Busway ventialted or Non-ventilated

[sandsnow]

The code talks about ventilated and non-ventilated busway. I am trying to figure out how to identify each type.

Is the ventilated busway obvious, such as a transformer which has the obvious ventilating openings.

I'ver looked in GE and SQ-D, and I see nothing that calls out their products either way.

The issue has come up in the application in cunjunction with firestopping at the floor level.

Can anyone shed some light here?

 

[infinity]

I'm wondering if someone still manufactures ventilated busways. I've have seen lots of them in older buildings where the stuff was installed maybe 30-40 years ago. It has an outer cover that is made up with slots for air circulation. You can peek through the slots and see the busbars, usually wrapped in a black tape like insulation and separated by insulating brackets. This seems to allow air to surround the bus. All of the newer busways that we've installed are non-ventilated. All of the busbars are insulated and sandwiched together with a solid outer covering. I'm not sure how you could firestop the old ventilated type. It would seem that the busway itself would require an internal means to keep air from flowing between two different areas.

 

[ron]

I haven't seen any current model product that I would consider ventilated. Most new busway is sandwich design, and I can't imagine there is much if any ventilation between the bus bars.

 

[jim dungar]

Firestopping is a seperate issue from ventilated/non-ventilated. In many cases, if you need firestopping you must request it.