Stupid Installation

I did an inspection recently on a brand new home. Several things were improper about the home, and they had a professional debater posing as a foreman/contractor. Anyhow, long story short, I went outside and noticed the exterior unit of the A/C system running. I tested the GFCI outlet adjacent to the unit and the A/C system shut off along with the GFCI outlet. Apparently, the gas furnace is wired up/with the attic GFCI circuit as well.

I called this deficiency out as a problem as I suspected that it was not installed or wired correctly. My personal theory was a 110 volt outlet should not be capable of shutting down a sub-system of a home that should have a dedicated 220 volt circuit. Anyhow, realtor, client, and myself all agree that it is a stupid install and the electrician tried to convince me it was because of cutting installation costs and it wasn’t a “code” violation.

My question is this: Goodman manufactured A/C and gas furnace installed, is this according to the manufactures installation instructions? This just doesn’t seem right. Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated.

What does the Installation Manual say? (Most are easily found online using Google).

That’s very true, but I do not know the model number of the unit. I have tried to get a phone number for Goodman to ask this very question and have come up short.

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“it wasn’t a “code” violation” — This. I really hate it when people just neglect rules or instructions, in your electrician’s case, neglecting both. These kinds of people just don’t care about the possible consequences of a faulty or wrong wiring, which can lead to terrible disasters. What did you do the guy? I hope you have the installation fixed to make sure that the AC will work properly and efficienly.

UPDATE:

       I called Goodman Manufacturing and they would not answer one technical question about the install because I wasn't a licensed HVAC tech. I even explained that I was on their side of this issue, and wanted information to spread to my client base to protect them and avoid warranty claims to save them money........NOPE! Not a word. So, no relief there. Very troublesome. I'm trying to help their company, and I get treated like I have leprosy. Oh well. 

     The realtor did eventually press the issue enough that the foreman boss got involved and they eventually and reluctantly switched it and made it right. As far as the "code" compliant verbiage they kept spewing about like it was something out of the gospel, I told them if we changed "building code" to "bare minimum", they wouldn't advertise with that so I didn't want to hear it anymore.

How about common sense? I don’t know AL code, but here in Edmonton if a furnace shuts down in the middle of winter it could mean major damage, frozen pipes, maybe even life or death, so electrical code says that the furnace gets it own breaker and circuit, not GFCI either. So, what happens in Alabama if a furnace quits at the wrong time?