ALEXANDRIA, VA. (August 19, 2026) — The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has submitted public comments to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) supporting the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) Log No. 1924.
The emergency TIA would extend Exception No. 2 to NEC 210.8(F) until September 1, 2028, for the 2020, 2023, and 2026 editions of the National Electrical Code (NEC).
The exception addresses GFCI protection for listed outdoor HVAC equipment. ACCA’s comments argue that additional time is needed to complete laboratory evaluation and field validation demonstrating reliable compatibility across the full range of HVAC equipment affected by the requirement.
“This is not a choice between electrical safety and equipment reliability,” said David Bixby, ACCA Manager of Codes. “The record shows that unintended loss of air conditioning during extreme heat can itself create a serious life-safety risk. The responsible course is to allow the technical work to be completed while preserving a finite path toward the ultimate GFCI solution.”
ACCA’s filing points to the record developed by an NFPA Standards Council’s GFCI task group in 2022, which identified unresolved HVAC-specific technical issues and acknowledged nuisance-tripping experience involving both single-stage and variable-speed equipment. The task group concluded that the causes of nuisance tripping remained unknown and that additional study was necessary.
More recent research testing cited in AHRI’s TIA substantiation reinforces ACCA’s concern. According to the filing, 5 of 12 GFCIs tested tripped below the applicable must-hold current above 60 Hz.
ACCA argues that listing and availability of high-frequency (HF) GFCIs are important progress, but do not by themselves demonstrate compatibility across the installed population of listed HVAC equipment, particularly conventional 60 Hz single-stage systems.
ACCA also emphasized the consumer life-safety consequences of an unintended loss of cooling. The association cited the Maricopa County Department of Public Health’s 2024 Heat-Related Deaths Report, which recorded 138 indoor heat-related deaths. Air conditioning was present in 88% of those cases; among cases where air conditioning was present, the unit was not functioning in 70% and was not in use in another 18%.
The filing notes that occupants who are aging in place, convalescing, or physically or cognitively impaired may not be able to recognize a loss of cooling, locate and reset a GFCI device, or arrange for immediate repair before indoor temperatures become dangerous.
ACCA maintains that extending the exception to September 1, 2028 would not abandon GFCI protection or prejudge the ultimate technical solution. Rather, the limited extension would provide key stakeholders including contractors, manufacturers, testing laboratories, standards developers, AHRI, and GFCI manufacturers additional time to complete the testing and field validation needed to demonstrate reliable HVAC-GFCI compatibility.