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Vent Free Gas
Heater Information
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Vent
Free Gas Heaters Are Not For
Use Above 4500 Ft. Elevation
Check
To Make Sure Vent Free Heaters
Meet Building Codes In Your Area |
The Latest Vent Free Information - 250kb .pdf file
A small number of states
still impose limits on the use of vent free gas heaters. While
this number is reducing, the speed of the reduction has not
kept pace with the speed of the improvements in the technology
- Although some restrictions are altitude based (e.g.
Colorado).
Some states have permitted
the installation and use of the heaters but some areas within
those states still have limits imposed. If you live in one of
the "Not Permitted" states marked on the map, please
check your local codes before purchase or installation.
There is some confusion on whether vent free is permitted in
California yet. As of this writing the accurate position
is: The state law states that vent free products may be sold
and installed under regulations written by the building
department. But to date, those building regulations have not
yet been written / finalized.
Empire
Warranty Info (34 kb .pdf file)
Why do some states impose (still impose) restrictions ?
There are 8 building code (model code) bodies used throughout
the Unites States. 6 of them permit the use of vent free gas
products, 2 of them do not. The UMC (Uniform Mechanical Code)
body still does not permit the use of vent free gas products
and is the reason most orange areas on our map still exist
today. Some states are considering moving from UMC to IMC
(International Mechanical Code), e.g. Montana. Other States
have areas / localities that have gone ahead on their own and
switched from UMC to the more up to date IMC regulations.
If your building code says
no, pay attention to it. It will catch up with the rest of the
country in time but when the building code says no, your
insurance company says no. It is not worth trying to skirt
around the edge of the system. Consider installing a more
temporary form of space heating while you wait for your area
to catch up. Or if funds allow, opt for a vented system but
bare in mind while they might have a similar appearance on the
outside, 75% to 85% of a vented gas products heat is given
away to the outside environment via the vent. This escaping of
your hard earned heating dollar makes vented gas products more
expensive to run than electric space heating.
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