Meeting Room Receptacle Requirements – NEC 2020 Section 210.65

[victor.cherkashi]

In other editions of the NEC, the meeting room receptacle requirement may have appeared under a different section number.

We have a large conference room with full-height glass walls from floor to slab, leaving no location for wall receptacles beneath the glass. The distance between columns is 23 ft, leaving no location for wall receptacles anywhere between the columns. The architect is strongly opposed to using any floor boxes.

What options are available to satisfy both code requirements and the architect’s design wishes?

 

[victor.cherkashi]

The code states:
“210.65(B)(1) Receptacle Outlets in Fixed Walls. The required number of receptacle outlets shall be determined in accordance with 210.52(A)(1) through (A)(4). These receptacle outlets shall be permitted to be located as determined by the installer, designer, or building owner.”

Am I understanding this correctly—that 210.52(A)(1) through (A)(4) only determine the quantity of required receptacles on the wall in the meeting room, and that I am allowed to group those receptacles together?
In other words, does the spacing rule (e.g., the 12-ft maximum between receptacles) not apply here, allowing the distance between receptacle locations to be much greater than 12 ft?

 

[hbiss]

The architect is strongly opposed to using any floor boxes.

Informational Note No. 1: For the purposes of this section,
meeting rooms are typically designed or intended for the gathering
of seated occupants for such purposes as conferences,
deliberations, or similar purposes, where portable electronic
equipment such as computers, projectors, or similar equipment
is likely to be used.

So, tell me how receptacles located on columns 23 feet apart along the perimeter of the space satisfy that intent?

Also, have you read 210.65(B)(2) about REQUIRED floor boxes out in the floor area?

-Hal