Description of furnaces and central air conditioners.
16 C.F.R. § 305.4
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Furnaces—(1) Furnace means a product that utilizes only single-phase electric current, or single-phase electric current or DC current in conjunction with natural gas, propane, or home heating oil, and which—
(i) Is designed to be the principal heating source for the living space of a residence;
(ii) Is not contained within the same cabinet with a central air conditioner whose rated cooling capacity is above 65,000 Btu per hour;
(iii) Is an electric central furnace, electric boiler, forced-air central furnace, gravity central furnace, or low pressure steam or hot water boiler; and
(iv) Has a heat input rate of less than 300,000 Btu per hour for electric boilers and low pressure steam or hot water boilers and less than 225,000 Btu per hour for forced-air central furnaces, gravity central furnaces, and electric central furnaces.
(2) Electric central furnace means a furnace designed to supply heat through a system of ducts with air as the heating medium, in which heat is generated by one or more electric resistance heating elements and the heated air is circulated by means of a fan or blower.
(3) Forced air central furnace means a gas or oil burning furnace designed to supply heat through a system of ducts with air as the heating medium. The heat generated by combustion of gas or oil is transferred to the air within a casing by conduction through heat exchange surfaces and is circulated through the duct system by means of a fan or blower.
(4) Gravity central furnace means a gas fueled furnace which depends primarily on natural convection for circulation of heated air and which is designed to be used in conjunction with a system of ducts.
(5) Electric boiler means an electrically powered furnace designed to supply low pressure steam or hot water for space heating application. A low pressure steam boiler operates at or below 15 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) steam pressure; a hot water boiler operates at or below 160 psig water pressure and 250 °F water temperature.
(6) Low pressure steam or hot water boiler means an electric, gas or oil burning furnace designed to supply low pressure steam or hot water for space heating application. A low pressure steam boiler operates at or below 15 pounds psig steam pressure; a hot water boiler operates at or below 160 psig water pressure and 250 °F water temperature.
(7) Outdoor furnace or boiler is a furnace or boiler normally intended for installation out-of-doors or in an unheated space (such as an attic or a crawl space).
(8) Weatherized warm air furnace or boiler means a furnace or boiler designed for installation outdoors, approved for resistance to wind, rain, and snow, and supplied with its own venting system.
(b) Central air conditioner means a product, other than a packaged terminal air conditioner, which is powered by single phase electric current, air cooled, rated below 65,000 Btu per hour, not contained within the same cabinet as a furnace, the rated capacity of which is above 225,000 Btu per hour, and is a heat pump or a cooling only unit.
(1) Condenser-evaporator coil combination means a condensing unit made by one manufacturer and one of several evaporator coils, either manufactured by the same manufacturer or another manufacturer, intended to be combined with that particular condensing unit.
(2) Condensing unit means a component of a “central air conditioner” which is designed to remove heat absorbed by the refrigerant and to transfer it to the outside environment, and which consists of an outdoor coil, compressor(s), and air moving device.
(3) Evaporator coil means a component of a central air conditioner that is designed to absorb heat from an enclosed space and transfer the heat to a refrigerant.
(4) Single package unit means any central air conditioner in which all the major assemblies are enclosed in one cabinet.
(5) Split system means any central air conditioner in which one or more of the major assemblies are separate from the others.
(c) Heat pump means a product, other than a packaged terminal heat pump, which consists of one or more assemblies, powered by single phase electric current, rated below 65,000 Btu per hour, utilizing an indoor conditioning coil, compressor, and refrigerant-to-outdoor air heat exchanger to provide air heating, and may also provide air cooling, dehumidifying, humidifying, circulating, and air cleaning.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-16.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026