Paul Ask What Up? What Up? Everybody? Welcome to another edition of
Let's Ask Paul the podcast where I, Paul Abernathy, try to answer your
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to come out with content and to be able to do something like this,
to be able to answer questions for folks. All right, So today's question
was asked about explaining a change to the twenty twenty three National Electrical Code,
how it changed from the twenty twenty to the twenty twenty three, and it
really was a breakout change. In other words, instead of being pretty simple
about what the rules were in twenty twenty three, this expanded a little bit.
Although it didn't change its intent, It just made it a little more
clearer what's expected and added a few extra elements to this. And so you're
probably wondering, what the hell is Paul talking about. We're gonna be looking
at two thirty eighty five emergency disconnects. And it first reared its head back
in the twenty seventeen It was talked about it didn't have enough support. We
remember being at NPA meetings where it was being discussed in the room and we
had a collection of firefighters and other people, and NEMO was behind it and
everybody was, you know, kind of debating it and kicking it around.
Didn't have the support, and it really didn't have the support at that time.
It is it sounded right, sounded like it's something we needed, but
it didn't have the support. Now, this is most certainly not something that
just manufacturers pushed a lot of people think that things getting too code simply because
of manufacturers, and that just you really don't know how the system works.
Take a moment to go to the front of the code book and look at
the diversity on the code panel. You'll see that it's not just made up
of manufacturers. Although the manufacturers that are there are experts in their realm and
their field. Right, So that's what you want on a table like a
You don't want novices, you want experts at this table. People that that's
what they do. This is what they do on a day in and day
basis, work with equipment, electrical equipment, manufacturing it and things like that.
So anyway, the more you have a healthy understanding of how that process
really works, then you basically you get rid of the stuff where you just
point fingers at code panel members because that's just not how it works. But
anyway, so there was a lot of support coming for it because the first
responders were like, you know what firefighters and are not you know, they're
not experts at electrical So having them pull a meter and expose the meter side
enclosure maybe during firefighting activities or maybe during a storm where they're fighting in all
different types of conditions or using their acts to cut service conductors or try to
chop things down, and you have all this live. Remember there's no overcurrent
device. Typically there is probably something of the primary fuse of a transformer,
but typically nothing that's going to trip. The only thing that we protect those
conductors are from overload, and that's why we have the service disconnect that's going
to have overload protection. It's one of the requirements in two thirty ninety.
But other than that, they're no short circuling ground fall protection there. So
they're just hacking away and it elevates the hazard. Also if the first responders
have to enter into the structure which may be involved, and now they have
to go and try to find the power to turn it off because they're a
little leery of doing anything at the at the meter, they just they don't
have that training. And then you know they're not using a brute force attack.
It just puts others at risk. It puts them at risk, the
people in the structure at risk, and they're not again, they're not electrical
experts. We don't want them to create a greater hazard. So this started
circulating and it got a lot of support. By an international Association of firefighters
and their organization, and again other firefighting organizations kind of agreed and started saying,
you know what for one and two family dwellings, we especially when you
think about it, because that's where you have people that are sleeping and unaware,
and commercial buildings and things like that. People work during today, they're
not there at night. There's other mechanisms to cut things off. So it
seemed that the greater risk that they were associating this with was one and two
family dwelling applications. So it started to generate steam, and of course it
came in by four different public inputs in the twenty twenty edition of the n
EC and those public inputs were looked at by the code making Panel, and
they were a little bit all over the place, but they all had the
same theme here, right, is first responders in the safety of the first
responders, and it correlated with the safety of the people inside the dwelling,
and it just made sense. Having ability to shut the power off safely and
effectively in a readily accessible location outdoors made sense to them. So it made
it through the public input and then it gets you know, put out there
and what's called the first draft, and everybody looked at it and kind of
tweaked it a little bit, and then the second draft comes out and after
those public comments have been addressed and looked at and either rejected or incorporated,
and then that's how we get it in the code. And so it made
it in the twenty twenty, and it was in the twenty twenty. It
was just very straightforward, right. It was nothing spectacular when it comes to
its format. It was just three items, two thirty to eighty five,
and that was it. Now, we won't rehash that because the twenty twenty
three still covers the same application there. It's just now in the twenty twenty
three. Because that's what I was asked to explain in the in the email
that's that was sent to me for this episode. Want of me explain the
changes in the twenty twenty three edition of that Now. The reason I say
it that way is because if you happen to take the time and you want
to go back and see what it was like in the twenty twenty n EC,
it basically was just two thirty to eighty five, Item one, Item
two, Item three. So it basically said in the twenty twenty. It
basically was a one and two family dwelling requirement. It made sure that all
the service conductors would terminate into dis connecting means, and that disconnect and you're
gonna get some options. Had to have short circuit current raining equal to or
greater than the available fault current, so that's typically provided by the utility,
so we know what that is going to be. And then it had to
be in a readily accessible location outdoors. And then it gave you three options.
First option was just a service disconnect, and you had to market as
such, and it was the emergency disconnect. So service disconnect could be as
simple as a name a three R panel outside with a main breaker that's serving
as the service disconnect but also serving double duty as the emergency disconnect. Simple,
straightforward. Another option would have been to go outside and put a simple
service disconnect. You know, it's more like a rectangular with a main breaker
only in it. That is a service disconnect, but it's also an emergency
disconnect. So if that's the case, then that's your service disconnect outside.
And then the conductors that come out the load side of that are now feeders
and they go to the p anel, and you can put that panel anywhere
you want, all right, And typically people would bring their grounding, electro
conductors and everything into that exterior service disconnect, So that's probably the way I
would do it. I don't like putting panels outside in general at all when
it comes to regular panel boards. I prefer to have just the service disconnect
out there. So you do have two other options that were incorporated in twenty
twenty. That was a meter disconnect, and they were already permitted in two
thirty eighty two, which is things to be on the supply side of a
service disconnect. So by mentioning two thirty out eighty two, we know that
it is not going to be a service disconnect. Is just a meter disconnect.
Now we're not talking about a meter bypass. It is a meter disconnect.
Okay. Now Item three. I could have used any listed disconnect switch
or listed disconnect circuit breaker on the supply side of the service. So the
rule itself said that this had to be on the supply side of the service
disconnect. So we know that it cannot be the service disconnect. And if
it can't be the service disconnect, then the number of conductors that are migrating
from the through the meter through the disconnect is still just let's say one twenty
two forty, it's just still three conductors and you're using the ground conductor to
bond the enclosure. You're doing everything you normally would do. It's still on
the supply side of the service. It literally says that right in the language.
Okay, so we know that we're going to have a service disconnect downstream
from this right And of course then that still has to comply with two thirty
dot seventy A with outside and near's point of entry, so we still have
that rule. Now, all of these had to be marked legibly, durably
in accordance with one ten twenty one B, and there's certain wordings that they
had to have on here, like for the service disconnect, it had to
say emergency disconnect and service disconnect. For the meter disconnect it had to say
emergency disconnect meter disconnect, and it had to remind everybody that it is not
service equipment, okay. And then of course the listed disconnects switch. Now
remind you that listed disconnect switch, whether it's just a simple circuit breaker or
some other type of switch like a knife switch. It also had to be
marked suitable for use as service equipment. Okay, so it had to have
that marking in there. Now you're not using it as service equipment, but
it has to have the marking suitable for use as service equipment. Okay.
Now the markings on that you had to have emergency disconnect and marking that says
not service equipment, right, because it is not service equipment. So for
many people that asked me, when does the feeders begin? On item number
two for the meter disconnect and item number three for listed disconnect switches, that
clearly state they're not service equipment. You're not creating a feeder. It's still
service conductors passing through this on until they get to the service disconnect. Okay,
so you're not going to have any equipment ground conductor. You're gonna still
have your three conductors passing through, Okay, simplicity's sake, it's clearly telling
you it's not service equipment. Now, like I said, option number one,
it's probably what I'm gonna use because I'm not gonna waste my time.
I'm going to put a service disconnect outside, I'm not gonna put me.
I'm not going to put a panel. That's your choice. But I am
going to put just a service disconnect, and it's going to be both my
emergency and my service disconnect. That's where I'm gonna take my GEC's to keep
it outside of the building and establish my grounding electrode system. I'm gonna do
that there. That's just me. That's where I'm going to make my connection
to the ground and conductor. Okay, all right, So that was what
was in the twenty twenty edition, pretty straightforward. Everybody was kind of absorbing
that and saying, okay, I'm trying to understand, and parts of the
country said, you know, this is no big deal. I did this
anyway. I mean, this is something that they're already familiar with doing.
So the key changes for twenty twenty three, and there's a couple of significant
ones that you have to remember. The first thing is now we're going to
incorporating a replacement rule. So if you're playing the service, this is kind
of a retroactive thing. We don't do this a lot in the n EC,
but this is we do now do it for surge protective devices and whatnot.
But here, if you replace that service equipment, now you've got to
bring it up and meet two thirty eighty five. However, they did have
an exception. It says, look, if you're just replacing the meter socket,
if you're just replacing the service instry conductors or the related raceways and fittings
or whatever, maybe during a storm where it knocked off your hurricane or something
that knocked off your service conductors and messed up your meter, but you're not
going to be replacing the service equipment, then you don't have to invoke this
requirement. You can leave it is it is, what was compliant at the
time it was done, is fine. You can put it back the way
it was. That's what this exception is kind of talking about. So that
one has been added in two thirty eighty five item numbers C, so as
you can see, things have been broken out a little bit more. Now
that's the replacement rules, So that's new, new for twenty twenty three.
The next one that is new for twenty twenty three is the identification of other
isolated disconnects. So what this really means, and i'll paraphrase it for you,
if I have my emergency disconnect there for the service I'm complying with two
thirty to eighty five one and two family dwelling. But I have other energy
sources on the structure, like a PV or a generator, that their disconnect
is not located right here. We're grouped together with my emergency disconnect. If
that's the case, then I have to create a plaque or directory that mounts
next to this emergency disconnect that tells somebody where these other isolated disconnects are located.
And that is so that a first responder comes up, he's at this
emergency disconnect, he shuts it off, and he thinks that everything is dead.
But you could have other contributing factors like PV or another generator or something
that once he cuts that power off, we don't want the damn generator starting
up and feeding power back to something. So at the end of the day,
it's just a label and I mean a directory or placard requirement if you
have other energy sources supplying the structure and it needs to be mounted next to
the emergency disconnect. And this makes total sense, right, So that is
a new requirement for twenty twenty three. And it's item number D that don't
needs sound right, Item number D. It's D of two thirty eighty five.
So that's been added. Okay, the next significant change is the marking.
So before it just made reference to one ten twenty one B, but
now it's a little more expanded here. So the marking, it's the same
thing as it was before. It's going to tell you the marking you have,
whether it's the service disconnect, whether it's the meter disconnect or the other
listed disconnect. Now the marking is same marking rules, same word. It's
saint verbiage. It's now just put here so that you can see what it
is. Now when it comes to the marking, now we have very distinct
requirements that what they have to be. So it has to be all of
this wording has to be on a red background, and it has to be
white letters, and those letters have to be at least a half inch high.
And also they made it very clear that these markings or labels have to
be located on the outside front of the disconnect, not within the door,
not inside of it, so that the responder doesn't know. It needs to
be flat out on the front. Now, obviously one twenty one B is
going to require it to be because it's making reference to it. Has to
comply with it durable, not handwritten. Okay, it's got to be able
to handle the environment, whether it's a rain, moisture, heat, all
those type of things. So I am more than sure that people out there
make their labels. You can probably buy them now already done with the red
background and the white letters, because these are pretty just you know, the
codes telling you exactly the verbage that has to be on it, and you're
gonna put these on the outside of the of the disconnect. Now, some
people like this and some people don't. Say, Look, I'm advertising people
to come up and know how to shut power off to my house. That's
that's fine. You can lock it. It's perfectly fine. It's still considered
readily accessible to those that need readily access. If you read the the language
in readily Accessible an article one hundred, then you know locks are fine,
not a problem. It's not a big deal. It's you know, remember
the overcurd devices are going to work anyway, so that's that's not going to
affect how they operate. So anyway, those are the significant changes now other
than that. One of the other changes that I'm a point too, because
nothing other than the structure because in the twenty twenty three instead of it being
just two thirty eighty five one, two and three, it's now two thirty
eighty five A, B, C, D, and E and I told
you C, I told you D, and I told you E. Those
are new. The way it's structured just regurgitating information that was kind of all
embedded in their original twenty twenty language, But in twenty twenty three it breaks
it out into general, which is A and it says location, rating and
grouping, again things we should already know from the twenty twenty. But now
it's broken out location. Where has it got to be a readily accessible location
outdoors on or within sight of the dwelling. Now there is an exception.
So this is something new, and it wasn't part of two thirty eighty five,
But this is the inclusion of the same emergency disconnect rules for two twenty
five dot forty one. Now y'all all know that two twenty five is outside
branch and feeders. Now, if I were to have the service coming down
on a pole right and I were to change and put the service disconnect there,
it might be remote to the point where the first responders would never see
it so, and this has been done on a lot of huge homes and
things like that where the service equipment maybe is hidden away from the structure,
and now it's a feeder that comes out of that over to the actual dwelling.
I've done in installations like that. Well, in this case, at
that point, two twenty two twenty five dot forty one is going to require
the emergency disconnect, right, and it's basically follows the same rules as two
thirty eighty five, but in this case it's for that emergency disconnect. That's
the feeder that's feeding a one and two family dwelling. Right. So,
because you might not have the on the actual dwelling where the service conductors come
in, but you still have the same hazard where they come to the to
the building and they might know that there's another shut off somewhere, maybe over
in the trees or behind a you know, behind a wall, because people
don't want to see it, they might not know that. So they're at
the structure and this is a feeder that's applying it. Well, same thing,
they need to know how to shut the power off at the actual dwelling
unit, and so same rules are going to apply. So all this was
saying is the exception is the location on where it needs to be that you
can ignore this if it's a feeder going to the building and you're following all
the requirements at two twenty five to forty one. If that is met,
which is basically identical to two thirty to eighty five. If that is met,
then you just ignore what you see here because it's taking place under two
twenty five to forty one. Anyway, Now that wasn't there in the twenty
twenty edition. So if you happen to and the code permitted it, if
the service was not on the building and the building was being fed by the
feeder, are one and two families fed by the feeder, then you didn't
have the emergency disconnect at the structure. And so twenty twenty three takes care
of that, and that is referenced in two twenty five forty one. Okay,
and don't worry. Two thirty to eighty five makes reference to that,
right, And then of course you still have your rating. The short circuit
current rating has to be equal to or greater than available fault current. Hopefully
you get that fault current letter from your utility at that point mostly for all
of these one and two families, that would be probably what you're gonna do,
and you're just making sure that the equipment you're selecting this disconnect is equal
to or greater. And then of course grouping again you could have more than
one disconnect means obviously code allows that. If that's the case, you want
to make sure that they're all grouped in the same location, and that's important
to keep that in mind. Remembering that we do have this identification for other
isolation disconnects for other energy sources in that requirement for a placuard or directory,
if they're not all grouped at the same location, Okay, remember that was
added. That's item number D. Item number I keep saying item number D.
That is item D. How about that? All right? So those
were your real changes, and of course you still have the options for the
three different types of disconnects. The only change that we really see in there
is they're going to make it very clear that in B two and three that
you're not using the equipment, whether it's the meter disconnect that's integral to a
meter amounted equipment, or it's a listed other listed disconnects switcher circuit breaker.
They're making it very clear that it is. When it comes to the listed
disconnecting switcher circum rate, they're making it queer that it's clear that it's listed
or marked for suitable for use of service equipment. But they also want to
make sure that it is not marked that is only suitable for use as service
equipment because it's not being used as service equipment. That's important. That's the
same thing with a meter disconnect, right. It can't be marked as suitable
only for use as service equipment when it's not being used as service equipment.
Does that make sense? Okay? And then of course you have two informational
notes that kind of clarify that, so they should hammer this home. The
first informational note reminds people that the conductors between the emergency disconnect and the service
disconect, okay, they are still service conductors. Very important. Everybody wants
to think those are feeders, they're not. They're still service conductors. They're
just passing through those permitted disconnecting means applications, right, So keep that in
mind. And then of course informational note number two reminds you that equipment marks
suitable suitable only for use to service equipment includes the factory marking that says service
DISCONNEC. So be very careful you go grab equipment a disconnect that says service
disconnect marked on it, then it may say that it's suitable only for use
as service equipment, and you would not be able to use that, okay,
as the disc unless you were actually using the whole thing as a service
disconnect, okay, and that was one of your options. I could put
a Nima three R outside with a main breaker, or I could put just
a service disconnect outside and it is truly a service disconnect, and then it
would be a feeder on the load side of it, like we kind of
talked about earlier. So that's probably what I'm gonna do. I'm always gonna
put I'm I'm not gonna put a panel outside like that. I'm just that's
just me. I get it. Some parts of the country you do,
but that's just me. I'm not. I'm going to go in and put
a main breaker one breaker enclosure with a two hundred damp or whatever it is,
and I'm just gonna feed through it, and I'm gonna have feeders on
the load side of it, and I'm gonna put my panel wherever I want
and not have to worry about two thirty dot a one, No, two
thirty seventy eight one. I'm not gonna worry about any of that, Okay,
So that's just me. Though you do you I don't. It's not
my business what you do. But that's just that's just my opinion on it.
Anyway, there you go. That's two thirty eighty five. Those are
how it's changed from the twenty twenty to the twenty twenty three. I think
that the code panel did a good job of actually expanding this out, making
it a little logical flow, trying to make sure that people are very clear
in their intent of their application. If you follow these pieces slowly, one
by one by one, it is a good example. In fact twenty twenty
three, This one here, two thirty eighty five is a good example of
a code panel getting the logical flow, in my opinion, right, and
how they took something that seemed to be very compressed and it can go in
all different directions to now spitting it out easy to understand natural flow. Okay,
all right, hopefully you got something out of that. If you didn't,
all right, I can't help you until next time. Stay safe,
God bless ASK