define dwelling unit

[electromgr]

Are bedrooms in college dorms and hotel/motels considered dwelling units, for purposes of applying GFCI & AFCI requirements. I believe this is a "gray area" that will vary with the jurisdiction. Your opinions, please?

 

[iwire]

Re: define dwelling unit

Article 100

Dwelling Unit. One or more rooms for the use of one or more persons as a housekeeping unit with space for eating, living, and sleeping, and permanent provisions for cooking and sanitation.

I would suggest asking your local AHJ.

 

[charlie b]

Re: define dwelling unit

The 2005 NEC has a new, and perhaps clearer definition:

A single unit, providing complete and independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping cooking, and sanitation.

I would say that a college dorm and most hotel rooms would not meet this definition.

However, I am currently staying at a type of hotel room that has a bed, a fridge, a 2-burner stove (no oven), a kitchen sink, a bathroom, a dining table, and a work desk. I think that this type of room would qualify as a ?dwelling unit,? and that the complex would qualify as a ?dwelling, multifamily.?

I agree with Bob's statement that it may come down to a call by the AHJ.

 

[midget]

Re: define dwelling unit

Are all the 2005 definitions clearer? did a lot of them change from before?

 

[roger]

Re: define dwelling unit

Midget,

Are all the 2005 definitions clearer?

probably not, we just haven't gotten around to arguing all of them yet.

Roger

[ December 14, 2004, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: roger ]

 

[charlie b]

Re: define dwelling unit

Originally posted by midget: Are all the 2005 definitions clearer? did a lot of them change from before?

About 10 % were revised. I won't comment on their clarity until I have had a chance to review them in detail.

 

[petersonra]

Re: define dwelling unit

Originally posted by charlie b:
However, I am currently staying at a type of hotel room that has a bed, a fridge, a 2-burner stove (no oven), a kitchen sink, a bathroom, a dining table, and a work desk. I think that this type of room would qualify as a ?dwelling unit,? and that the complex would qualify as a ?dwelling, multifamily.?
[/QB]

Can a single unit be both a hotel room and a dwelling? Would it not have to be one or the other?

 

[charlie b]

Re: define dwelling unit

Good question! The 2005 version of 220.14(J) starts out, ?In one-family, two-family, and multifamily dwellings and in guest rooms or guest suites of hotels. . . .? So I guess my current room would be covered in any case. But 220.16(A), 220.52, 220.53, and other sections only talk about ?dwelling units.? So it might be an interesting question, as to whether these other sections would apply to my current room.