EC&M Tech Talk — Changes to the 2026 National Electrical Code

The 2026 National Electrical Code® (NEC®) has been reorganized and will improve usability for electrical workers, inspectors, engineers, and others working in the electrical field. Randy Barnett explains new Articles, a commonsense grouping of information, and the relocation of existing information. Examples of major changes within each chapter are given, chapter-by-chapter.

Since 1937 revisions to the NEC have been primarily just adding new information or new articles in an “appropriate” chapter. When the Code was almost exclusively residential in content, and incandescent lamps and motors dominated electric loads, that approach seemed to work very well. In the last many years, however, the world of electrical installations has changed drastically. Electronic drives, solid state controls, communication systems, optical fiber cable, low-energy power supplies, and electric vehicle chargers, are just a few examples of an ever-changing NEC landscape. The reorganization of the National Electrical Code for 2026, and continuing with major organizational restructuring for 2029, puts the code into a more commonsense and thus usable format.

Randy begins with an example of data center electrical installation and its relationship to modern electrical construction challenges. View this EC&M Tech Talk if you plan on using the 2026 NEC!