High Voltage Fence Heights

[iwire]

NEC 110.31 specifies that fences around high voltage equipment need to be 7' high, or 6' + 1' of barbed wire. Unlike pool fencing, it's not very specific about maximum gaps, particularly at the bottom. I'm inclined to say a 6' chain link fence with a 1' gap at the bottom would be permissible- anyone else have strong opinions?

No, I do not feel that would be permissible.

Could I use 2' wide fence fabric and mount it 5' above ground to reach the 7' requirement?

Code wise how would that be different from a 6' fence just 1' off the ground?

 

[iwire]

Paul Harvey début that to a nation wide audience back in the 80's.

:happyno: At least not the one GD is referring too. Of course this could be fake and based on Paul H but I never heard that was the case.

She sounds serious to me, or she is really good actress.

 

[jaggedben]

LOL

This thread may need to be moved to Campfire chat.

 

[pv_n00b]

I've done reviews of a number of utility scale ground mount systems that were required to have a gap under the fence to allow animals to transit the area of the array. I don't see it everywhere but on a good number of projects. The requirement comes from the environmental report and shows what happens when one part of the government says to do A and another says you can't do A. Obviously with a 1' gap at the bottom a lot of people could get under the fence without too much trouble. Most every hipster in San Francisco can probably limbo under the fence without touching it.

It all comes down to the AHJ, if they say satisfy the environmental requirements and I'll accept the deviation from the NEC requirements then that's what you do. My feeling is that leaving the 1' gap is probably just the cheapest way to do this. You could probably satisfy the requirement by putting in culverts at intervals but that would cost more. But it's not really my area so who knows.

 

[ActionDave]

She sounds serious to me, or she is really good actress.

She sounds like someone who is playing her own joke on the radio hosts and the radio hosts are playing along. The Deer Crossing sign thing has been around a looooonnggg time.

 

[kwired]

She sounds like someone who is playing her own joke on the radio hosts and the radio hosts are playing along. The Deer Crossing sign thing has been around a looooonnggg time.

There was a follow up link where she was on the air again with same radio people, and was somewhat embarrassed that she never figured that out the first time around.

My guess is she is blonde

 

[ggunn]

I've done reviews of a number of utility scale ground mount systems that were required to have a gap under the fence to allow animals to transit the area of the array. I don't see it everywhere but on a good number of projects. The requirement comes from the environmental report and shows what happens when one part of the government says to do A and another says you can't do A. Obviously with a 1' gap at the bottom a lot of people could get under the fence without too much trouble. Most every hipster in San Francisco can probably limbo under the fence without touching it.

In a somewhat related story...

In a company I used to work for we had a customer who contracted us to design and build a 3MW PV array in California. Construction was delayed for several months because of a drainage ditch that ran along the edge of the property that was a wintertime habitat for the Giant Garter Snake. During the time when the snakes were there we could not roll heavy equipment or build anything within 200' of the ditch.