California Contractors what are you doing to comply

[badashuka]

Not to be argumentative because I agree with you guys on most of of your points, but I work for a very profitable electrical service company and we do everything to code and we state it with the customer before we start working. It is true people want what they want. For liability reasons we only install what meets code and if they want something else we pass on the work, we lose some, but we gain more from that policy than we lose. Keep up the great work everyone.

 

[gndrod]

Not to be argumentative because I agree with you guys on most of of your points, but I work for a very profitable electrical service company and we do everything to code and we state it with the customer before we start working. It is true people want what they want. For liability reasons we only install what meets code and if they want something else we pass on the work, we lose some, but we gain more from that policy than we lose. Keep up the great work everyone.

I notice your profile reads 'commercial' in all fairness. Good for your situation but the dialog pain I am reading here is how the resi industry is really getting whacked because of Title 24 requirements. The bureaucracy has handcuffed the public where it hurts and in turn has caused more bootleg installations that go unchecked for safety compliance.

The NEC needs to be overhauled to match the technological materials available differing residential from commercial. The change can revise the playing field for load distribution that can permit integrating old installations with new extensions without breaking the bank.

Once upon a time, energy conservation was a blessing for commercial facility management economics that has now taken an extreme turn to overt regulation that favors big business and manufacturing profitability. Energy management implementation in the early 80's was an answer to the three-tier penalty costs (400 %) from the utility companies levied on peak hour usages.

I would be greeted like a king for reducing commercial business costs to 3k that were paying out $10k monthly utility bills. Those facility guzzlers ran high tonnage A/C equipment 24/7 along with walk-in freezers with their doors wide open. In the oil crisis, costs even moved higher when the nuclear plants needed additional line support in the summer heat.

The industry is hurting for everyone...Had to chime in here to let every one know that progress does have its rewards, but I do feel bad about how you guys are being thrown against the proverbial bus.

 

[PetrosA]

As an Eastcoaster, this sure does make for some painful reading. I'm trying not to think of this as the future because I know that (especially) LED technology is advancing fast enough that within a few years we will be able to install the same dimmable lumens with a decent CRI in people's homes that we can now using halogen incandescent at an affordable price, but if I had to make that move today, I would be scared for my business. I can't imagine that having to use dedicated high efficacy lighting wouldn't increase the cost of the electrical by at least 50% in a kitchen if I wanted to maintain some semblance of flexibility in the lighting. Ouch.

What I noticed this summer in Europe (where all new lighting is either LED or CFL) is that they've started using a completely different approach to lighting design. One room might have 4-6 switches for different layers of LED lights with none of them trying to create a general lighting level. CFL lighting is used more in commercial or as retrofit where you don't need the ambiance that you need in homes or hotels. I can't imagine installing CFL recessed inside my house. I'd shoot myself.

Having studied graphic design and having done it professionally, I have to say that that pdf form is a good example of how bad design can really be a wrench in the machine. It doesn't look as though there was any kind of thought put into making it clear and understandable and I'll bet that a different format would make it much more user friendly, which would make people more likely to accept the changes.

I also hope that the code will change to reflect the new, lower loads. 16/2 NM-B anyone?

 

[Sierrasparky]

Not to be argumentative because I agree with you guys on most of of your points, but I work for a very profitable electrical service company and we do everything to code and we state it with the customer before we start working. It is true people want what they want. For liability reasons we only install what meets code and if they want something else we pass on the work, we lose some, but we gain more from that policy than we lose. Keep up the great work everyone.

Doing what you think is to code and even stating so on a piece of paper is entirely different than properly pulling permits and complying with the hole process. Do you work on projects not permited?

I have seen work from such companies that state " all work to be done code compliant manner" Those folks are some of the most abusive of the code. Sometimes it's from ignorance sometimes it's because of cost savings.

In any respect the topic is about how are you complying. Claiming code compliance and not pulling permits and signing papers is "NOT in Complainance"