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Article Source: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI)

Article Link: https://www.ahrinet.org/system/files/2024-08/AHRI%20ASME%20BPVC%20White%20Paper%20-%20Rev%201%20-%20Final.pdf

The HVACR and water heating industry annually manufactures and installs more than seven million pieces of equipment with an enviable record of safety, reliability, and performance, accomplishing that feat through a detailed, intertwined system of checks and balances related to design, fabrication, testing, and repair. As part of these efforts, the industry works closely with standards development organizations (SDOs) to continuously improve and update the relevant codes and standards for the benefit of all parties, including the public. Unfortunately, the HVACR and WH industry is currently facing unusual headwinds relative to pressure containing equipment that has the potential to negatively impact both product availability and affordability.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is considering a scope change to its Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Section VIII, Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels, Division I that would eliminate long-standing exemptions for certain equipment manufactured by AHRI’s member companies. The change, if successfully implemented, removes key exemptions that the HVACR and water heating industry has successfully covered with its own codes and standards for decades, and would alter the way relevant standards and codes interact with, and are interpreted by, jurisdictions.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and many other stakeholder organizations, firmly believe existing codes and standards have served both the industry and the public well for many years, with an excellent, long-term safety record. Removing ASME’s BPVC scope exemptions would place the BPVC in conflict with myriad codes and standards that currently occupy this space, such as those from nationally recognized testing laboratories (e.g., UL), SDOs (e.g., ASHRAE), and even other ASME codes.

The elimination of these long-standing, well-supported exemptions will create unnecessary confusion for local code inspectors, will increase equipment expenses and create production delays, and is likely to result in a shortage of trained ASME inspectors, repair issues for units in the field, and the potential for misapplication of codes.

Whether intentional or not, such code misapplication would not provide any enhancement in terms of safety or performance but would have a severe, detrimental impact on the industry’s efforts to support decarbonization and address climate change.

AHRI joins other industry organizations in opposing the elimination of the ASME BPVC Section VIII key scope exemptions due to the lack of proper consideration of industry wide standards and technical justification, along with the resulting confusion on the jurisdictional level that will surely result. Such changes will negatively impact product choice, availability, and affordability of vital life- and health-affirming HVACR and water heating equipment, while doing nothing to enhance its safety or performance.