Visited a house under construction over the weekend and the service makeup got my attention. 320 meter socket with one 200 amp exterior disconnect, and a 200 amp main breaker loadcenter on the interior garage wall directly behind the meter. I don't see how this could be considered grouping of your disconnects, am I overlooking something?
Grouping of disconnects
- Thread starter eds
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
Without having my code book to give the reference, there is an exception for a dwelling with a separate structure. Each set of conductors out of the meter are SE conductors and are allowed to service both structures. The panel at the garage didn't need a disconnect because it was back-to-back with the meter. My guess for the house, is that the interior panel is a distance away from where the service would enter the house and thus requires a disconnect. The code says "at the structure or nearest point of entry".
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
I don't think it should be due to the exception.
230.40 Ex.3 allows a dwelling and an associated building or structure to have separate SE conductors, making each structure a separate service
230.71 says for each service, there can be up to six switches or breakers, which can be in separate enclosures for each service
230.72 says these disconnects must be grouped
So the exception allows the house and garage to each be a service. So a disconnect for the garage is not a disconnect for the house and doesn't need to be grouped.
If this was a non-dwelling, I would agree it must be grouped.
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
Sounds like one structure to me. :?
construct
Senior Member
- Location
- Branson, Missouri
Me too. As I thought the OP was implying an attached garage, since it said "house under construction".
To me, he has ONE service coming to a structure which has a 400 amp meter socket with two disconnects connected to that meter and those disconnects are not grouped... a violation !!
If one of those disconnects feeds a DETACHED building, he could feed that building directly from the meter (assuming it was allowed by his POCO) and meet Exception 3 for a separate service to a detached building but once he adds the disconnect he does not have a separate service.
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
I was speaking under the assumption that the garage was detached. But after reading it again, it is unclear but may lead more towards an attached garage. If that's the case, then I agree, the disconnects are not grouped and are required to be.
- Status