can 2 townhouse buildings share 1 house panel?

Status
Not open for further replies.

vincedigital

Member
Location
caribbean
Occupation
electrical cad technician
can 2 townhouse buildings share 1 house panel? it will only for maintenance receptacles for the outdoor a/c units. if yes, can i put the house panel in the wall beside a meter center in onr of the building? -thanks
 

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
I often see the receptacles for the outdoor HVAC units on the house panel as opposed to having multiple receptacles, one from each tenant space.
 

GoldDigger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
Who is paying for the juice?

Also, why would a receptacle associated with a specific unit be on a house panel?
With energy costs the way they are, I cannot imagine a landlord who was willing to absorb the cooling costs. It leaves no incentive for the individual tennant to economize.

If it were only the common space AC in an apartment or condo situation, that would be different.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
can 2 townhouse buildings share 1 house panel? it will only for maintenance receptacles for the outdoor a/c units. if yes, can i put the house panel in the wall beside a meter center in onr of the building? -thanks
I see no reason why not.

Who is paying for the juice?

Also, why would a receptacle associated with a specific unit be on a house panel?
Not for a specific unit; one for the entire building.

Feed to the second building requires a disconnect grouped with the other disconnect for the building
Even if it's a single circuit that would otherwise require no disconnect?

With energy costs the way they are, I cannot imagine a landlord who was willing to absorb the cooling costs. It leaves no incentive for the individual tennant to economize.

If it were only the common space AC in an apartment or condo situation, that would be different.
This is for a maintenance receptacle for each entire building's A/C units.
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
I'm confused here. A townhouse to me indicates legally separate structures and each unit owns the land they sit on and the building to the roof.. They units just happen to be connected. As such, there are no common areas or house electric. They each get an electric service attached to their structure. Nothing passes through or between units.
 

vincedigital

Member
Location
caribbean
Occupation
electrical cad technician
Its a big land with multiple townhouses. 1 landlord, multiple townhouse. The maintenance receptacles are for a/c repairs if needed and other house use, not for actual ac unit. I was thinking 2 of the townhouses to share 1 house panel to save on adding another panel. But i think i will have to put the panel anyway to have separate house panel per townhouse. Thanks
 

Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
can 2 townhouse buildings share 1 house panel? it will only for maintenance receptacles for the outdoor a/c units. if yes, can i put the house panel in the wall beside a meter center in onr of the building? -thanks
I’m with a couple others here..
Is it a townhouse or a condominium?
I would think the rules are different depending on which type of residence.
Townhome, I say no. As suggested above it’s like a single residence, just sharing a common wall. Townhouse owners own inside and outside..
Condo, it’s like an apartment you own.
The house panel serves everything outside the units that can be used by maintenance personnel.
 

mtnelect

HVAC & Electrical Contractor
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
Forget the extra expenses ... extend from an existing circuit. How much power is going to be used for maintenance purposes ?
Seems you are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
How did this development get finalized without a Maintenace Outlet ?
 
Last edited:

Beaches EE

Senior Member
Location
NE Florida
Occupation
Electrical Engineer / Facilities Manager
Typically, in a townhouse, each unit has its own condensing unit or heat pump and the maintenance outlet is part of each units wiring and there is no house panel. Common loads such as irrigation pumps & controllers and fed from the house service. The solution really depends upon the true classification of the buildings. Either way, the maintenance outlet cannot be more than 25 feet from the HVAC unit.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top