After several years of debate on how to restrict installation of unvented combustion heaters, including “vent-free fireplaces” which are widely used throughout most of the U. S., and after ASHRAE Standards Committee and Board of Directors consideration of these restrictions in proposed standards language, the ASHRAE SSPC 62.2 voted on Wednesday to implement an outright ban of the products.  The SSPC 62.2 action puts ASHRAE in a curious position of having already agreed to implement restrictions on installation of these products, while ignoring technical justifications based upon indoor air quality data and analysis for not restricting their installation, and it now sees fit to ban the products entirely.  No new technical information was put forward at this week’s SSPC meeting to justify this change in position.  AGA had repeatedly called for remand of proposed restrictions to a SSPC subcommittee where all of the technical information on either side of the restriction issue could be vetted, but this recommendation (included in AGA’s unresolved comments against restrictions that had been proposed) was never debated.  Likewise, the ban voted on Wednesday was never considered by a cognizant 62.2 subcommittee.  The vote will be now be recanvassed among the full SSPC membership, where AGA will provide comprehensive arguments against the ban with AGA’s negative vote.  Included in AGA’s comments will be the risk of restraint of trade presented by the ban among jurisdictions that adopt the edition of Standard 62.2 that include the ban.  To date, the manufacturers of unvented combustion heaters have neglected raising this issue in their response to previously proposed restrictions, which would have eliminated most models of the products from the market.  Beyond the ban of unvented combustion heaters themselves, the potential impact of the 62.2 action will be monitored as it might be extended in future restrictions or bans of other gas-fired products, including but not limited to residential gas-fired cooking products.

 

On Tuesday, the International Code Council launched online building code tools for the public to access free information about the fuel gas, plumbing, mechanical, building, etc., code adopted  in their communities. The ICC reports that the “information is created in partnership with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) and the Insurance Services Office (ISO) and the U.S. code adoption database is an interactive map that shares code adoption information at the state and local level. A one-of-a-kind U.S. code adoption tool, the database displays which codes are adopted within each state/jurisdiction and provides context and links to access further code information. “ BECS Committee members should find this information important in identifying what I-Codes and what edition are adopted in each state.

 

 

[This is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. AGA staff continues to request your comments on retaining this feature for future End Use Codes and Standards Update]

 

Recent Activity Alerts

 

Recent and Upcoming Code Body Meetings

 

Bills with Recent Activity