A Guide to the Standards, Regulation and Codes Governing Multifamily Wiring 2009 Broadband Properties Summit April 29, 2009 Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, Texas Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Standards ∼ Are voluntary rules ∼ But, sometimes adopted as code or regulation ∼ Establish an accepted degree of functionality, compatibility, and longevity ∼ Codes ∼ Are mandatory rules enforced by government agencies ∼ Designed to ensure safety during installation, use, etc. ∼ Regulations ∼ Are mandatory rules enforced by government agencies ∼ Like standards, regulations are more concerned with performance Page | 2 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA 570-B Residential Telecommunications Cabling Standard ∼ The de facto standard for residential cabling in North America ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1 and addenda ∼ Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 1: General Requirements ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2 and addenda ∼ Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.3 and addenda ∼ Optical Fiber Cabling Components Standard ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-A and addenda ∼ Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-A and addenda ∼ Administration Standard for Commercial Telecommunications Infrastructure ∼ ANSI/TIA/EIA-607-A and addenda ∼ Commercial Building Grounding (Earthing) and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunication” Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Codes vs. Regulations ∼ Codes usually pertain to safety while regulations relate to the quality of service ∼ Regulations are generally federal while codes are primarily state/local ∼ Both are usually enforced by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) ∼ Although regulations are also mandatory, most AHJs only know and enforce codes Page | 4 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Example Regulation: ∼ FCC requires that all copper Inside Wiring be “at a minimum, solid, 24 gauge or thicker, twisted pairs, marked to indicate compliance with the electrical specifications for Category 3, as defined in the ANSI/EIA/TIA Building Wiring Standards” ∼ Daisy chaining phone cabling is not only unwise, but may be a violation of federal regulation Page | 5 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Codes ∼ National Electrical Code (NFPA) ∼ Grounding and Primary Protection ∼ Listing (fire rating) ∼ Abandoned Cables ∼ Article 770: Optical Fiber Cables and Raceways ∼ Article 800: Communications Circuits ∼ Article 820: Community Antenna Television Page | 6 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Codes ∼ Important evolution of NEC grounding and listing requirements limits many former code “work arounds” ∼ 2008 NEC precludes many of the customary fixes to challenging code requirements ∼ Unfortunately, many providers and owners have a poor record of following pertinent life safety codes Page | 7 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Grounding and Primary Protection ∼ While grounding is a basic principle that almost everyone understands, it is often forgotten or incorrectly installed ∼ There are also significant performance challenges when infrastructure is not properly grounded ∼ Beyond increasing the danger of electric shock, ground loops and potential differences can damage electronics Page | 8 Make the lazy grounding option the correct one! Standards, Codes and Regulations Paragraph 820.100(D) requires bonding of CATV and power grounding electrodes grounding electrodes at the same building or structure. A common error made in grounding CATV systems is connecting the coaxial cable sheath to a ground rod driven by the CATV installer at a convenient location near the point of cable entry to the building instead of bonding it to the electrical service grounding electrode system… A separate grounding electrode is permitted only if the building has or structure has none of the has known of the grounding means described in 820.110(B)(1) or (B)(2), which is rare…. (t)he earth cannot be used as the equipment grounding conductor or bonding conductor, because it does not have the low-impedance path (between the CATV and Electrical System) required 2008 National Electrical Code Handbook, Comment to 820.100 (B), Page 1214-1215 Page | 15 CATV Power - + Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Listings and Fire Ratings ∼ Cable running in the ceilings, floors, and walls of a building can contribute to the spread of a fire and worsen the damage it causes ∼ The NEC attempts to address these concerns by establishing a fire-rating classification system for communications cables ∼ Most multifamily fire-rating mistakes result from using the wrong classification ∼ The cable rating commonly used in single-family homes does not have the fire-rating classification to pass through more than two floors in a multifamily building Page | 17 Standards, Codes and Regulations Twisted Copper Cables Type Use Substitutions CMP Plenum CMR Riser CMP CM/ CMG General Purpose CMP, CMR CMX Limited Use CMP, CMR, CM, CMG Type Use Substitutions CATVP Plenum CMP, BLP CATVR Riser CATVP, BLP, CMP, CMR, etc. CATV General Purpose CATVP, CATVR, BLP, CMR, etc. CATVX Limited Use CATVP, CATVR, CATV, BLP, CMR, etc. Coaxial Cables underground cable plenum rated riser rated general purpose limited use IDF/ BCR Standards, Codes and Regulations Unlisted outside plant communications cables shall be permitted to be installed in locations as described in 800.lS4(C) where the length of the cable within the building, measured from its point of entrance, does not exceed I5 m (50 ft)… This section limits the length of unlisted outside plant cable to 15 m (50 ft), while 800.90(B) requires that the primary protector be located as close as practicable to the point at which the cable enters the building. Therefore, in installations requiring a primary protector, the outside plant cable may not be permitted to extend 15 m (50 ft) into the building if it is practicable to place the primary protector closer than 15 m (50 ft) to the entrance 2008 National Electrical Code Handbook 800.48 and Footnote #2 to 800.48, Page 1191 Page | 20 Standards, Codes and Regulations ∼ Abandoned Cable ∼ Installed cable that is not terminated on both ends or tagged for future use ∼ Code requires the removal of accessible abandoned cables Page | 21 Questions Henry Pye Vice President Resident Technology Solutions Realpage, Inc. 311 Marist Court Durham, North Carolina 27713 (919) 361-7603 henry.pye@realpage.com Tom Stender VP and CTO InfiniSys, Inc. 482 Fentress Boulevard Suite N Daytona Beach, FL 32114 USA (386) 236-1514 tom.stender@electronicarchitect.com