Does Distribution Panel require a main Breaker? - detached commercial greenhouse

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Strombea

Strombea

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Location
Prescott, Arizona, USA
I have a SES @ 2,000 amps 277/480v with breakers and fuses for all feeders, but it is feeding into an electrical room on a different structure. 3 distribution Panels each have 8 handles feeding greenhouses also in a different detached building. My question is, Is the engineer correct to not show main breakers in the electrical room panels as they are protected upstream from the standalone (detached) SES. Also more than 6 distribution breakers in the panel. Would it help to reduce to less than 6? No gear has been ordered yet but I dont want AHJ wanting me to install 800 amp mains after the fact.

FYI I don't know when detached or attached comes into play for distribution stuff. obviously a detached residential garage with 6 circuits would just get a sub with main breaker.
 
What code are you under... before 2020 you cannot have more than one feeder going to a building. Also you still need a max of six handles to disconnect a building but it sounds like you have a lot more than that
 
Dennis Alwon said:
What code are you under... before 2020 you cannot have more than one feeder going to a building. Also you still need a max of six handles to disconnect a building but it sounds like you have a lot more than that
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I'd have to check the wording, but I think it says something like "up to 6 disconnects for each supply permitted". So if multiple supplies were allowed, there could be more than 6 total.
 
Yes it is only one service from the poco put my problem is it is a standalone, so you're feeding basically 2000 A into a detached building without any sort of disconnects besides the distribution breakers themselves
 
Strombea said:
Yes it is only one service from the poco put my problem is it is a standalone, so you're feeding basically 2000 A into a detached building without any sort of disconnects besides the distribution breakers themselves
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As already mentioned art 225 part II covers this. particularly 225.33 Disconnecting means requirements at the separate structure are very similar to what they are for a service.

Yes you have a disconnect in the first building but you also need no more than six disconnects at the separate building.
 
A36C00B7-1744-4C1A-9026-798BAAEBFF64.jpegThis seams more related and I guess it's really kind of grey area. The green house is under single management and there is low occupancy so I'm leaning towards leaving the SES be the disconnect 60 feet away from the building.

to clarify I'm just trying to decide if code requires main breakers on my 24 sub panels that are inside the greenhouse supplied by a distribution panel that's in a different building.
 
Strombea said:
View attachment 2559204This seams more related and I guess it's really kind of grey area. The green house is under single management and there is low occupancy so I'm leaning towards leaving the SES be the disconnect 60 feet away from the building.

to clarify I'm just trying to decide if code requires main breakers on my 24 sub panels that are inside the greenhouse supplied by a distribution panel that's in a different building.
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most any place where NEC has exceptions for where there is qualified individuals typically will be enforced by many AHJ's as meaning something like an industrial plant or similar where full time qualified persons are employed that maintain said equipment. Full time qualified persons will generally mean full time "electricians" and not necessarily "jack of all trades" type maintenance persons.
 
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