Exemption from Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations

HSE has issued an exemption from regulation 26(9)(c) of the Gas Safety Installations and Use Regulations to allow gas engineers to use a different test method to check the safe operation of certain types of gas appliance that cannot fully meet the testing requirements set out in the Regulations.

Regulation 26(9)(c) requires a person working on a gas appliance to check that its operating pressure or heat input (or both) are correct and to notify any defects. However, in certain circumstances, it is not possible for the engineer to carry out either test.

Since the introduction of gas appliances that incorporate pre-mix burners and zero set regulators (air/gas ratio valves) it has not been possible to measure the operating pressure of this type of appliance, and the only way to satisfy the requirements of regulation 26(9)(c) has been to measure the gas rate.

There are some situations where this type of appliance is connected to an unmetered gas supply (such as bulk storage LPG installations or multi-occupancy dwellings which do not have separate meters for each apartment). In such cases it is not possible to measure the gas rate without interrupting the gas supply to put a test meter in line.

The exemption will allow engineers to test this type of appliance using a portable combustion gas analyser (flue gas analyser) as an alternative to the tests specified in the Regulations. The testing will be carried out in accordance with the relevant part of BS 7967 - Carbon monoxide in dwellings and the combustion performance of gas fired appliances.

The exemption came into force on 16 June 2008 and applies only to appliances that:

• incorporate air/gas ratio technology; and
• are connected to an unmetered gas supply
• Certificate of exemption [30KB]