Hallway receptacles

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Grouch1980

Senior Member
Location
New York, NY
Hi all,
In a dwelling unit, the 2008 NEC section 210.52(H)... 'HALLWAYS'...

"hallways of 10 feet or more in length shall have at least one receptacle outlet. as used in this sub-section, the hall length shall be considered the length along the centerline of the hall without passing through a doorway."

My question is, does this apply to both sides of the hallway? say i have a 30 foot long hallway, where one side has no doors, and the opposite side has multiple doors that lead into rooms. So the 30 foot side with no doors gets one receptacle, and the other side with the doors, only the segments that are 10 feet or more in length each gets a receptacles? is this right?

Thanks!
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
No, if the hallway is 30 then only one receptacle is required per the 2008 nec. It can be anywhere you like but you may want to add more than one.
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
I agree with Dennis in the 2008 NEC for hallways less than 10' no receptacle required, more than 10' one required. And it doesn't matter if one side of your hallway has doors and the other doesn't because you're measuring down the centerline of the hall. From your quote:
"hallways of 10 feet or more in length shall have at least one receptacle outlet. as used in this sub-section, the hall length shall be considered the length along the centerline of the hall without passing through a doorway."
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
My question is, does this apply to both sides of the hallway? say i have a 30 foot long hallway, where one side has no doors, and the opposite side has multiple doors that lead into rooms. So the 30 foot side with no doors gets one receptacle, and the other side with the doors, only the segments that are 10 feet or more in length each gets a receptacles? is this right?
No.. This is not about spacing or doors in the hallway. If you have a hallway that is 10' or longer, it needs a receptacle.

If the hallway is divided into two hallways, the separating door means each hallway section is considered as a separate hallway.
 

charlie b

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Location
Lockport, IL
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Retired Electrical Engineer
Just to be clear, when the rule talks about doors, it means that if you start at one end of the hallway and walk (down the centerline) to the other side, if you have to pause long enough to open a door before you continue walking, then you essentially have two hallways, in the context of this rule. So you would need a receptacle in both hallways.
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Just to be clear, when the rule talks about doors, it means that if you start at one end of the hallway and walk (down the centerline) to the other side, if you have to pause long enough to open a door before you continue walking, then you essentially have two hallways, in the context of this rule. So you would need a receptacle in both hallways.
What if each segment is less than 10'?
 

powerpete69

Senior Member
Location
Northeast, Ohio
Occupation
Professional Electrical Engineer
In factories in the main floor area....or even in drywalled hallways we used to put receptacles every 50 feet. This was basically under the assumption that the vacuum cleaner cord or extension cord was 25 feet long. Never had a drawing rejected because of this design logic.
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
What if each segment is less than 10'?
Unless required for other reasons, it's probably cheaper to put in the receptacle(s) than frame a door in the middle of a hallway to keep that from happening.
 

Grouch1980

Senior Member
Location
New York, NY
As a follow-up question, does a vestibule (entry to an apartment) count as a hallway? or do we follow the 12' max rule between receptacles for vestibules (depending how large it is of course)?
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
As a follow-up question, does a vestibule (entry to an apartment) count as a hallway? or do we follow the 12' max rule between receptacles for vestibules (depending how large it is of course)?
I'd say yes and no.

As a common area, maintenance would need access to a receptacle to vacuum without having to enter an apartment.
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
If it's either a hallway or a foyer then there is a receptacle requirement based on the size of each one.
 

Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
If it's either a hallway or a foyer then there is a receptacle requirement based on the size of each one.
Yeah, that’s always a little confusing..
i have a foyer in my house and no receptacles in it. There’s not a wall space that meets any requirements, only columns.
 
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