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...
In 1950s and 1960s homes, lighting fixtures were often installed in the center of the ceiling with a wall switch at the room’s entrance. This worked when general lighting was required for cleaning and similar tasks that do...
When I was an electrical contractor, I tried to find a specialty where there was less competition and more profit than the normal building wiring. Many ECs doing electrical wiring for dwellings, commercial and industrial...
Grounding an electrical system means one system conductor is connected to ground (earth by definition) and a reference to ground from the system is established. Installing and operating an ungrounded system means no reference...
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...
Let’s assume a 120/208-volt (V), three-phase service was installed on a building a few years ago and the new owner of the building needs a standby generator for use during power outages. The electrical contractor installs a...
“Installation approved!” It’s what those involved in construction strive for as they build their projects. Obtaining approvals involves multiple steps, many of which are related to the communication and relation with...
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...
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...
National Electrical Code (NEC) Panel 3 established the new Article 728 in the 2014 NEC. It deals with fire-resistive cabling systems, and it was marginally revised for the 2017 NEC . The article covers the installation of...
Article 430 in the National Electrical Code (NEC) is titled “Motors, Motor Circuits and Controllers.” As the scope of the article states, it covers motors, motor branch-circuit and feeder conductors, motor branch-circuit and...
Ground-fault protection of equipment (GFPE) protects large equipment from devastating arcing events and destructive burn-downs. GFPE requirements are provided in sections 210.13, 215.10, 230.95, 240.13 and 517.17, to name a...
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 have always been fascinated by cables and conductors—sometimes referred to as wires in the National Electrical Code (NEC) and other standards—and the insulation for these cables and conductors, as well as their multiple...
As stated in 240.4 in the National Electrical Code (NEC), conductors, other than flexible cords, flexible cables and fixture wires, shall be protected against overcurrent in accordance with their ampacities specified in 310...
Emergency systems, legally required standby systems and optional standby systems are often supplied by generators as the standby source if the normal (utility) source is interrupted. Emergency and legally required standby...
The 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) is well into its development process with issuance anticipated in 2019. During the first-draft stage, there were a few changes related to rules for surge arresters and surge-protective...
Article 430 in the National Electrical Code (NEC) covers motors, motor branch-circuit and feeder conductors and their protection, motor overload protection, motor control circuits, motor controllers, and motor control centers...
The National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) is published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The latest edition is designated as ANSI C2 2017. This article examines the basics of the NESC relative...
Both the National Electrical Code (NEC) and NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, use the phrase “arcing current.” It is located in 240.87(B)(5) and (B)(6) in the NEC and in many places within NFPA 70E....
