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Thursday, November 7, 2019
Question:
Can a breaker box be located on the exterior of a residential property?
Donald Tasker
A
Answer:
Hey Donald thanks for your question. Yes. The enclosure needs to be one of the Types that are suitable for outdoor locations as indicated in Table 110.28. Although allowed, depending on what the climate is, the interior of the enclosure and the contained equipment can be exposed to different temperatures on a daily or seasonal basis. It's possible that equipment in that location might fail before the same equipment located indoors would, but that is a decision you and the owner need to make.
There is a new 230.85 in the 2020 NEC for one and two family dwelling units that requires a disconnecting means to be installed outdoors at a readily accessible location so we will be seeing more equipment located outdoors in the future.