I recently had a discussion with the local electrical inspector and the subject of comercial branch circuits came up. The inspector said that 15 amp general use branch circuits are permitted in the NEC. Now I can't exactly remember when or where in the NEC, but I think that there is a requirement that general use branch circuits are required to be 20 amp circuits in comercial buildings. Can anyone support my uderstanding with the code section that applies??
Comercial 20amp minimum circuit requiered
- Thread starter jzadroga
- Start date
- Status
joe tedesco
Senior Member
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
Re: Comercial 20amp minimum circuit requiered
600.5(A) ...... The outlet(s) shall be supplied by a branch circuit rated at least 20 amperes that supplies no other load........
This was the only place I could find where this sentence was used. See Articles 210 and 200 for calculations.
600.5(A) ...... The outlet(s) shall be supplied by a branch circuit rated at least 20 amperes that supplies no other load........
This was the only place I could find where this sentence was used. See Articles 210 and 200 for calculations.
charlie
Senior Member
- Location
- Indianapolis
Re: Comercial 20amp minimum circuit requiered
Generally speaking, the transformer for a commercial service is much closer to the building and it is larger. Therefore, more fault current is available to damage conductors (and equipment). Many areas have passed rules similar to "#14 Copper conductors are not permitted for commercial or industrial applications." This is not generally an NEC requirement but a local one.
It is the responsibility of the project electrical designer to verify if #14 can be used because of acceptable voltage drop, the load on the circuit, the conductor damage curves, etc. Many times, #14 may be used but you will see a note on the prints or specifications that do not permit anything less than #12 for the branch circuits.
Generally speaking, the transformer for a commercial service is much closer to the building and it is larger. Therefore, more fault current is available to damage conductors (and equipment). Many areas have passed rules similar to "#14 Copper conductors are not permitted for commercial or industrial applications." This is not generally an NEC requirement but a local one.
It is the responsibility of the project electrical designer to verify if #14 can be used because of acceptable voltage drop, the load on the circuit, the conductor damage curves, etc. Many times, #14 may be used but you will see a note on the prints or specifications that do not permit anything less than #12 for the branch circuits.
- Status