Commercial Warm Air Furnaces
As defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), “commercial warm air furnace” means a warm air furnace that is industrial equipment, and that has a capacity (rated maximum input) of 225,000 Btu per hour or more. A “warm air furnace” is defined as a self-contained oil-fired or gas-fired furnace designed to supply heated air through ducts to spaces that require it and includes combination warm air furnace/electric air conditioning units but does not include unit heaters and duct furnaces.10 CFR 431.72. Manufacturers have been required to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy conservation standards for commercial warm air furnaces since 1994.
Current Standard | Current Test Procedure |
Ongoing Rulemaking for Standards | Ongoing Rulemaking for Test Procedure |
Helpful Links
Recent and Ongoing Activities
DOE has published a Federal Register final rule amending the test procedures for commercial warm air furnaces (CWAFs) to incorporate the latest versions of the industry test standards that are currently incorporated by reference. DOE is also establishing a new metric, Thermal Efficiency Two (TE2), and corresponding test procedure. Use of the newly established test procedure would become mandatory at such time as compliance with amended energy conservation standards based on TE2 is required, should DOE adopt such standards. DOE also is adopting additional specifications for CWAFs with multiple flue outlets or small flue outlets.
- The effective date of this rule is July 3, 2023.
- These amendments will be mandatory for CWAF equipment testing starting May 28, 2024.
- The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register on July 3, 2023.
For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.
Standards
| Final Determination |
- Federal Register, 87FR78821 (December 23, 2022)
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| Notification of Proposed Determination |
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Reopening of the Comment Period
Request for Information
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Direct Final Rule
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
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The commercial warm air furnaces energy conservation standard rulemaking docket EERE-2013-BT-STD-0021 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information:
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Test Procedure
| Final Rule |
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
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- Federal Register, 87FR10726 (February 25, 2022)
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| Request for Information |
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The commercial warm air furnace test procedure rulemaking docket EERE-2011-BT-STD-0029 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Current Standard
Commercial warm air furnaces manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.77.
To determine that commercial warm air furnaces that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.76.
Helpful Links
Compliance
DOE has established regulations on certification, compliance, and enforcement in the CFR at 10 CFR Part 429. These regulations cover statistical sampling plans, certified ratings, certification reports, record retention, and enforcement. More information on these regulations is available here.
Waivers
For information on current test procedure waivers, see DOE’s Waivers webpage.
For information about obtaining test procedure waivers, see 10 CFR 430.401.
Exceptions
DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals has not authorized exception relief for commercial warm air furnaces.
For information about obtaining exception relief, see 10 CFR part 1003.
Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions
For information on further guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions on all covered products, see DOE’s Further Guidance database.
State Exemptions to Federal Pre-emption
DOE has not exempted any state from this energy conservation standard. States may petition DOE to exempt a state regulation from preemption by the Federal energy conservation standard. States may also petition DOE to withdraw such exemptions. For details, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart W.
For more information related to this product, please email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov
