TIA Seeks to Revise Art. 680 of 2020 NEC
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently released a Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) to the 2020 edition of NFPA 70, National Electrical Code. Submitted by James T. Dollard, Jr., IBEW Local Union 98, the closing date for TIA Log No. 1524 is Sept. 9, 2020. Anyone may submit a comment here.
The proposed change seeks to revise Sec. 680.2 definitions to read as follows (proposed text is underlined and deleted text is in strikethrough):
680.2 Definitions. …
Storable Swimming, Wading, or Immersion Pools; or and Storable/Portable Spas and Hot Tubs. Swimming, wading, or immersion pools and spas and hot tubs assembled on or above the ground that are intended to be stored when not in use and are designed for ease of relocation., constructed on or above the ground and are capable of holding water to a maximum depth of 1.0 m (42 in.), or a pool, spa, or hot tub constructed on or above the ground, with nonmetallic, molded polymeric walls or inflatable fabric walls regardless of dimension.
Informational Note: Historically, a 1.0 m (42 in.) wall height accommodated most storable swimming pools. Modern manufacturing methods have allowed storable pool manufacturers to increase wall heights while still permitting ease of assembly and disassembly of the pool.
This TIA addresses “significant issues with a steadfast limit of 42 inches for a storable pool.” For a comprehensive list of the many substantiations related to this proposal, read TIA from NFPA.
Per the original report, this issue is of an emergency nature due to the following reasons:
“The standard contains an error or an omission that was overlooked during the regular revision process. The NFPA Standard contains a conflict within the NFPA Standards or within another NFPA Standard.
“This TIA is necessary to: (1) recognize that the design of storable swimming pools was never addressed when the 42-in. height was included in 1981, (2) address serious issues that arise when a storable pool is classified as a permanent pool because of an inch of water and, (3) provide the AHJ with code requirements that do not base electrical safety on limitations which are not relevant to safe use. Additionally, this TIA must move forward to eliminate the conflicts created within NFPA 70, the NEC where Sec. 680.26 is enforced on a storable pool.”
To learn more about this TIA, including examples of potential adverse impacts related to this issue, download the full document from NFPA.
Note: A TIA is tentative because it has not been processed through the entire standards development process. It is interim because it is effective only between editions of the standard. A TIA automatically becomes a public input of the proponent for the next edition of the standard; as such, it then is subject to all of the procedures of the standards-making process.