AGA Submits Comments Opposing Draft Addendum to ANSI/ASHRAE 62.2 Standard that Would Prohibit Unvented, Gas-Fired Space Heaters.
Today,  AGA submitted comments to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) opposing a proposal (Addendum j attached) to the societies “ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings” that would prohibit the installation of unvented (sometimes referred to as vent-free) natural gas and propane space heaters.  The ASHRAE Standard 62.2 is an American National Standard (ANS) consensus developed standard that has been and continues to be adopted by many states and jurisdictions throughout the United States. This is the first outright ban of a natural gas appliance in the ASHRAE 62.2 standard and the rationale for the ban cited for the prohibition is stated as “ Unacceptable concentrations of products of combustion can be generated at the ventilation rates allowed in this standard when combustion appliances are unvented”. The AGA comments recommended that this proposal needs to be rejected for a number of reasons including the fact that there is an American National Standard (ANS Z21.11.2) for unvented gas fired space heaters that is developed through an ANS consensus standard that has substantial requirements to limit emission concentrations from unvented gas-fired heaters including input restrictions of no more than 30,000 BTU’s per hour, a requirement for an Oxygen Depletion Sensor (ODS) system, limits on permissible CO and NO2 emissions and sizing requirements. Additionally, the safety record for unvented gas fired space heaters is exemplary and federal agencies including the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have monitored this product and the standard used for design certification for over 50 years.  We will provide the ASHRE 62.2 committee response to our comments when available.

DOE Publishes a Notice of December 14th Open Meeting for Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a Federal Register notice announcing a meeting of the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC). DOE will hold a webinar on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Click here to register for the webinar. The ASRAC provides advice and recommendations related to the following:

• Development of minimum efficiency standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment which maintain performance and utility,
  
• Development of product test procedures,
  
• Certification and enforcement of standards,
  
• Labeling for various residential products and commercial equipment, and
  
• Specific issues of concern to DOE as requested by the Secretary of Energy, the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and the Building Technologies Office (BTO) Director.
  

With several activities underway at DOE that impact natural gas appliances from establishing more stringent minimum efficiency requirements to testing and rating test procedures, the ASRAC will play a key role in developing minimum efficiency requirements and measuring methods for determining the future availability of the available types of natural gas appliance and equipment.  AGA staff will be participating in the December 14th webinar and BECS committee members are also encouraged to participate in the webinar.

State Codes Activity Update.
Attached 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. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization.