Title: The Requirement to install gas appliances (including cooking appliances) with flame supervision on all burners in flats and other multi-dwelling buildings

Date issued: 1 April 2009

Introduction
The Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) document IGE/G/5*(published June 2006) provides guidance on the design, installation, operation and maintenance of gas supplies to and in any building containing a number of individual dwellings for domestic purposes only. Also included, are dual-purpose type properties such as flats above shops and offices, but it does not include properties that are used for commercial use only.

Overview of IGE/G/5*
IGE/G/5* defines core areas of safety that have to be considered before gas may be installed in these types of buildings. Examples of areas for consideration are:

• ventilation/installation of gas pipe work;
• risk assessment of the whole installation;
• location of gas meters;
• entry of network pipelines (service pipes), particular attention being given to necessary ventilation;
• location of emergency control valves (ECVs) and additional emergency control valves(AECVs);
• suitable installation materials;
• selection of suitable appliance types;
• protective equipotential bonding;
• competence of Gas Safe registered engineers undertaking the work and their responsibilities.

IGE/G/5* - Selection and installation of gas appliances
One of the key considerations of the IGEM IGE/G/5* drafting panel for this document, related to societal risk i.e. the potential risk to persons, other than the occupants of a particular individual dwelling in a multi-dwelling building, should as far as practicable, be limited such that any risk would not be significantly higher than the societal risk posed by a gas installation in a single dwelling building. As a consequence, Clause 8.2.1 of the original edition of IGE/G/5*, was published which, required all flueless appliances installed after 1st January 2008 incorporate flame supervision devices (FSDs) on all burners. The intent of which was to contribute to reducing any societal risk posed. This predominately affects gas cooker and flueless gas water heater installations.

Note 1: The date of 1st January 2008 was used as a derogation date, designed to allow enough time for the appliance manufacturer’s and the supply chain to be able to supply/provide appliances that satisfied the new requirement to become readily available.

Unfortunately, the timeline envisaged by the IGE/G/5* drafting panel was insufficiently long enough for adequate volumes of suitably compliant new appliances to be available within the derogated lead-in period. To overcome this, IGEM published a waiver that allowed existing new appliance stocks, manufactured from the publication date of the document (June 2006) to 1st January 2008, to continue to be installed, provided that any existing risk was not significantly increased e.g. installing an appliances without FSD protection for someone who may be susceptible to leaving gas burners turned on in an un-controlled manner.

Note 2: The term “new” in the context of this guidance relates to appliances which are brought as new and unused through any retail source.

It was recognised that there would be a steady increase in the proportion of suitably compliant new appliances, as manufacturers indicated that an increased supply of suitably compliant models would be available within the first half of 2008.

Therefore, in recognition of this, from 1st June 2008 the installation of any new flueless appliance not having FSD protection on all burners in a multi-dwelling building, may be classified as ‘Not to Current Standards’ (‘NCS’) in accordance with the procedure given in the current Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP). See Compliance with the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP) in this Technical Bulletin.

Second-hand and previously used cooking appliances
Also included in IGEM’s Technical Statement supporting the above mentioned wavier, it has been clarified that the above FSD requirement was never intended to restrict the installation of previously used, or second-hand appliances and the subsequent amendment to IGE/G/5*, Clause 8.2.1 clarifies this by applying the requirement to ‘new’ appliances. The intended purpose was to ensure that any new appliance installations were compliant from 1 January 2008(see IGE/G/5*)- Selection and installation of gas appliances (above) and also Note 1 (above)).

Note 3: For further guidance on the installation of previously used domestic gas cooking appliances, see TB 022 at: https://engineers.gassaferegistere.co.uk – login and visit the Technical Information area.

Where do the requirements of IGE/G/5* apply?
Another area of debate following the initial publication of IGE/G/5*, which has in turn also been clarified, is the types of building/situations where the guidance in IGE/G/5* should be applied. These are:

• multi-storey blocks of flats;
• single storey maisonette type situations e.g. where ground floor and first floor individual domestic dwellings exists;
• other buildings which are, or have been sub-divided into individual domestic dwellings e.g. flats or bed-sits;
• buildings containing or served by more than one primary meter;
• buildings containing or served by more than one secondary meter, used for billing/charging purposes;
• buildings containing or served by one primary meter, but with more than one AECV and;
• in general, any building comprising of more than one individual dwelling i.e. multi-tenancy and/or multi-owner occupancy.

Excluded are:

• detached, semi-detached, or terraced houses, or bungalows comprising of a single dwelling predominantly occupied by a single family;
• Industrial/Commercial buildings not containing a domestic dwelling.

Note 4: This list should not be considered as exhaustive and is provided for guidance only.

Compliance with the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP)
From 1st June 2008, new installations of flueless gas appliances in multi-dwelling buildings must comply with the guidance given in IGE/G/5* and have FSD protection on all burners. New appliances installed after this date, which do not meet the requirements, will be classified as NCS in accordance with the procedure given in the current Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP) and the registered business will be defected to correctly meet the requirements of IGE/G/5* accordingly.

Note 5: For further guidance on the requirements of GIUSP (TB 001) go to:
https://engineers.gassaferegister.co.uk –login and visit the Technical Information area.

Where a Gas Safe registered business or their engineer indentifies an existing flueless gas appliance installed in a multi-dwelling building without suitable FSD protection on all burners, the appliance should be classified as NCS in accordance with the procedure given in the current GIUSP.

Note 6: This will apply in all situations even when the appliance has been installed after 1st June 2008, except where a non-compliant appliance is exchanged under a manufacturer’s warranty.

Further information relating to the amendments to IGE/G/5* and the statement published by IGEM can be found on the IGEM website www.igem.org.uk
Bibliography

(*) IGE/G/5 – Gas in flats and other multi-dwelling buildings

TECHNICAL BULLETIN 015
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