ELECTRICAL CONSISTENCY MEETING
Date: 10/14/2015
Our Goal is FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO HAVE A
SUCCESSFUL PROJECT with us and that together
we keep people and structures safe and
economically viable to serve the needs of our
community.
We strive for:
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!
and
QUALITY INSPECTIONS!
OUR NEXT MEETING IS NOVEMBER FRIDAY 13th.
I. Consistency Questions
1) When do residential recessed incandescent lights
in a garage need fire rated boxing?
There is a requirement from the Building Code
(R302.6) to separate the living space from the
garage. The separation from the attic space is
required to be not less than 5/8” Type X sheetrock
or equivalent. Also see R302.5 for penetrations. This
falls to the building inspector to enforce.
2) - (a) Can an extra counter top receptacle circuit
be added along with the (2) required circuits?
Yes. Two is the minimum. See NEC 210.11, two or
more.
(b) Is the extra circuit required to be a 20amp
circuit?
Yes if the small appliance branch circuit
requirement is being fulfilled. (210.11)
(c) Can this extra circuit also feed a hard wired
range hood?
No. See 210.52 B (2)
3) I recently turned down an electrical contractor
for the following:
A contactor mounted inside a standard pvc
enclosure with controls for a kitchen hood. This box
is not listed for this application, however there are
pvc boxes with a back plate and control label. This
wasn't that type of box. Was I wrong? If so please
give a reference.
The call is correct from a technical code and listing
stance. To many inspectors this would be a
judgment call. If installed securely I would not have
a problem using the pvc box as an equivalent
method.
4) - (a) When is it not required for a drawing
submitted to commercial electrical plan review for
examination to be sealed?
(b) At what point in the in the parameters of
submittal require an engineer's seal for a given scope
over an architect's seal?
Architects may, per their board rules seal, any work
they are comfortable with. There would be no
requirement for sealing over their work.
5) When is it necessary for a designer or engineer to
seal their drawings?
The licensee must seal, sign and date each sheet
of original drawings issued for bidding, permitting or
construction per their board rules.
6) Per 210.4b all ungrounded circuits of a multiwire
circuit have to open simultaneously at the breaker.
How do we handle this requirement in a patient care
area, where when a breaker trips and takes out two
additional circuits?
Per
517.18 General Care Areas.
(A) Patient Bed Location. Each patient bed location shall
be supplied by at least two branch circuits, one from the
emergency system and one from the normal system. All
branch circuits from the normal system shall originate in
the same panelboard.
The branch circuit serving patient bed locations shall
not be part of a multi-wire branch circuit.
Exception No. 1: Branch circuits serving only special purpose
outlets or receptacles, such as portable X-ray outlets,
shall not be required to be served from the same distribution
panel or panels.
Exception No. 2: Requirements of 517.18(A) shall not apply
to patient bed locations in clinics, medical and dental
offıces, and outpatient facilities; psychiatric, substance
abuse, and rehabilitation hospitals; sleeping rooms of nursing
homes and limited care facilities meeting the requirements
of 517.10(B)(2).
Exception No. 3: A general care patient bed location
served from two separate transfer switches on the emergency
system shall not be required to have circuits from the
normal system.
In exception 2 areas, if the wiring methods come
from Chapters 1-4 then you apply 210.4(B).
7) I have a 4500 sf Metal Building with a 200 amp
service, 10 receptacle and 30 strip lights.
The building caught fire, mostly smoke damage. The
owner wants to replace the lighting with new like
for like fixtures. Will this have to meet the NC
Energy Code? And do I have to use an engineer and
submit drawings to obtain a permit?
MCCE does not require review for like for like
replacements. We do need a permit for the work.
8) What is required of the plans examiner when a
project appears to have Industrial Machinery (IM)?
The plans are to be reviewed as any other
installation. The Senate Bill 490 only removed the
inspections departments from requiring the third
party listing and left it to the NCDOL to enforce. An
IM stamp is to be used for awareness if a
declaration is not filed with the plans.
9) Is it permissible to install keyless fixtures at a
bathroom vanity?
If it meets the code requirements, yes.
10) Can building steel that is not suitable for use as
a grounding electrode (high & dry) be used as a
grounding electrode conductor to the water pipe?
No per 250.52 A 2, to be used this way it has to be
part of the required grounding electrode system as
stated in 250.68 C 2.
11) I was recently turned down for not color coding
the ceiling wires I added for support of my conduits
and boxes in the ceiling. I thought this was only
required in a fire rated ceiling. Has something
changed?
No, not since 2011. The required identification is
the same, see NEC 300.11 A 1 and 2.
12) Sometimes I fail my TU inspections for not
having the proper paperwork on the job and
sometimes not. What is required to be on site for
TU inspections?
The TU placard is all that is specifically required for
TU. It is required to be displayed and signed.
13) I just wired a detached garage with a finished
space upstairs complete with HVAC. Am I required
to protect the outlets with AFCI since it is not a
dwelling unit?
MCCE considers these accessory buildings to the
dwelling and wire them as dwelling. So it would
need AFCI.
14) Per NEC Section 250.64(D)(1) permits a tap to
the grounding electrode conductor. If the
Grounding electrode conductor to the CWP is
continuous to the first service trough and a tap is
made to the continuous conductor and, sized
properly, and goes to the second service trough,
which would comply with the afore said NEC
Section. Is a split-bolt permitted for this tap
connection, as it has been done in the past?
In addressing the allowance of taps in 250.64 D, we
see the allowance of one service with multiple
enclosures. We are unsure if you are saying the
second trough is at the same location and
service. If it is, then conceivably what you state
could work provided that the multiple enclosures
for disconnects are contiguous and not more than
six feet apart.
NEC 250.64 D 1; 1, 2 and 3 provides the methods for
connections. While a split bolt is not specifically
mentioned we have historically accepted
them. They may be used on the uninsulated
grounded conductor of a service or feeder and we
can find no reason for the GEC to be different. If
the split bolt manufacturers or NCDOI object to this
usage we have not heard of it and have no record of
them defaulting. 250.8 gives us general connection
methods.
15) There are (2) troughs on the same building each
one is a service. The building is a shell no up fits.
The CWP electrode goes from the CWP directly to
Service trough #1 continuous, there is a Tap on that
grounding electrode same size 3/0 and it goes
continuously to Service trough #2. This complies
with Section 250.64(D)(1)(3). Why was I turned
down?
We believe the issue now becomes 250.64 C. It
states that the GEC is to be installed continuous
without splice or joint. There are allowances but not
for the installation you describe. Your example
seems to be a GEC joint. A tap would be where we
are allowed to reduce conductor sizes for certain
applications. As such a joint would have to be made
as 250.64 C 1 describes.
16) The following questions come up frequently
during design and I need to be sure that I am
answering them correctly:
1. If we are specifying a natural gas-fired
generator with no base mounted fuel tank, then
6ft separation between the utility transformer
and the generator is all that is required?
6’ separation is required from any flammable oil
filled transformer to any genset. Building clearances
would need to be maintained as well.
2. If we are specifying a diesel generator with a
base mounted fuel tank, then 6ft separation is
still all that is required since diesel fuel is
“combustible” but not “flammable” according
to its flash point?
6’ separation is required from any flammable oil
filled transformer to any genset. Building clearances
would need to be maintained as well.
3. If we have a completely detached screen wall
around a generator, then 6ft separation
between the transformer and screen wall is
required because the screened enclosure is
considered a non-habitable building?
The screen wall is not considered the building wall.
The clearances from the building is still required. It
could be used to reduce the clearances if built to be
noncombustible and withstand a blast. The working
clearances around the transformer and genset
would need to be maintained in relation to a screen
wall.
17) I need to know how to interpret the below
section of code for an electrical system.
Is the generator called for above (from building
code) a NEC 700 or 701 system? It appears to
be a 701 system, except it refers to the Level 1,
which I thought to be a NEC 700 system.
We would see this as a 700 system. The problem
seems to be one of vocabulary. Chapter 27 of the
building code states that we should conform to
NFPA 110 which equates this as Level 1, equaling
NEC 700. In many building and fire code sections
the standby and emergency are used
interchangeably which leads to confusion. It has
been this way since we moved in 2000 to the IBC
codes.
18) I ran EMT through a rated stairway enclosure.
This EMT was going to another room to feed lights
and receptacles. The building inspector said I
needed to remove this EMT, and said this couldn't
run through this area. Why?
NCBC 708.8.1 prohibits this. Only what is supporting
the stair enclosure is allowed.
II. Discussion of rough inspections on porch columns
with cables. – Barnes
The following pictures are what not to do or accept.