumbering of Appendix A</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Review Under Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Review Under Executive Order 13132</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Review Under Executive Order 12988</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Review Under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Review Under Executive Order 12630</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Review Under Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Review Under Executive Order 13211</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">M. Congressional Notification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">N. Description of Materials Incorporated by Reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Approval of the Office of the Secretary</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Authority and Background</HD> Compressors are included in the list of “covered equipment” (via the clause classifying certain types of “industrial equipment” as “covered equipment”) for which the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) is authorized to establish and amend energy conservation standards and test procedures. (42 U.S.C. 6311(1)(L), 6311(2)(B)(i), and 6312(b)). DOE's test procedures for compressors are currently prescribed at subpart T of part 431 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 431). The following sections discuss DOE's authority to establish and amend test procedures for compressors and relevant background information regarding DOE's consideration of test procedures for this equipment. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Authority</HD> The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Public Law 94-163, as amended (“EPCA”), <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> authorizes DOE to regulate the energy efficiency of a number of consumer products and certain industrial equipment. (42 U.S.C. 6291-6317, as codified) Title III, Part C of EPCA, <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> added by Public Law 95-619, Title IV, section 441(a), established the Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment, which sets forth a variety of provisions designed to improve energy efficiency. This equipment includes compressors, the subject of this document. Under EPCA, DOE may include a type of industrial equipment, including compressors, as covered equipment if it determines that doing so is necessary to carry out the purposes of Part A-1. (42 U.S.C. 6311(1)(L), 6311(2)(B)(i), and 6312(b)). The purpose of Part A-1 is to improve the efficiency of elec ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 163k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━