National Electrical Installation Standards

Re: CQD answer published Wednesday, June 17, 2018 -TIA Process 1)Firstly, I thank you for your hard work in keeping this Q&A site operating. Wednesday and today's questions are excellent. The question of Tentative Interim Amendments is really important as municipalities that adopt the code only adopt it as written and any changes have to been added by legislation. In a legal proceeding that would claim that a TIA was not complied with would be very hard to uphold unless somehow upon the code adoption they added the caveat that all TIAs are included. I doubt a municipality would do that; it takes away their free choice and leaves them open to lawsuits. Your educating all of us here on this topic will help inform the many electricians, inspectors, and engineers who look to the code for guidance and compliance, and safety. Fan shut down in a fire situation, smoke situation, or other emergency situation is a great question. Any fan is going to increase the growth of fire. It would create a much more complicated Fire Alarm to have to shut down all fans but it is a question that begs clarification. All the best, Jeff Glanstein 2) You have it just right that the local AHJ and their adoption process decides this issue. BUT, also to be considered is that, as far as I know, the TIA only modifies the most recent version of the NEC - at this time that is the 2017 version. If the area of jurisdiction involved for the permitted installation is still using the 2014 NEC or has not adopted Article 625 of the 2017 NEC, then I expect that this TIA would have no bearing on the issue. As always, thanks for the great Forum of Discussion. Scott Cline 3)Thank you for the helpful information. Otherwise may not have known of these invaluable resources. Nick Castillo
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Re: CQD answer published Wednesday, June 13, 2018 -Locked Door Access 1) Regarding tomorrow's question about first responder access to locked electrical rooms. Most fire companies have a Knox Box program. It is a lock box placed on the exterior of the building that has a special key that the fire department has that will allow access to a set of keys for the building. I would recommend talking to the local fire company to make sure you would order the correct box. Otherwise if necessary fire fighters will use their "universal key" to gain access if absolutely necessary. Regards, Jeff 2) FYI In our area, we installed KNOX boxes at bldg entrances for first responders to have access to keys for the facilities JOHN MCLAUGHLIN 3) This question reminded me of a previous amusing situation. I worked at a local state university where we gave the local fire department master keys to the buildings. During a major dormitory fire, the first responders used their own master key a FIREMANS AX, gaining access to all necessary rooms. Why look for a key when you have an ax in hand? Keep up the good work. Have a good day!! Lowell I. (Laddie) Wolfe Jr.
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May allthread conduit in short lengths be used In Services? Dave Kibby
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We have the feed for the HVAC disconnects rising through the rubber roofing about a foot away from the HVAC unit and under the disconnect. It is with in the 30 inch working clearance, but does not stop you from safely servicing the disconnect. Is this a code violation? Dale Stone
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I'm in Tennessee. I have a newly finished 3br/2ba house. 200A service. I have a small garage that I'm trying to bring power to. I have four spare breaker spaces. I was planning on adding a 150A sub panel in a detached garage using direct burial cable and spare breaker spaces in the house panel. My question is, will I need to mount a meter-base on the exterior of the garage and bring new service instead of just OCP'ing the 150A with a breaker inside the house panel, a disconnect outside the garage, and another 150A main breaker inside the subpanel? Some local guys told me that since the garage isn't ATTACHED it has to have it's own meter, which kind of defeats the purpose of using the spare breaker spaces. I'm trying to keep from doing this work twice Zach Davidi
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With the new code for 600.6(a)(1), the disconnect switch must be located at the point where the feeder or branch enters the sign. If I put a disconnect at the back of the sign following this code, I can still put a toggle switch at the front of the sign in any letter or part of the sign? Sergio Bertot
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We were having a discussion in our office regarding this particular installation. We have an exterior utility meter socket mounted back to back with an interior electrical service panelboard on a concrete block wall. We have a short EMT conduit nipple connecting the two enclosures through the back of each, compression connectors, completely encased in the concrete block. The means of disconnect and overcurrent protection is in the panelboard. We installed grounding bushings on the threads of each EMT connector within the enclosures. Is there anything in the code that prohibits using EMT in this application? Sincerely, Dennis DiPasquo
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Re: CQD answer published Fri day, June 8, 2018 - Re cqotd 6/7/18 " ...but there is no exception that fits that usage for not securing the cables to boxes." 314.17(c) exception: where nonmetallic sheathed cable or multi conductor type UF cable is used with single gang boxes no larger than a normal size 57 mm by 100 mm mounted in walls or ceilings and where the cable is fastened with an 8in of the box measured along the sheath and where the sheath extends through a cable knockout no less than a quarter inch, securing the cable to the Box shall not be required. Positively Electrical
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Are paddle-type ceiling destratification fans required to be shut off during a fire situation, similar to other HVAC equipment like air-handlers and exhaust fans? Karl Diez
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Re: CQD answer published Friday, May 18, 2018 -EV Receptacle GFCI Protection & TIA's Hi Charlie, I am writing in regards to the Q & A on May 17, 2018, regarding gfci protection of EV outlets in a dwelling unit. I have recently been cited by an inspector for not providing gfci protection for this very outlet. Now, I know the current code book does not state that it has to be, but the inspector referenced a TIA (that I have attached below) stating that it is enforceable and that 625.54 takes precedent over 210.8 because it is specific to EV Charging? When he notified me of the failed inspection, he started by saying "you wouldn't know this because it is not in the current code but there is a TIA"... Are TIA enforceable during the current code cycle? Thank you for any input you can give. Thanks, Kevin Kriha
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Re: CQD answer published Thursday, May 10, 2018 - Locking Equipment In an emergency situation, ‘first responders’ such as firefighters may need to get access to a locked electrical room area or enclosure (as allowed per 110.26(F) , 110.31 & 490.35). Are there requirements or other guidance for enabling access for the first responders into those locked areas, if for example, the qualified persons with the access keys are not available at the time of the emergency. In other words, the doors are being locked to keep unqualified persons out in normal circumstances, but in an emergency situation, we don’t want to excessively hamper access for the ‘first responders’. Is there any guidance on accommodating access for first responders to locked areas such as this? Thanks, Chris Walker
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Re: CQD answers published Wednesday, May 30, 2018 -Calculation Approval, Response to Comment No. 2 As an electrical inspector, I do much more than look at the physical installation. I am furnished a set of approved plans by the plans examiner. It is my job as an inspector to look at the calculations and make sure they are accurate and correct. (Mistakes do happen during the plan review process.) It is not uncommon for changes to take place during the construction phase of a project. Often these changes will require a calculation to be revised. An inspector must be able to perform the required calculations to be able to determine if these changes will result in a code compliant and safe installation. Ed Gross
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Can you use quick connectors in place of wire nuts? Larry Colton
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Does the wiring in a SIP panel have to be clamped to the electrical boxes? Dennis Richardson
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Can I run emergency conduit and a normal power conduit into the same j-box Frank Kanellis
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