National Electrical Installation Standards

Standards as High as Your Own

 
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Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Question:

Greetings,

I was wondering if anyone could confirm what the requirements are for systems furniture whips; i.e. can the whips be located behind a panel or should they not be blocked by the panel and be accessible on the wall?

Thank you!

Barb Barry

A

Answer:

Hello Barb,

Thanks for the question. Sections 605.7 and 605.8 appear to apply to your installation, based on the question. The connections of fixed-type office furnishing shall be permitted to be connected to the building wiring systems by one of the wiring methods in Chapter 3.  The connections of free-standing type office furnishing shall be permitted to be connected to the building wiring systems by one of the wiring methods in Chapter 3. The connections to outlet boxes are required to be accessible (as applied to wiring methods) which is defined in Article 100. There is a significant difference between the term accessible (as applied to wiring methods) and the term readily accessible. Section 314.29 provides the specifics about accessibility for junction boxes.

Hope this is helpful.  

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