Jim Dollard has an extensive background in codes and standards. If you have a query about the National Electrical Code (NEC), Jim will help you solve it. Send questions to codefaqs@gmail.com . Answers are based on the 2017...
Electrical engineers, inspectors and contractors, and the National Electrical Code (NEC), have dealt with nonlinear loads for many years. The issue arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the increased use of solid-state...
As I finish my last of 10 cycles as Secretary of the NEC, I marvel at the changes during the nearly 40 years of my involvement. We have seen numerous new technologies, from electric vehicles to solar photovoltaic systems to...
Last month, Part 1 of this series focused on general revisions in the introduction and provided a look at some new articles added in the 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) . As this series continues, it will provide the NEC...
Jim Dollard has an extensive background in codes and standards. If you have a query about the National Electrical Code (NEC) , Jim will help you solve it. Send questions to codefaqs@gmail.com . Answers are based on the 2017...
Jim Dollard has an extensive background in codes and standards. If you have a query about the National Electrical Code (NEC) , Jim will help you solve it. Send questions to codefaqs@gmail.com . Answers are based on the 2017...
With the advent of power over ethernet in the 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC) , in Article 393 of the 2014 NEC covering low-voltage ceiling grid power, and other applications dealing with power-limited circuits, there...
This column completes last month’s discussion on the history of working space requirements in the National Electrical Code (NEC) . Now, it is time to look to the more recent past and even into the future. 2002 Code Section...
Around 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) introduced a concept known as prevention through design (PtD), which addresses preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illnesses and...
The words in this headline opened every episode of the original Star Trek, along with some of the movies. Lately, when I hear those words, I think of Section 110.26 of the National Electrical Code (NEC) . Space in buildings...
Selecting the correct size conductor is not difficult, but it involves more than just selecting a conductor based on the ampacity shown in Table 310.15(B)(16) in the National Electrical Code (NEC). Many factors must be...
The National Electrical Code (NEC) is the most important and comprehensive document created for the practical safeguarding of persons and property from the use of electricity and its hazards. Right now, the 2020 edition is...
Jim Dollard has an extensive background in codes and standards. If you have a query about the National Electrical Code (NEC), Jim will help you solve it. Send questions to codefaqs@gmail.com . Answers are based on the 2017...
I recently received an email from a homeowner who was installing a high-end media room and had questions about his home’s electrical system and the new circuits for the audio/video equipment. Before doing the installation,...
Requirements for motors, motor components and controllers can be found in a number of articles in the National Electrical Code (NEC), but Article 430 specifically covers motors, motor branch-circuit and feeder conductors and...
The National Electrical Code (NEC) is primarily a prescriptive-based code, meaning it indicates requirements and not what must happen electrically. Performance rules, on the other hand, clarify what must be accomplished...
Chapter 4 of the National Electrical Code (NEC), Equipment for General Use, contains 22 articles. Some of the articles include provisions pertaining to switches, receptacles, switchboards and panelboards, industrial control...
Construction methods have evolved from traditional ways of building and renovation to more efficient and cost-effective techniques. The construction industry now has the ability to model projects remotely and prefabricate...
Article 110 in the National Electrical Code (NEC) is the second of only two articles in Chapter 1; the first is Article 100, Definitions. Article 100 contains only those definitions essential to the application of the NEC. It...
In the January issue, we discussed changes to the fire alarm requirements in the 2018 International Building and Fire Codes. This month, let’s look at changes in the 2018 NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. First and foremost, it is...
