Article 225.32

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Lt1

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Denver,colorado,us
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Licensed Electrical Contractor, Master Electrician
Article 225.32 Location. The disconnecting means shall installed be either inside or outside of the building or structure served or where the conductors pass through the building or structure. The disconnecting means shall be at a readily accessible location nearest the point of entrance of the conductors. ect.,ect.,
Residential House with main 200A service on detached garage the underground to house
Our 200A disconnect is in basement inside house panel on wall 5' from where conductors pass through basement wall
is this a readily accessible location nearest the point of entrance of the conductors?
Electrical Inspsector says disconnect has to be outside and of course he is saying this at final inspection after concrete and landscaping is covering underground conductors
I contend we are meeting the requirements of Article 225.32 What say you?
 
It depends on what code cycle. The 2020 demands the disconnect be outside but in general your install should be compliant. Many areas have their own amendments about this.
 
NC uses the Barringer Rule which I will post for any NC electricians that may want to have that info.

The language of section 230.70(A)(1) has been virtually unchanged over the last several decades. What is commonly known as the “Barringer Rule” or “Five Foot Rule” has been the standard for evaluation of service-entrance conductors inside a building or structure in North Carolina for many decades. The Rule remains as the State’s position for proper evaluation in determining the maximum allowed distance service-entrance conductors may enter a building or structure. The current version of the “Barringer Rule” or “Five Foot Rule” is as follows: Service-entrance conductors shall be considered to be in compliance with the requirements of 230.70(A)(1) when routed from their point of entrance into a building or structure to the point of attachment to the service disconnect enclosure under all of the following criteria: 1. in the most direct route or at right angles; 2. horizontally not more than twice the nominal width of the service disconnect enclosure; and 3. vertically not more than twice the nominal height of the service disconnect enclosure or five (5) feet, whichever is greater. Service entrance conductors in excess of these specified limits will not be allowed unless specifically authorized by special permission from the electrical inspector having jurisdiction to accommodate adverse site conditions which would not reasonably allow installation within this criteria.
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Lt1 said:
Our 200A disconnect is in basement inside house panel on wall 5' from where conductors pass through basement wall
is this a readily accessible location nearest the point of entrance of the conductors?
Electrical Inspsector says disconnect has to be outside and of course he is saying this at final inspection after concrete and landscaping is covering underground conductors
Click to expand...
The disconnect is not required to be outside but the condcutors in most places cannot run 5' into the structure either. If they're in a raceway they can be encased in concrete then the distance is unlimited.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
The 2020 demands the disconnect be outside but in general your install should be compliant.
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If you're thinking of the Emergency Disconnect rules, in the 2020 those only appear in Article 230 and only apply to services. In 2023 225.41 was added to Article 225 and would cover the OP's situation. Not an issue unless CO has adopted the 2023 NEC already.

Cheers, Wayne
 
I typed in Article 225.32 for quick reference, it clearly states disconnect shall be either inside or outside, it does not however demand it be outside as someone previously stated
Does anyone know under what criteria it is allowed inside
225.32 state nearest point of entrance of conductor's, please define "nearest" as a dimension so it can be used as measurement for GOD, oops I en electrical inspector
 
Nearest is a description, not a dimension. A back-to-back installation is the nearest possible.

Next would be whatever provides for the shortest pathway of cable inside the structure.
 
Lt1 said:
I typed in Article 225.32 for quick reference, it clearly states disconnect shall be either inside or outside, it does not however demand it be outside as someone previously stated
Does anyone know under what criteria it is allowed inside
225.32 state nearest point of entrance of conductor's, please define "nearest" as a dimension so it can be used as measurement for GOD, oops I en electrical inspector
Click to expand...
Nearest is a very subjective term. If I look at it, and there is no local definition, I read it as the conductors enter the building and go directly into the disconnect. If the disconnect is not at the same elevation as the entry, it goes in and directly up or down into the disconnect.
 
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