Minimum height for exterior service disconnect

[lastminutepanic]

I'm installing a new meter pan and exterior main panel at a client's house in preparation for an upcoming solar install. The new meter pan is required by the solar company because of the poor (rusty) state of the existing conduit and pan. I'm putting in an exterior main panel to provide an exterior service disconnect, and because it's convenient for future electrical work I'll be doing for him. Since I'm doing this work for my client instead of the solar company, I'm in contact with their people to make sure my install meets their needs.

I tell my contact that I plan to place the exterior panel so that the bottom is 20" from the ground, which will put the main breaker lever about 34" from ground level. He tells me that the main breaker lever has to be 3.5ft minimum to ground. I know about the 6ft7in maximum, but not a minimum (other than common sense for rain/snow). I call him back and ask him for the article number to make sure I understand the reg, and he says it's in 380.8a and it says 4.5ft, then a few sentences later he says 4ft (it was 3.5ft in the last conversation). I'm thinking, is he talking about 380.8A from the 1999 NEC that's now 404.8A? That still doesn't have a minimum height.

Does anyone know what he's talking about? Is there a minimum breaker lever height for exterior panels or service disconnects? I can work around even a 4.5ft minimum, but it's a design/parts change from what I had planned, which is to use an internal knockout to feed conduit directly into an inside-the-house panel. Not a big deal to put the panel higher, come down out the bottom, and LB into the house, but if it's unnecessary I have no reason to. I'd prefer the cleanliness of basically back to back panels and a short piece of conduit through the wall between them.

Thanks!

 

[rc/retired]

Barring any local amendments, the NEC doesn't have a minimum unless it's a mobile home.

Ron

 

[LarryFine]

Here, the closest thing is meter height at 6' +/- 6", placing your panel either beside or below it.

 

[lastminutepanic]

Barring any local amendments, the NEC doesn't have a minimum unless it's a mobile home.

Ron

Nah, just the stationary type. And that's what I thought, but I know I don't know everything. I figured it was at least possible that something ended up in the latest NEC I didn't catch up with yet.

 

[lastminutepanic]

Here, the closest thing is meter height at 6' +/- 6", placing your panel either beside or below it.

We max out at 6' to the top of the glass, but there's a lot of latitude in how much lower than that it can be.

What do you think about my original plan? Would you call 20" to panel bottom a safe number? My thinking is that rain is no issue and a snow storm over 20" would be very unusual for this area. If 20's not enough, what would you do? 20 is getting close to the limit of where I can still go back to back with an inverted inside panel (split level house, low foundation in basement).