Sealed/Vented New Gas Appliances
Any new gas appliances are sealed-combustion / vented to the outdoors — or the project goes all-electric.
Spec
Applies uniformly from Silver upward.
Scope
All NEW gas appliances installed in the dwelling — furnace, boiler, water heater, dryer, fireplace.
Requirements
- 01.
New gas appliances must be sealed-combustion (direct-vent) — drawing combustion air from outside and exhausting to outside through dedicated venting.
- 02.
Atmospherically vented or naturally drafted gas appliances are not permitted for new installations at Silver and above.
- 03.
OR the project may convert to all-electric appliances (which automatically satisfies the requirement plus aligns with Gold all-electric goals).
Documentation
Evidence the inspector / Institute will need.
- 01.
Equipment spec sheets for all new gas appliances showing sealed-combustion / direct-vent design.
- 02.
Photos of installed combustion-air intake and exhaust terminations.
Guidance
Why sealed-combustion is now baseline
Atmospheric-draft appliances are dependent on neutral house pressure to vent properly — they backdraft in any home with strong exhaust fans (kitchen hood, bath fans, dryer) or wind effects. Sealed-combustion appliances are immune to backdrafting because the entire combustion air/exhaust path is isolated from house air.
Note
Most furnaces sold in the U.S. today are already sealed-combustion (95%+ AFUE condensing units). Atmospheric-draft is most commonly found in older tank water heaters — replacement with a sealed-combustion or electric HPWH is the easiest path.