Is conduit required to feed sub-panel?

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ToBiff

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Hi, please forgive me if this has an obvious answer but so far no one can tell me definitively... and the electrical inspector is on vacation this week of course...

I need to feed a 100Amp sub-panel for a residential addition we are adding, and would like to know if I have to run the wire through conduit from the main panel (A 200Amp service with the calculated load being about 80Amps)... if not I will be running sheathed #1 along the bottom of joists in the crawlspace and then up into the new panel in the new wall.

To me this seems like this would be similar to running wire for an oven or dryer or other large appliance... except of course it can carry a few more amps...

Please advise and thanks in advance for any thoughtful replies. :-?
 
Unless you area requires conduit for wiring in dwelling units there is no NEC issue with running a cable as a feeder. It must be a 4 wire cable to the sub panel.
 
If you protect the feeders at the point of supply(main panel) with the proper sized overcurrent device(breaker), you can use any chapter 3 wiring method allowed for the type of building construction you are working in, provided you are not subject to additional local codes. This means in simpler language that yes you can use nm for your feeder given you run it right. When installing proper "tap" conductors is when raceways are required, and then the other rules for taps must be considered as well.
 
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