Change doesn’t come without challenges, and progress doesn’t always take a direct route.

Four years after adopting a temporary exception to a new rule for outdoor GFCIs, the organization responsible for updating the nation’s model code for electrical safety has proposed extending the exception for another two years.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposed a two-year extension to the 210.8(F) Exception. Adopted in 2022, the exception temporarily delayed a requirement for outdoor HVAC equipment to have GFCI protection.

The original requirement was included in the 2020, 2023 and 2026 editions of NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code. The NEC is the nation’s model code and benchmark for safe electrical wiring installation and inspection, which states and localities adopt and enforce. The 210.8 rule was intended to add another layer of safety to outdoor wiring, especially as it concerns HVAC equipment.

However, customers, installers and manufacturers reported unwanted and unnecessary “tripping” of the GFCIs connected to these outdoor equipment installations, often on excessively hot days. Apparently, the HVAC equipment and the GFCIs were not always compatible. Consequently, many states where the new requirements had been adopted began to consider amendments to the new code. In 2022, the NFPA adopted its temporary exception to the rule.

That exception was scheduled to expire on Sept. 1, 2026. The looming deadline was a concern for stakeholders who have tried to make changes but have not yet been able to solve all the compatibility issues. In explaining its proposed TIA, the NFPA stated that “despite ongoing efforts from the HVAC manufacturers and GFCI manufacturers, more time is needed to develop products compatible to the GFCI requirements.”

Originally, manufacturers had requested a three-year extension until Sept.1, 2029, but they reached a compromise with the NFPA and settled on a proposed two-year extension.

The comment period on the proposed TIA will close on Sept. 9.