Washington State code council adopts A3 refrigerant change

The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) on Oct. 30 adopted a controversial code change, despite worries from HVAC industry groups and fire officials. 

Catch up quick: As Homepros recently reported, the SBCC was weighing a proposed amendment that would allow the use of HVAC equipment that operates using A3 refrigerants.

• However, A3 refrigerants including R-290 — high-grade propane — are classified as “highly flammable,” and U.S. regulations don’t yet fully address them in residential applications, so the amendment would create two exceptions allowing such equipment to be installed using alternative safety standards.
• HVAC industry associations opposed the change and in mid-October wrote a letter to state lawmakers asking them to prevent it. 

Zoom in: Fire safety officials expressed a range of safety concerns.

• During the Oct. 30 meeting, Karen Grove of the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals worried the refrigerants at issue aren’t odorized, making it difficult to smell a leak. “That can lead to loss of life,” she said. 

The other side: Proponents contended that the amendment would provide field data to a state task force that’s been set up to help the state transition to ultra-low GWP refrigerants by 2035. 

• “In practice, the amendment allows NEEA [Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance], a Northwest organization, to conduct the field research on A3 refrigerants that the industry needs to move forward,” one engineer wrote. 

The bottom line: The SBCC tweaked some of the amendment’s language to limit some A3 installations to experimental uses and require approval from safety officials. The measure then passed unanimously and is slated to take effect in May.

What they’re saying: Carolyn Logue, a lobbyist for ACCA’s Washington chapter, suggested in an email after the vote that the language still seemed to allow for some non-experimental installations but that the group was still digesting the implications. 

• “They still allow the European codes (which are unknown in US) instead of being able to go to a US standard,” she wrote.