texie
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Occupation
- Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Are tamper receps required in a college dorm room? This does not seem to be as clear cut as it would seem.
Although age of users/occupants is somewhat the driving force behind TR rules, it is not mentioned in any of the NEC sections regarding TR.
According to NEC definitions of guest rooms, and guest suites, I don't think you can exclude typical college dormitories from those definitions. 210.60 kind of reinforces this concept also.
406.13 does not have any exceptions, so even if not intended, I say as written a dormitory is included.
Dwelling Unit. A single unit, providing complete and in-
dependent living facilities for one or more persons, includ-
ing permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and
sanitation.
The real issue is just like a hotel room. What do you need to make a kitchen. Does the fact that you have a countertop, sink, refrigerator and a fastened in place microwave make it a kitchen? Is a fastened in place microwave a "permanent provision for cooking"?Depending on what's in it I was say that a dorm room is the same as an apartment which by definition is a dwelling unit. IMO if it has a bedroom(s), kitchen and full bath then it's a dwelling unit.
The real issue is just like a hotel room. What do you need to make a kitchen. Does the fact that you have a countertop, sink, refrigerator and a fastened in place microwave make it a kitchen? Is a fastened in place microwave a "permanent provision for cooking"?
Yes, I don't think there is any question when there is a built-in cooktop, but many hotel rooms and college dorm rooms provide the fastened in place microwave and the question is if that makes it a dwelling unit and triggers all of the rules associated with a dwelling unit.The microwave is a red herring. A built in electric cooktop ends the discussion.
Maybe, many dorms have common baths for multiple rooms not in the any room, so as currently written these rooms would not require TR or AFCI protection.
Guest Room. An accommodation combining living, sleeping,
sanitary, and storage facilities within a compartment.
I live in a "College Town".
Though TR receps are not required, the CKR receptacles are a must!
CRK=College Kid Resistant:lol:
Not only receps, but anything in the rooms!
Buy tamper/vandal resistant lighting fixtures, like they use in prisons.
In my opinion that design does not create a dwelling unit....My son's first year in college he had a dorm room that each half of the floor shared a bath and a common area with tables and a small kitchen in this common area. The other half of the floor was same way but was female students. There was maybe 8-10 rooms most with two students per room in each half of the floor.
I don't see this as a "dwelling unit" either, but add a sink in the "kitchen" area and we are back to the question of the microwave being a permanent provision for cooking.His other three years he got into what they called "suites" which had three sleeping rooms -two students each room, bathrooms in each sleeping room and a common room between the sleeping rooms. No cooking provisions except for microwave. No sink other than sinks in the bathrooms.
I should have mentioned in my original post that the dorm rooms have only a sink.
Well, that settles it IMO. TR not required. No bathroom and no kitchen.
The prisoners are no different than primitive man, they have to build their own tools with what they have available, some are pretty good at it from what I understand. The college student either buys or steals a tool that someone else already made - see they are getting good use of their education already, let someone else do the hard part.When it comes to defying authority, the only difference between college students and prisoners is that the students have access to tools...
In my opinion that design does not create a dwelling unit.
I don't see this as a "dwelling unit" either, but add a sink in the "kitchen" area and we are back to the question of the microwave being a permanent provision for cooking.
Yes, but doesn't the sink mean you have sanitary facilities?
Er, no IMO. I am not going into details-but no flush-no sanitary.
Bathroom. An area including a basin with one or more of
the following: a toilet, a urinal, a tub, a shower, a bidet, or
similar plumbing fixtures.
Having sanitary facilities doesn't necessarily mean you have a NEC defined bathroom does it?
Are most jail cells considered a bathroom by the NEC? There is usually a basin and a toilet, so I guess they probably are. I suppose they could also be defined as guest rooms or suites, though most inmates probably do not consider themselves as "guests".