Electrical Room and Fire Sprinkler Piping through it
- Thread starter cfarley
- Start date
- Status
radiopet
Senior Member
- Location
- Spotsylvania, VA
Look at the requirements of Dedicated Equipment Space and Dedicated Work Space located at 110.26 of the NEC . And no I do not know of anything that would dis-allow the sprinker system in the same room...just not in the dedicated equipment space above the actual panel location.
- Location
- Lockport, IL
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
The rule you want is NEC article 110.26. Basically, there are two areas of concern. One is the space above any electrical panel. There can be no pipes or ducts directly over the panel, in the space from the top of the panel to 6 feet above the top of the panel. A pipe can be higher than that only if there is a drip shield between it and the panel. This is addressed in 110.26(F).
The second area is the "working space" in front of the panel. That is covered in 110.26(A). The area from the front face of the panel, extending the entire width (and including at least 30 inches of width, if the panel is not that wide itself), and extending away from the panel a distance of at least 36 inches (sometimes even deeper), must be clear of all interferences. A pipe can be above the working space, but the bottom of the pipe must be at least 78 inches above the floor.
A separate rule applies to "transformer vaults." No pipes or ducts can be anywhere in such a room, unless they are directly associated with the electrical equipment. You don't often encounter such rooms, and the fact that a transformer is located inside an electrical room is not enough for that room to be called a "vault." So that is not likely to be an issue for you.
The second area is the "working space" in front of the panel. That is covered in 110.26(A). The area from the front face of the panel, extending the entire width (and including at least 30 inches of width, if the panel is not that wide itself), and extending away from the panel a distance of at least 36 inches (sometimes even deeper), must be clear of all interferences. A pipe can be above the working space, but the bottom of the pipe must be at least 78 inches above the floor.
A separate rule applies to "transformer vaults." No pipes or ducts can be anywhere in such a room, unless they are directly associated with the electrical equipment. You don't often encounter such rooms, and the fact that a transformer is located inside an electrical room is not enough for that room to be called a "vault." So that is not likely to be an issue for you.
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
110.26(F)(1)(c)
- Status