WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a request for information to assess whether the existing energy-conservation standards for commercial warm-air furnaces should be amended.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended by the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act (AEMTCA) on Dec. 18, 2012, requires the DOE to consider amending the standards for any covered commercial and industrial equipment for which more than six years has elapsed since the issuance of the most recent final rule establishing or amending a standard.

Given that the current energy conservation standards for commercial warm air furnaces were set in 1992, DOE is obligated to publish, no later than Dec. 31, a notice of determination that the current standards for these products do not need to be amended, or a notice of proposed rulemaking for amended energy-conservation standards.

In the request for information, DOE is seeking input and data from stakeholders to help in the development of the technical and economic analyses to determine whether amended energy-conservation standards are warranted for commercial warm air furnaces. In its planned rulemaking analyses, DOE is specifically seeking stakeholder input on 30 issues across various topics such as market assessment and analyses of engineering, markups, energy use, life-cycle cost and payback period, shipment, and national impact. Comments must be submitted prior to June 3.

Publication date: 5/20/2013 

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