On Monday, AGA, and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) sponsored an informational webinar on the proposed revisions to the Residential International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and International Residential Code Chapter 11.  The webinar included an introduction of the IECC and its effect on the end-use of natural gas, details on specific proposals, and a tutorial on how to submit comments during the public review process. The deadline for submitting comments is next Friday, December 16, 2022. For those unable to participate in the webinar, the presentation slides are available here. The slides provide extensive information on the IECC current proposals and list additional resources (websites) on the IECC and explain the importance of this energy code development process and the potential negative impact some proposed provisions can have on natural gas applications. The results of this code development process will be included in the 2024 edition of the Residential International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and International Residential Code Chapter 11. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on how to submit comments on the IECC.

 

For your information, the CSA Group’s Testing, Inspection, and Certification organization has sent correspondence to its customers who have fuel-burning appliances certified to operate on natural gas, providing details of the organization’s position regarding the use of hydrogen blends in those products. Information on this matter is een posted on the CSA Group website, which can be found here:  https://www.csagroup.org/article/use-of-hydrogen-and-natural-gas-mixtures-in-products-certified-for-natural-gas-in-canada-and-the-us/.   Note that the correspondence states that “CSA certification of a product is void when it is used outside the parameters of the applicable standards – which would include the use of fuels other than natural gas, such as a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen.” AGA BECS staff is participating with other stakeholders in discussions with CSA staff on the rationale for the CSA position that has caused considerable concern for several reasons.   

 

For those interested in shipment trends for residential and commercial gas and electric storage type water heaters, residential gas and oil furnaces, electric heat pumps and air-conditioners, click here for the December 9, 2022 Air-Conditioning Heating, & Refrigeration (AHRI) Press Release that provides the October, 2022 U.S. Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipment Data. For previous monthly shipment releases and historical data, please click here . You may also wish to share this information with other groups or individuals within your organization that would be interested in this shipment data.