July, 2016
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and
Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has published a standard (ASHRAE
62.2) that may eliminate the entire vent-free category.
Under the ASHRAE 6.2 standard, an 1875 sq.ft. house with 8'
ceilings would be limited to just one 6,000 Btu/hr vent-free heater.
This is roughly 50 times smaller than is currently being recommended by
vent-free manufacturers' installation guidelines.
A 6,000 Btu/hr gas flame is about the size
produced by the smallest burner on a typical gas range. It is
questionable whether or not the US buying public will be attracted to
gas fireplaces that small in numbers sufficient to support the product
category.
The 62.2 standard has already been adopted by many
jurisdictions throughout the US and has been referenced in the
Department of Energy's Home Weatherization Program, which is used to
upgrade homes nationwide. If adopted at the Federal level, this
standard would eliminate over 90% of the vent-free products currently
being offered in the US marketplace.
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Read about
how much CO2 a vent-free
fireplace exhausts into the breathing space
Read about
a recent study of the effects of
long-term exposure to CO gases
Read about
respiratory irritation from
vent-free exhaust in the breathing space
Read a posting about vent-free gas appliances
from an indoor air quality scientist
Read
what Consumer Reports Magazine has to say about vent-free products
Read letters in defense of vent-free products
Read our opinion about vent-free gas
appliances
Have a vent-free experience you'd like to report? Here's a link
to the Consumer Product Safety Commission
website.
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