AimSoFar
New User
- Location
- Aurora, CO, USA
- Occupation
- Engineer
Hey all I got myself involved in a project that looks to fall under Article 547 (Agricultural Buildings) and I'm trying to understand the electrical service requirements.
The project involves the construction of a new bison holding area, which will include new guard rail for bison holding pens and a squeeze chute concrete structure used to isolate the animals individually for testing. The bison holding area is being built on an existing farm land that has since been donated to the Parks department to be used for free range bison and horses only.
The client wants a new electrical service to be provided to the bison holding area, which will require power for the squeeze chute and some general use receptacles. The utility company can provide power from a pole line ~250 ft away: 120/240V, single phase 3 wire. Normally this would be straight forward, but Article 547 of the NEC has some very specific requirements on how agricultural areas are to be electrically fed.
The entire bison area will be surrounded by fencing, and the client wants the electric service meter to be installed on the outside of the fence line. At this location, the neutral will be grounded, and power will be provided to a subpanel inside the bison holding area (again ~250 ft away) via buried conductors in conduit, which will power all of the equipment there.
My questions relate to my interpretation to Article 547, and are the following:
1. Does the power to the bison holding area 250ft away need to be an overhead line or can it be underground? It seems from Article 547's wording, any feeds to other sites on the property need to be overhead, but I am not sure; I also don't understand why an overhead feed is mandatory.
2. Does service from the utility pole to the electrical service point, which is outside the fence line, need to be overhead with this site-isolating device even if it is only feeding one location? Is a conventional electrical service install allowed (i.e., meter/disconnect)?
The whole concept of a distribution point is confusing to me. Any help you all can provide on Article 547's requirements is greatly appreciated, I find this article particularly hard to understand. Thanks
The project involves the construction of a new bison holding area, which will include new guard rail for bison holding pens and a squeeze chute concrete structure used to isolate the animals individually for testing. The bison holding area is being built on an existing farm land that has since been donated to the Parks department to be used for free range bison and horses only.
The client wants a new electrical service to be provided to the bison holding area, which will require power for the squeeze chute and some general use receptacles. The utility company can provide power from a pole line ~250 ft away: 120/240V, single phase 3 wire. Normally this would be straight forward, but Article 547 of the NEC has some very specific requirements on how agricultural areas are to be electrically fed.
The entire bison area will be surrounded by fencing, and the client wants the electric service meter to be installed on the outside of the fence line. At this location, the neutral will be grounded, and power will be provided to a subpanel inside the bison holding area (again ~250 ft away) via buried conductors in conduit, which will power all of the equipment there.
My questions relate to my interpretation to Article 547, and are the following:
1. Does the power to the bison holding area 250ft away need to be an overhead line or can it be underground? It seems from Article 547's wording, any feeds to other sites on the property need to be overhead, but I am not sure; I also don't understand why an overhead feed is mandatory.
2. Does service from the utility pole to the electrical service point, which is outside the fence line, need to be overhead with this site-isolating device even if it is only feeding one location? Is a conventional electrical service install allowed (i.e., meter/disconnect)?
The whole concept of a distribution point is confusing to me. Any help you all can provide on Article 547's requirements is greatly appreciated, I find this article particularly hard to understand. Thanks