U.S. government rulemaking regarding the efficiency of furnaces, boilers, and direct heating equipment. Phase report.

This report describes work conducted as part of GRI's information deployment program directed at federal minimum efficiency requirements for appliances. To formalize energy conservation efforts in the U.S., minimum efficiency standards were set forth in the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA). To ensure that all important considerations concerning gas-fired appliances were included in the U.S. Department of Energy's analysis for technological feasibility and economic justification, the NAECA-related information deployment program aimed to provide well-documented research findings regarding codes and standards issues to ensure that rulemaking does not force manufacturers to meet standards by making gas appliances less cost-effective for rate payers and less competitive in the marketplace. The project covered many technical issues regarding the application and cost-effectiveness of options for increasing the efficiency of gas-fired furnaces, boilers, and direct heating equipment: first cost, maintenance cost, energy cost, degree of efficiency improvement, and effect on appliance utility. The report describes the program and its relationship to other GRI programs, and includes summary abstracts from task reports, all of which are cited in the reference section.