17-207 Log #4333 NEC-P17 Final Action: Accept in Principle in Part
(680.43)
_______________________________________________________________
TCC Action: The Technical Correlating Committee directs that the panel
clarify the panel action on this proposal concerning the use of the word
?when? since the NEC Style Manual considers ?when? as a condition of
time.
This action will be considered by the panel as a public comment.
Submitter: Carvin DiGiovanni, Association of Pool & Spa Professionals
Recommendation: Revise as follows:
680.43 Indoor Installations. A spa or hot tub installed indoors shall comply
with the provisions of Parts I and II of this article except as modified by this
section and shall be connected by the wiring methods of Chapter 3.
Exception: Listed spa and hot tub packaged units rated 20 amperes or less
shall be permitted to be cord-and-plug connected to facilitate the removal or
disconnection of the unit for maintenance and repair.
Exception: The equipotential bonding requirements for perimeter surfaces in
680.26 (B)(2) shall not apply to listed portable spas and hot tub packaged
units, and insulating mats shall not be required in lieu of equipotential bonding
of perimeter surfaces for these portable units.
Substantiation: This proposal eliminates confusion regarding bonding of
listed, packaged portable spas and hot tubs located indoors, and is being
submitted concurrent with a similar proposal to clarify language in 680.42(B)
regarding outdoor portable spas and hot tubs. Some AHJs have recently begun
requiring existing patios, floors and other surfaces (including grass yards) to be
torn up and rebuilt with an equipotential bonding grid, or have required the
installation of rubber ?insulating? mats of unknown quality and questionable
dielectric standoff characteristics under and around the unit when the property
owner purchases and installs a portable spa or hot tub. This is being done on
the stated premise that the reference to Part II in Article 680.43 requires such
arrangements. The author has seen no evidence that the CMP ever intended that
the surrounding perimeter surfaces associated with these devices be
incorporated into the equipotential bonding grid or insulated, and there is no
similar perimeter bonding requirement for storable (i.e., portable) pools,
although the issues are identical. Such a perimeter bonding requirement
(indoors or outdoors) is impractical and cost-prohibitive, as the whole point of
a portable spa is that it can readily be moved or relocated, and is integrally
bonded, grounded and GFCI-protected under other sections of Article 680 and
UL 1563. A perimeter surface bonding requirement requires demolition and
reconstruction of any and all floor area(s) where a portable spa or hot tub is
located any time it is installed or moved, with no concurrent improvement in
safety. Further, conductive floors in buildings are generally steel-reinforced,
integral to the building steel, and are required to be bonded to the grounding
system, creating an equipotential surface independent of any spa-related
bonding grid. There are no known reported shock or electrocution incidents
associated with step potentials or touch potentials associated with persons
making contact with the spa or hot tub and the surrounding perimeter surface
that could be attributed to failure to bond the perimeter surface. [REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION???]
Panel Meeting Action: Accept in Principle in Part
Existing exception to be renumbered as Exception No. 1.
New exception to read as follows:
Exception No 2: The equipotential bonding requirements for perimeter surfaces
in 680.26 (B)(2) shall not apply to a listed portable spas and hot tub packaged
units self-contained spa or hot tub and when installed above the finished floor.
insulating mats shall not be required in lieu of equipotential bonding of
perimeter surfaces for these portable units.
Panel Statement: CMP-17 accepts the addition of an exception to the
beginning of 680.43.
CMP-17 does not accept ?portable spas and hot tub packaged units? and uses
?self-contained spa or hot tub,? as these are the correct definitions. CMP-17
deletes the submitter?s inclusion of insulating mats as these are not required.
CMP-17 also edits the submitter?s text to convey that these units are installed
above the finished floor and not embedded in the floor.
Number Eligible to Vote: 11
Ballot Results: Affirmative: 11
