Jennifer K.
Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
Hello - I am working on a project where we will be powering a fire pump from a customer owned 13.8KV-480/277V transformer. There is a customer owned medium voltage switchgear upstream of the transformer (which is fed from the utility). After looking through NEC Article 695 it appears as though the fire pump requires a dedicated transformer and that there should not be a disconnect included in the fire pump controller but would appreciate feedback here to confirm. NEC 695.5 indicates where the service or system voltage is different from the utilization voltage of the fire pump, only transformers covered in 695.5(C) shall be permitted to supply loads not directly associated with the fire pump. 695.5(C) is related to multibuilding campus-style complexes which is not the case for this project. NEC 695.5(B) indicates that the primary overcurrent protection devices shall be selected to carry the LRA of the fire pump motor and no secondary overcurrent protection is permitted. When I look at the handbook excerpt beneath this code section there is an example single line of the fire pump feed with a note on the secondary of the transformer indicating "Secondary conductors overcurrent protection NOT permitted". There is no integral disconnect shown for the fire pump controller however there is one indicated for the jockey pump that is adjacent to the fire pump so this leads me to believe we should not be providing a disconnect with the fire pump controller. Any feedback on this would be much appreciated!
