PWDickerson
Senior Member
- Location
- Clinton, WA
- Occupation
- Solar Contractor
Does the 120% rule in the 2014 NEC prevent you from installing a backfeed breaker in a panel with feedthrough lugs?
Example: Residential 120/240 service, 200 amp rated Meter-main at a detached garage, main breaker at meter-main supplies a distribution bus bar with 8 spaces and feed-through lugs at the bottom of the bus bars, 4/0 AL conductors from the feed-through lugs to a 200 amp rated distribution panel in the home where the majority of the loads are.
A strict reading of 705.12(D)(2)(3)(b) appears to allow the installation of a 40 amp backfeed breaker (32 amps of backfeed current) at the bottom of the meter-main bus bar, but this seems to me to be a clear violation of the intent of this code section. The feeders and the busbar in the panel in the home are fed from the combined current of the 200 amp main breaker and the 40 amp backfeed breaker.
Is this a violation of some other code section?
Example: Residential 120/240 service, 200 amp rated Meter-main at a detached garage, main breaker at meter-main supplies a distribution bus bar with 8 spaces and feed-through lugs at the bottom of the bus bars, 4/0 AL conductors from the feed-through lugs to a 200 amp rated distribution panel in the home where the majority of the loads are.
A strict reading of 705.12(D)(2)(3)(b) appears to allow the installation of a 40 amp backfeed breaker (32 amps of backfeed current) at the bottom of the meter-main bus bar, but this seems to me to be a clear violation of the intent of this code section. The feeders and the busbar in the panel in the home are fed from the combined current of the 200 amp main breaker and the 40 amp backfeed breaker.
Is this a violation of some other code section?