DALLAS — The International Code Council’s (ICC’s) 2012/2013 code change proposals were reviewed and voted on at hearings held by the ICC in Dallas, and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) participated in the hearings. These hearings focused on Group A, which comprises the building, fuel gas, mechanical, and plumbing codes. The energy conservation, fire, and residential codes, which are part of Group B, and the green construction code, which is part of Group C, will be handled in separate code hearings scheduled for next year.

AHRI noted that it submitted two code change proposals and followed 32 others that were identified as being of interest to the HVACR and water heating industry.

AHRI said that these were successful hearings for the association. Of significance was the disapproval of a proposal that would have prohibited the installation of gas-fired vent free heaters within dwelling units. In addition, a proposal supported by the AHRI chilled beam section was approved, which exempts evaporators and cooling coils designed to operate in sensible cooling from having a condensate drain system. However, a proposal to adopt AHRI Standard 1270, Requirements For Seismic Qualification of HVACR Equipment, as a means to comply with the certification requirements for non-structural components of the International Building Code (IBC) was disapproved without prejudice. Those in opposition recommended that the AHRI standard be processed through American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, instead of the IBC. AHRI received the commitment of several members of the ASCE 7 committee to assist in the process.

Public comments on the actions that were taken by the code development committees at the hearings are due on Aug. 1, 2012. The final action hearings will be held on Oct. 24-28, 2012, in Portland, Ore.

Publication date: 6/4/2012