Exposed and Unidentified
Located in a hotel, this was one of many panelboards showing exposed live conductors and lack of proper circuit identification.
As per 110.12(A), “Unused openings, other than those intended for the operation of equipment, those intended for mounting purposes, or those permitted as part of the design for listed equipment, shall be closed to afford protection substantially equivalent to the wall of the equipment.” The open areas near the top of this panelboard offer direct access to the feeder cables.
In addition, branch circuit identification shall meet the requirements of 408.4, which states “Every circuit and circuit modification shall be legibly identified as to its clear, evident, and specific purpose or use. The identification shall include sufficient detail to allow each circuit to be distinguished from all others. Spare positions that contain unused overcurrent devices or switches shall be described accordingly. The identification shall be included in a circuit directory that is located on the face or inside of the panel door in the case of a panelboard, and located at each switch or circuit breaker in a switchboard. No circuit shall be described in a manner that depends on transient conditions of occupancy.”
DIY Special
Our friends at Gibbons Electric in Arlington, Mass., said the owner of this home told them that this installation was acceptable as long as the pigtail on the adapter was connected to the “fixture body nut thingy” The owner was also quite clear that the plug strip it supplied below was properly grounded, pointing out that the green wire was connected under that same “nut thingy.” Now who are we to argue with this line of thinking?This installation clearly violates the requirements of Sec. 406.10 (Grounding-Type Receptacles, Adapters, Cord Connectors, and Attachment Plugs) and simple rules covering grounding and proper installation of a branch circuits.
About the Author
Joe Tedesco
Tedesco served the industry in many roles during his career. He was a director, senior electrical code instructor for National Technology Transfer, Inc. and American Trainco, Inc.. He was also a codes, standards and seminar specialist for the International Association of Electrical Inspectors and an electrical field service specialist for the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. He ran his own business as an NEC consultant and is a Massachusetts licensed master electrician and journeyman electrician and certified electrical inspector (one and two family 2A; General 2B, and Plan Review, 2C). Tedesco also wrote articles for CEE News and EC&M (Code Violations Illustrated and What's Wrong Here?) for more than 15 years and helped launched the Moving Violations video series.