2 services or 2 Feeders? Ur input needed

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bran82004

Member
Location
WISCONSIN, USA
running into a problem... have an exsiting tenent space in a small strip mall. underground service lateral comes into the mech room into the utility providers CT cabinet. off of the cabinet it splits off and feeds 6 main disconnects. question is does 225.30 prevent us from using 2 of the 200 amp mains to feed this one tenant space? the building only has the one service supply, and to prevent an expensive upgrade to a 400 amp feeder could we use 2 seperate feeds?
 

augie47

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Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
If the tenant space is just that and not a separate building due to fire walls, I see no prohibiting two feeders.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
Since this is inside wiring I don't see where 225 applies at all, and these are not SEC's so 230 doesn't apply, and the rest of the NEC doesn't care how many feeders you have as long as calculated load is met.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
If the tenant space is just that and not a separate building due to fire walls, I see no prohibiting two feeders.

If anything 225.30 would prevent us from running two sets of feeders to a differant building, but we do it all the time when we set 2 disconnects on a 320 meter base and run two sets of feeders to MLO panels inside a house? but were feeding from the same building to the same building, so yes if the service is across a fire wall that part could be a violation.

I love it when I agrue with myself:roll:
 

Dennis Alwon

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Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Hurk, I believe 225 would apply if the tenants space was separated by firewalls. The firewalls will make the space a separate structure. I think so anyway-- building code.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Firewalls can create 'separate but connected buildings' but just the presence of firewalls does not mean they are separate buildings.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Firewalls can create 'separate but connected buildings' but just the presence of firewalls does not mean they are separate buildings.


I thought Chris stated that a firewall can make a connected structure a separate structure. Are you saying there are other factors? If so what are they?
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
I thought Chris stated that a firewall can make a connected structure a separate structure. Are you saying there are other factors? If so what are they?

They can but it is not 'automatic' I really do not know what all the other factors are.

In my area we often have fire walls but rarely have 'separate structures.

For instance, in MA emergency panels must be a in fire rated room but that does not make it a separate structure or building.
 

RICK NAPIER

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Fire walls allows for the seperation of different structures, IBC 705.1, but don't confuse fire partitions or fire barriers with a fire wall. Remember there are a lot of requirements to a fire wall.
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
Fire walls allows for the seperation of different structures, IBC 705.1, but don't confuse fire partitions or fire barriers with a fire wall. Remember there are a lot of requirements to a fire wall.

Rick you can't just post that and not explain the difference. :grin: At least some of the differences between a fire wall and fire barrier-- never heard the term fire barrier or partition.
 

DARUSA

Senior Member
Location
New York City
running into a problem... have an exsiting tenent space in a small strip mall. underground service lateral comes into the mech room into the utility providers CT cabinet. off of the cabinet it splits off and feeds 6 main disconnects. question is does 225.30 prevent us from using 2 of the 200 amp mains to feed this one tenant space? the building only has the one service supply, and to prevent an expensive upgrade to a 400 amp feeder could we use 2 seperate feeds?

May be yes but!!!
Can it be a problem for the firefighters in case of try to turn off the power for that space?2 SDS for the same space?
Is the 2 - 200amp next to each other ?
Why don't take out the 2 disconnect and install one 400 amps DS?
You can still use 2-3/0 feeders to the tenant space in parallel
 

raberding

Senior Member
Location
Dayton, OH
Occupation
Consulting Engineer
POCO might care...

POCO might care...

some have different rates for 200 vs 400. I recall the term "rate avoidance"...
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Very common for strip malls in this area to have one, two or three 200 amp feeders. This happens when they take two or three small tenant spaces and open them up into one.

It would make no sense to have to change them into a single 400 or single 600 amp feeder.
 
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