Gas appliance approval

Directive

Directive: Gas Appliance Approval

October 1, 2022

Directive
Gas

Reference Number:

D-GA-2017-02

Revision Number:

Revision 1



This Directive is being issued by a provincial safety manager pursuant to section 30 of the Safety Standards Act.

Scope

In accordance with the Safety Standards Act and associated regulation in BC, a gas appliance must display a mark or label indicating it is certified or approved in order to be offered for sale, sold, installed, or operated in BC. 

Technical Safety BC provides a program for approval of regulated gas appliances authorized under the Safety Standards Act and Gas Safety Regulation (GSR). Gas appliance designs can be submitted to engineering at: Gas Design Registration for review, registration, and a subsequent field approval assessment by a gas safety officer (GSO) for conformance to the registered design and compliance to referenced codes or standards.

Upon successful completion of the product approval assessment, a Technical Safety BC gas appliance approval label is affixed to the appliance. An approval is site specific for non-portable equipment and is valid only in the province of British Columbia under jurisdictional areas of the Safety Standards Act.

Note: All field approved portable gas appliances and equipment must demonstrate compliance to B149.3 clause 20. 

Details

The scope of the Technical Safety BC gas approval program is limited to appliances not covered by a recognized standard and appliances which are field constructed. Technical Safety BC gas approvals are evaluated in accordance with CSA B149.3 Code for the field approval of fuel related components on appliances and equipment. Other codes not adopted in British Columbia may be utilized upon approval of the Provincial Safety Manager, Energy. The Technical Safety BC appliance approval program is not applicable to clients engaged in manufacturing or commercial activity.

Technical Safety BC will not accept applications for:

1.   An unapproved gas appliance if there is an applicable Canadian Recognized Standard (CRS) or “Other Recognized Document” (ORD) for that appliance. Manufacturers or others are required to contact an accredited certification body to determine criteria and timelines for having their appliance certified. It is the responsibility of the certification body to determine the scope of their accreditation and if product certification can result in a statement of conformity compliant with the requirements of the CRS or ORD.

2.   An unapproved gas appliance which is shop-built and not covered by a CRS, usually bearing a model number, typically delivered to a client ready for connection to a gas system, venting system, power, etc. Manufacturers are encouraged to contact an accredited certification body to request the development of a national standard for the applicable class of appliance. Pending the development and acceptance of a standard, a certification body can produce an ORD for review and acceptance by the Interprovincial Gas Advisory Council.

3.   An unapproved gas appliance from a manufacturing client engaged in commercial enterprise. All commercial clients will need to engage either an accredited certification body or inspection body for gas appliance certifications or approvals. If a commercial client chooses to have an appliance approved to the adopted B149.3 code, they must utilize the services of an accredited gas inspection body to evaluate and label the appliance if compliant. 

Note: In extraordinary cases, requests for exceptions to this policy may be considered by the Provincial Safety Manager.

Section 32 of the GSR authorizes agencies accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to provide certification and approval services to the gas industry. Depending on the scope of accreditation granted by the SCC, an agency may function as a certification body, inspection body or both. All Certification and inspection activities must be performed in accordance with accreditation given to that organization from Standards Council of Canada.

Accredited certification bodies can apply a certification mark to an appliance if it conforms to a Canadian Recognized Standard (CRS). Certification bodies may also apply a certification mark to an appliance which conforms to the requirements of an “Other Recognized Document” (ORD) accepted by the Interprovincial Gas Advisory Council (IGAC). An ORD is an interim document developed by a certification body to temporarily provide certification services in an area where a CRS does not exist or is not fully applicable. For a complete list of Recognized Canadian Standards and Other Recognized documents see: www.scc.ca

An inspection body accredited by SCC for gas-fired appliances and equipment may also be utilized to approve an appliance to the B149.3 code. Accredited inspection bodies apply an approval mark to one-of-a-kind and limited run commercial and industrial gas-fired appliances and equipment that may be designed for installation at a specific site or assembled onsite where no NRS or ORD exists.

Inspection bodies typically verify in relation to the appliance only that it is in compliance with codes noted in the SCC “Accreditation Program Overview” document. This includes B149.1, .2 & .3. They may also include relevant portions of other codes and standards, if determined by the inspection body to be appropriate.

Vicky Kang
Manager, Energy
Provincial Safety Manager, Gas

 

References: 
Safety Standards Act
Gas Safety Regulation
CSA B149.3 Code for the field approval of fuel related components on appliances and equipment

Attachment
Size
98.57 KB