National Electrical Installation Standards

Standards as High as Your Own

 
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Thursday, January 4, 2018

Question:

Do I have to have a permit or code inspection for a personal cabin not for resale that is going to be off the grid no power from utilities only battery or solar for lights and a few receptacles

Clarke Johnson

A

Answer:

Permitting and inspection requirements are usually determined by the local municipality such as a village, town, city or county and can often be found on their web sites. Even if not required having someone qualified to perform inspections confirm compliance with the NEC can help ensure a safe installation and be useful when ownership transfer occurs. See Informative Annex H for administration and enforcement concepts and Articles 690, 706, and 710 for applicable rules.

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CHARLIE TROUT: Charles M. Trout, better known as Charlie, was a nationally known NEC® expert and author. He served on several NEC® technical committees and is past chairman of CMP-12. In 2006 Charlie was awarded the prestigious Coggeshall Award for outstanding contributions to the electrical contracting industry, codes and standards development, and technical training. Even though Charlie passed away in October of 2015, his work continues in spirit. NECA continues to maintain this question forum for its many subscribers in memory and recognition of all his significant contributions to making the NEC what it is today.

NECA STANDARDS: NECA publishes the National Electrical Installation Standards™ (NEIS™), a series of ANSI-approved performance and quality standards for electrical construction. NEIS can be purchased in the NECA Store in three formats: a printed or  PDF download of a standard or, as an  annual subscription service.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: Unless the question requests a response based on a specific edition, all answers are based on the latest edition of NFPA 70® National Electrical Code®.

This correspondence is not a formal interpretation of the NEC® and any responses expressed to the questions are opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of NECA, NFPA, the NEC Correlating Committee any Code-making panel or other electrical technical committee. In addition, this correspondence is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or services. 

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