Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Commercial Packaged Boilers

On March 17, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to amend the test procedure for commercial packaged boilers. That proposed rulemaking serves as the basis for the final rule. DOE incorporates by reference certain sections of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Air- Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Standard 1500, "2015 Standard for Performance Rating of Commercial Space Heating Boilers." In addition, this final rule incorporates amendments that clarify the coverage for field-constructed commercial packaged boilers and the applicability of DOE's test procedure and standards for this category of commercial packaged boilers, provide an optional field test for commercial packaged boilers with fuel input rate greater than 5,000,000 Btu/h, provide a conversion method to calculate thermal efficiency based on combustion efficiency testing for steam commercial packaged boilers with fuel input rate greater than 5,000,000 Btu/h, modify the inlet water temperatures during tests of hot water commercial packaged boilers, establish limits on the ambient temperature during testing, modify setup and instrumentation requirements to remove ambiguity, and standardize terminology and provisions for "rated input" and "fuel input rate."