texie
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Occupation
- Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
This will be of interest to the Texas sparkys:
On Tuesday, May 18, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation held an emergency meeting in response to an imminent threat to public health and safety. It has been found that compliance with Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) can interfere with the proper functioning of certain types of air conditioning and heating systems. With summer heat approaching in Texas, failed or malfunctioning air-conditioning systems can pose a danger to public health and safety.
To help alleviate this threat, the Commission voted to amend rules in the Electricians and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors programs to delay the effective date of Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC until January 1, 2023.
“There’s a large and growing concern from air conditioning and refrigeration stakeholders, supported by anecdotal and empirical evidence, that adding GFCI protection to air conditioning and heat pump equipment that uses DC Inverter technology can cause repeated tripping of the circuit protection, making the systems effectively inoperable,” said William Weatherly, TDLR Program Chief and Chief Inspector for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. “To protect public health and safety, agency staff took quick action to have this issue reviewed by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation.”
Specifically, the rules amended were 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 73, §73.100 in the Electricians program rules, and 16 TAC, Chapter 75, §75.100 in the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors rules.
The amendments are effective May 20, 2021 and expire in 120 days, unless renewed by the Commission. TDLR has begun working on non-emergency rulemaking to implement this change on a permanent basis.
What does Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC do?
Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC requires that certain outdoor outlets for dwellings supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated 150 volts to ground or less, 50 amperes or less, have ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI) protection. The emergency rules adopted by the Commission would remove this requirement until January 1, 2023.
Why is this change being made?
There have been widespread reports of certain types of air conditioning units connected to a GFCI device not being compatible with the GFCI protection, which causes the GFCI device to trip. This incompatibility poses a substantial risk to the health and safety of all Texans who rely on air conditioning, especially during the summer months.
What does this change mean for electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration contractors?
Beginning May 20, 2021, neither electrical contractors nor air conditioning and refrigeration contractors will be required to comply with the requirement of Section 210.8(F) of GFCI protection for certain outdoor outlets until January 1, 2023.
A code-compliant installation, with emphasis on a proper bonding of the equipment to the equipment grounding conductor and to the electrical grounding system, will ensure electrical safety for fault conditions, even when terminated to a normal overcurrent protection device.
| TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATION |
To help alleviate this threat, the Commission voted to amend rules in the Electricians and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors programs to delay the effective date of Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC until January 1, 2023.
“There’s a large and growing concern from air conditioning and refrigeration stakeholders, supported by anecdotal and empirical evidence, that adding GFCI protection to air conditioning and heat pump equipment that uses DC Inverter technology can cause repeated tripping of the circuit protection, making the systems effectively inoperable,” said William Weatherly, TDLR Program Chief and Chief Inspector for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. “To protect public health and safety, agency staff took quick action to have this issue reviewed by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation.”
Specifically, the rules amended were 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 73, §73.100 in the Electricians program rules, and 16 TAC, Chapter 75, §75.100 in the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors rules.
The amendments are effective May 20, 2021 and expire in 120 days, unless renewed by the Commission. TDLR has begun working on non-emergency rulemaking to implement this change on a permanent basis.
What does Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC do?
Section 210.8(F) of the 2020 NEC requires that certain outdoor outlets for dwellings supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated 150 volts to ground or less, 50 amperes or less, have ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI) protection. The emergency rules adopted by the Commission would remove this requirement until January 1, 2023.
Why is this change being made?
There have been widespread reports of certain types of air conditioning units connected to a GFCI device not being compatible with the GFCI protection, which causes the GFCI device to trip. This incompatibility poses a substantial risk to the health and safety of all Texans who rely on air conditioning, especially during the summer months.
What does this change mean for electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration contractors?
Beginning May 20, 2021, neither electrical contractors nor air conditioning and refrigeration contractors will be required to comply with the requirement of Section 210.8(F) of GFCI protection for certain outdoor outlets until January 1, 2023.
A code-compliant installation, with emphasis on a proper bonding of the equipment to the equipment grounding conductor and to the electrical grounding system, will ensure electrical safety for fault conditions, even when terminated to a normal overcurrent protection device.
