Equipment Use Permits in New York City

Equipment Use Permits for Air Conditioning Systems

Most air conditioning systems in NYC need an Equipment Use Permit, and only units that meet all the following conditions are exempt:

• A voluntary system that only provides air conditioning or ventilation in one floor.
• Does not use lot line windows for intake, exhaust, or equipment mounting.
• Does not occupy a public hall, passage or stairway.
• Does not reduce ventilation below code requirements in any area.
• Does not penetrate fire divisions, roofs, floors or walls. Only packaged ACs up to 3 tons that use windows or below-window sleeves are exempt from this limitation.

Meeting these conditions is difficult, and air conditioning options are greatly reduced for building owners who want to avoid permits. HVAC engineers recommend getting EUP Cards, since they are needed for the most efficient air conditioners. The extra paperwork and renewals are a small price to pay for the electricity savings achieved by high-efficiency AC units.

Ducted and split-type air conditioners have a much higher efficiency than window units and packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC). However, ducted and split ACs need an EUP even if their capacity is below 3 tons, since ducts or refrigerant lines must cross walls. However, these modern AC systems achieve savings over 50% compared with window and PTAC units.

Building owners must be aware that all air conditioning systems are subject to regular inspections, even those that are exempt from an Equipment User Permit.

Consider that an EUP Card must match the equipment nameplate. If the permit has already been emitted and a different unit is installed, the owner must file a Post Approval Amendment. This document proves that as-built equipment meets the NYC Energy Code.

Equipment Use Permits for Boilers and Fuel Storage

Boilers and other combustion equipment must be kept in optimal condition, since the consequences of a malfunction can be severe. Uncontrolled combustion can start a fire, and the gases emitted are very dangerous for occupants. For this reason, a boiler cannot operate until it has been inspected, tested, and issued an Equipment Use Permit.

Boilers in NYC must be inspected at least once per year, and the procedure can only be conducted by a duly authorized insurance company or a qualified inspector. To ensure adequate venting of flue gases, the boiler inspection must include chimney connectors.

Building owners who use boilers must file an annual statement, indicating the boiler location. The statement must also specify if the unit has been inspected recently, including who performed the inspection and when.

A work permit is required to install or remove a boiler, and the permit can only be issued to a Licensed Master Plumber (LMP) or a Licensed Oil Burner Installer (LOBI). If the boiler capacity is above 350,000 BTU/h, the unit must be registered with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The type of registration required is determined by the boiler capacity:

• Boiler Registration I - 350,000 BTU/h or more, but less than 2.8 million BTU/h.
• Boiler Registration II - 2.8 million BTU/h or more, but less than 4.2 million BTU/h. Also, the unit must receive annual tune-ups and combustion tests.
• Certificate of Operation - 4.2 million BTU/h or more, and the unit must annual tune-ups and combustion tests.

Boiler registrations must be renewed every 3 years, and the paperwork can be reviewed online at the NYC DEP Clean Air Tracking System (CATS). New heating systems are registered with an APC 5-0 Certificate to Operate, and existing units use the APC 314 Application to Renew.

Previously, the NYC Department of Buildings managed a separate registration for boilers (BO), fuel burners (FB) and fuel storage (FS). However, all these units are now managed under the category of boiler equipment (BE). They can now use a single work permit and the same set of plans, which makes paperwork much simpler.

From September 2019, all new applications are managed with the DOB NOW: Build platform. The three categories for boiler work are new installations, modifications and replacements.