The outdoor HVAC GFCI requirement now applies in most of Michigan. The National Electrical Code's exemption for outdoor air conditioners and heat pumps, 210.8(F) Exception No. 2, expired on September 1, 2026. Michigan enforces the 2023 NEC, has no state amendment to that section that we could find, and is not on the trade association list of states that changed it. On September 18 an NFPA panel turned down a two-year extension on a 10 to 10 vote. For a Michigan HVAC or electrical contractor, that means new and replaced outdoor units on dwellings need ground-fault protection, starting with this heating season, when a heat pump that trips its breaker is a no-heat call.
In short
- The exemption for listed HVAC equipment expired on September 1, 2026, in the 2020, 2023 and 2026 editions of the NEC (NFPA, 2026).
- The extension to September 1, 2028 failed when the panel's technical vote split 10 to 10 (ACCA, 2026).
- 19 states had amended or delayed the rule by September 30, 2026; Ohio and Wisconsin are on the list, Michigan is not (HARDI, 2026).
- A GFCI breaker install runs $307 to $373 per breaker as a national average (Fixr, 2026).
What the outdoor HVAC GFCI requirement says
Section 210.8(F) requires GFCI protection for outdoor outlets at dwellings supplied by single-phase branch circuits of 150 volts or less to ground. "Outlet" includes the hard-wired connection to an outdoor condenser or heat pump. The code then carved out an exception: "Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection shall not be required for listed HVAC equipment. This exception shall expire September 1, 2026." That sentence sits in the 2020, 2023 and 2026 editions alike, as NFPA's own TIA document shows.
The exception existed because the equipment and the breakers did not get along. ACHR News reported on September 11, 2026, quoting ACCA, that "some single-speed and inverter-driven equipment continues to trip standard GFCIs when there is nothing wrong with the installation." AHRI's submission to NFPA describes the cause as high-frequency leakage current from inverter drives, especially at startup, that GFCI sensing can misread.
Where Michigan stands
Michigan's electrical code is Part 8 of the construction code rules. Rule R 408.30801 adopts "the national electrical code 2023 second printing edition, including TIA 70-23-1 to 70-23-13," with exceptions only in Article 80 and section 90.6. Those rules took effect on March 12, 2024, according to ICC-NTA. None of the listed exceptions touch 210.8.
LARA has also published draft Part 8 rules, dated August 19, 2026, that would move Michigan to the 2026 NEC. The draft amends a handful of rules, among them the adoption rule, the authority rule and disconnecting means. It does not amend 210.8. And the 2026 edition's exception carries the same September 1, 2026 date. So the code update does not bring the exemption back either.
HARDI's state tracker, updated September 30, 2026, lists 19 states that amended 210.8(F) for outdoor HVAC equipment, including neighbouring Ohio and Wisconsin. Michigan is not one of them. Our reading is that the requirement is live here. The person whose reading counts is the inspector who signs off your permit, so ask before you quote, not after the rough-in.
The extension that failed
AHRI asked NFPA for Tentative Interim Amendment 1924, which would have changed the expiry date to September 1, 2028 in all three editions. ACCA's September 25, 2026 post reports the result: "On technical merit, the panel vote was evenly divided, 10-10," short of the threshold a TIA needs. The panel denied it on September 18.
ACCA and AHRI appealed. ACCA asked the Standards Council to "approve TIA 1924 and extend the exception through September 1, 2028" and requested a hearing. As of September 25, homepros.news reported, "no hearing for the submitted appeals has been arranged," and the next Standards Council meeting is scheduled for December 15. Even a win there would need Michigan to adopt the amendment before an inspector here could apply it. Plan for this winter on the rule as written.
What a Michigan HVAC shop changes this month
- Ask each inspector you work with how they read 210.8(F) after September 1. Write the answer down with the jurisdiction and date. Detroit, Oakland County townships and state-inspected areas can differ in practice even under one code.
- Update the quote template. Every new or replacement outdoor unit on a dwelling gets a GFCI line, with the breaker type the equipment manufacturer lists as compatible. A customer who sees it on the quote does not argue about it on the invoice.
- Check the installation instructions for the breaker. If the manufacturer names a compatible GFCI breaker, quote that one. The cheapest breaker on the truck is not automatically the right one.
- Brief whoever answers the phone after hours. The script for "my heat pump stopped" now includes "check whether the breaker in the panel has tripped, and tell us if it has." That one question separates a reset from a truck roll.
- Log every trip callback. Date, model, breaker, outdoor temperature, and whether a reset held. If nuisance tripping is real on certain equipment, your log is the evidence a manufacturer or inspector will ask for.
The mistake most shops make at step 4
They treat a GFCI trip as a homeowner problem. The homeowner sees no heat, resets the breaker, it trips again at 3 a.m., and by morning they have called whoever answered first. A heat pump in a Michigan January cannot sit tripped until Monday. Decide now who gets that call, what they ask, and when a tech goes out. That is the part of this code change no breaker fixes.
Where we fit
The code is your electrician's and your inspector's call. The phone is where we help. Our phone and front desk work answers every call at any hour in your shop's own voice, asks whether the breaker tripped, and routes a no-heat call to the tech on call instead of a voicemail box. For more on what the calls you miss cost, see the cost of missed calls for a small business, and for the rest of what we build for trades, the services overview.
Ask your inspector this week. The first cold snap will not wait for the appeal.
