mshields
Senior Member
- Location
- Boston, MA
Critical Panelboards location.
I'm in MA and I recently came across a newish Critical Branch panelboard in the Pharmacy within a hospital, located NOT in a dedicated electrical room. Now, as you know, in 2014 the NEC changed 517 such that Critical panels were no longer considered one of the two branches constituting the Emergency Branch and therefore governed by Article 700. Article 700 had until 2014 been heavily modified by the Mass amendments, particularly 700.10 which had made clear that all Critical and LS panelboards needed to be in rated rooms and fed with 2 hour feeders.
Skipping forward to the present. The Critical Branch per the NEC is no longer governed by article 700 and Mass hasn't made any amendments to 517 undoing that.
SO - I believe this Critical Panel that I've encountered not in any kind of a room (rated or otherwise) and NOT fed by MI IS code compliant. I have no doubt that the MI is not needed (even when most hospitals are by policy still doing it that way), but what about the room part. The area IS sprinklered, and therefore I think its ok. What say you?
I'm in MA and I recently came across a newish Critical Branch panelboard in the Pharmacy within a hospital, located NOT in a dedicated electrical room. Now, as you know, in 2014 the NEC changed 517 such that Critical panels were no longer considered one of the two branches constituting the Emergency Branch and therefore governed by Article 700. Article 700 had until 2014 been heavily modified by the Mass amendments, particularly 700.10 which had made clear that all Critical and LS panelboards needed to be in rated rooms and fed with 2 hour feeders.
Skipping forward to the present. The Critical Branch per the NEC is no longer governed by article 700 and Mass hasn't made any amendments to 517 undoing that.
SO - I believe this Critical Panel that I've encountered not in any kind of a room (rated or otherwise) and NOT fed by MI IS code compliant. I have no doubt that the MI is not needed (even when most hospitals are by policy still doing it that way), but what about the room part. The area IS sprinklered, and therefore I think its ok. What say you?