Codes and Standards

The Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has approved a Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) which delays the effective date for 210.8(F) in the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) until January 1, 2023. The above requirement mandates GFCI protection for outdoor equipment, including HVAC. The delay only applies to variable speed HVAC equipment.

The above TIA was submitted by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and narrowly focused on variable speed HVAC equipment, instead of all HVAC equipment as with other submitted TIA proposals that have failed NFPA's balloting process over the past year.
In addition, the Council authorized the formation of a task group comprised of GFCI and HVAC manufacturers, as well as other interested parties, “to evaluate and reach an informed technically substantiated resolution to the issues raised.” In response, ACCA Codes Subcommittee Chairman Manny Chaves has appointed Ed Lehr, President, Jack Lehr Heating, Cooling & Electric, Allentown, PA, to represent ACCA on this task group.

Numerous proposals and appeals have been submitted to NFPA to delay the effective date due to the high incidence of nuisance trips in the field. The nuisance trips are due to the electrical incompatibility between currently available GFCI devices and HVAC equipment. Although the above TIA applies only to variable speed compressors, there is evidence of nuisance trips on single speed equipment. This aspect will have to be resolved as well. ACCA has gone on record as supporting all proposed TIAs calling for the delay until a resolution can be found.

The ACCA Codes Subcommittee continues to encourage ACCA members to request their jurisdictions to delete the above requirement if and when they consider adopting the 2020 NEC as their state or local code. The template can be found below.

An update on which states have adopted (or are adopting) the 2020 NEC as of October 1, 2021 can be found at the link shown below.
Learn where the National Electrical Code® (NEC®) is enforced. | NFPA

Currently, 14 states have adopted the 2020 NEC as modified by deleting or delaying the above requirement, with 3 more states processing similar amendments. For more information please contact ACCA’s Manager of Codes and Standards at david.bixby@acca.org.
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