Investigation of Safety Standards for Energy Saving Devices for Gas-Fired Appliances.

摘要

Five proposed safety Standards relating to energy saving devices for gas-fired appliances were evaluated. These Standards included:the National Fuel Gas Code and American National Standard for Automatic Gas Ignition Systems and Components (ANSI Z21.20),and proposed Standards for electrically,mechanically,and thermally actuated automatic vent damper devices. Construction and performance criteria for safety were evaluated and recommendations were made for improvement. Each of these Standards,except for ANSI Z21.20,is primarily intended for retrofitting of existing appliances. The proposed revisions to the National Fuel Gas Code are installation procedures intended to provide criteria for the safe installation of energy saving devices or modifications. A major deficiency found in this Standard is the lack of adequate assurance that the installer is qualified to perform the modification. The most pervasive insufficiencies found in the device Standards were quality assurance provisions. The automatic vent damper Standards were found to be deficient in several areas. These Standards allow certain auxiliary components necessary for a safe installation to be supplied separately by the installer. Also,the testing requirements given in this Standards lack specificity and severity in a number of instances. There is general lack of requirements for accommodating the rather wide range of vent temperatures that may be experienced in the field.