Ceiling AC units

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ASG

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Work in NYC
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Electrical Engineer, PE
I do many commercial jobs where there are supplemental AC units in the hung ceiling. The HVAC designer always wants to have a leak detector in the drip pan. These leak detectors are all plug-in devices (nobody has heard of a leak detector that comes hard wired). What is the code-compliant solution?
 
There is no code compliant solution for a cord and plug unit in a suspended ceiling. section 400.8(5) does not allow it.
 
Water sensing detectors

Water sensing detectors

There are numerous low-voltage (12VDC) water sensing detectors/systems. Off the top of my head, GE, GRI, Winland and others all have detectors. Low-voltage power supply in an electrical closet or power and monitor multiple sensors from an alarm panel in the building engineer's office.
 
Best water detection for suspended ceilings that needs no wires is water stains on the tiles:lol:

Otherwise only way you get people's attention is if the leak detection shuts off the air conditioning when it is activated, if you don't do that any alarm will be ignored until the leak has already gotten too far out of control.
 
kwired said:
Best water detection for suspended ceilings that needs no wires is water stains on the tiles:lol:

Otherwise only way you get people's attention is if the leak detection shuts off the air conditioning when it is activated, if you don't do that any alarm will be ignored until the leak has already gotten too far out of control.
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I agree. Our leak detection is wired to send an alarm and shut down the unit.
 
If I remember correctly, didn't Mike Holt address a similar installation where his opinion was that this would not be considered a flexible cord? That when you have a piece of equipment with a cord on it, it would be a power supply cord and not subject to 400.8(5). Thoughts?
 
SPierce said:
If I remember correctly, didn't Mike Holt address a similar installation where his opinion was that this would not be considered a flexible cord? That when you have a piece of equipment with a cord on it, it would be a power supply cord and not subject to 400.8(5). Thoughts?
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That is correct he did have that thought but I am not sure it was shared by the CMP members
 
ASG said:
I agree. Our leak detection is wired to send an alarm and shut down the unit.
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Those are the ones I am used to seeing. Wired directly into the unit. What gets me is in residential some of the contractors will run the drain line down the inside of the wall and stub out through the foundation. Then they will run a separate drain line from the pan and stub it out of the soffit directly over a window. There though is if you see water dripping from that line you main line is stopped up and you need to look at it.
 
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