Why and How the GFCI Requirement Was Delayed

210.8(F) Outdoor Outlets. All outdoor outlets for dwellings, other than those covered in 210.8(A)(3), Exception to (3), that are supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated 150 volts to ground or less, 50 amperes or less, shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

So how and why did this delay happen? Last November, before the Texas Air Conditioning Contractors Association (TACCA) became aware of the ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) issue in section 210.8(F), Texas adopted the 2020 NEC. Since then, there have been many reports and concerns raised about incompatibility of the equipment causing excessive nuisance trips. After reaching out to TDLR, we learned TDLR does not have the authority to amend the adopted codes. TACCA believed our only option to circumvent this issue would be to contact each municipality to encourage them to remove/amend the code. There are approximately 2,000 municipalities in Texas, so that would not have been an easy undertaking, but we made plans to use a template provided by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) and reach out to the larger municipalities.

In May, the City of Austin informed us they did not have the authority to override the state adopted code. One of our members and former TACCA president, Matt Freund, contacted TDLR to discuss how we could work toward a solution for HVAC/R contractors. From that conversation, TACCA called on contractors across the state to send emails to TDLR identifying this as an issue and supporting a solution. Within 24 hours TDLR received 100+ emails from that call to action. Troy Behrens with Air Innovations LLC shared his comment to TDLR, “I strongly support the exception to 210.8(F). I own an AC company that does high volume new construction homes. My company has been running around 15 calls each day that are non-cooling calls due to tripped breakers. Since heating season began, we can account for 675+ calls that have been nuisance calls for this issue.” 

Troy went on to describe the homeowner experience, “For new home construction, some of these people who have purchased brand new homes do not understand why their homes do not cool and why we do not have a solution to the problem. Some homes are tripping 5-6 times a day. Homeowners do not care that it is a code issue and in their frustration are tarnishing our reputation and that of the builders with bad reviews, word of mouth complaints and angry calls to my office and field staff.”

Allison Hale with SOS Mechanical pointed out, “As a contractor in the Central Texas area that deals heavily with variable speed and inverter condensers, we service many critical operations such as equipment and server rooms with inverter-driven ductless units. Nuisance trips in these situations could be more than annoying, they could be disastrous.”

That round of communication demonstrated to TDLR the urgency of the matter and TDLR called an emergency meeting of the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation the following week. On the morning of May 18, we received notice the Commission would meet that day at 4pm. By noon TACCA sent an email encouraging contractors to submit public comment by the 2pm deadline and TDLR received 30+ emails in that time. Two of our members, Roland Arrisola and Roy Jones, provided public comment during the meeting. Although several commissioners expressed concern about the safety basis for 210.8(F), TDLR Chief Electrical Inspector Jerry Daniel assured them there was no significant safety issue with delaying the effective date of 210.8(F). The Commission voted unanimously to adopt temporary emergency rules effective May 20 to delay the effectiveness 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.”

TACCA appreciates the quick response of the TDLR staff, especially Chief Electrical Inspector Jerry Daniel, AC/R Program Chief William Weatherly, and TDLR Executive Director Brian Francis, as well as the thoughtful consideration by the Commissioners. Their efforts, sparked by the call from one contractor and the swift response from the industry, culminated in a real solution to a growing concern, showing that together we can make a difference.

This is only a delay but should buy the time needed to either get 210.8(F) deleted or amended in the 2023 NEC -or- allow manufacturers time to develop and produce parts and equipment that will allow contractors to comply with this section of code.

Devorah Jakubowsky, CAE

Read more on TDLR's website.