More Meter Main Pedestal Questions

A

Alien Legs

Member
Location
Vermont
Occupation
Master Electrician
My plan is to install a meter main pedestal within sight and 50 feet from a home here in Vermont.

The questions I have are...

1. Do I need to have another disconnecting means located on the home if the meter main is located within 50 feet and within sight of the home?

2. Do I need to separate the neutral and ground wiring at the meter main pedestal?

3. I know I will need ground rods at the meter main pedestal. The home will have an insulated foundation and slab so does a ufer ground make sense because I know ground rods are only to be used as supplemental? There will be a well so there will be no metal water line ground possible at the home.

I have been asking around to inspectors and other electricians and get different answers.
There are no permits or inspections required here but I would like to install systems properly to code.

Thanks
 
225.41 would apply and would permit the required emergency disconnect to be " installed in a readily accessible outdoor location on or within sight of the dwelling unit. "
With in sight must comply with 110.29.
 
Alien Legs said:
1. Do I need to have another disconnecting means located on the home if the meter main is located within 50 feet and within sight of the home?
Click to expand...
Yes, you need to satisfy both 2023 NEC 225.31 and 225.41. A disconnect on the outside of the home "nearest the point of entrance of the conductors" would satisfy both requirements. An inside disconnect would only satisfy 225.31. But if the meter main satisfies 225.41 as Don covered, that would be fine.

Alien Legs said:
2. Do I need to separate the neutral and ground wiring at the meter main pedestal?
Click to expand...
As long as the meter main is your service disconnect, no.

Alien Legs said:
3. I know I will need ground rods at the meter main pedestal. The home will have an insulated foundation and slab so does a ufer ground make sense because I know ground rods are only to be used as supplemental?
Click to expand...
If the foundation design creates a CEE (Ufer), you must use it, and creating any additional electrodes would be optional. If it doesn't create a CEE (e.g. all the concrete is separated from direct contact with earth), and you have no other electrodes, then you will need to create an electrode, e.g. 2 ground rods.

Cheers, Wayne
 
wwhitney said:
Yes, you need to satisfy both 2023 NEC 225.31 and 225.41. A disconnect on the outside of the home "nearest the point of entrance of the conductors" would satisfy both requirements. An inside disconnect would only satisfy 225.31. But if the meter main satisfies 225.41 as Don covered, that would be fine.
Click to expand...
Yes, they did not get everything correct when they added 225.41 and you do need to comply with both 225.31 and 225.41 in the 2023 code. That would require both a 225.31 and 225.41 disconnect. I missed that in my first comment.
They corrected that in the 2026 code by permitting the disconnect required by 225.31 to be on, in, or within sight in accordance with 110.29
 
Alien Legs said:
My plan is to install a meter main pedestal within sight and 50 feet from a home here in Vermont.

The questions I have are...

1. Do I need to have another disconnecting means located on the home if the meter main is located within 50 feet and within sight of the home?

2. Do I need to separate the neutral and ground wiring at the meter main pedestal?

3. I know I will need ground rods at the meter main pedestal. The home will have an insulated foundation and slab so does a ufer ground make sense because I know ground rods are only to be used as supplemental? There will be a well so there will be no metal water line ground possible at the home.

I have been asking around to inspectors and other electricians and get different answers.
There are no permits or inspections required here but I would like to install systems properly to code.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I think questions on disconnect requirements have been well covered in other replies.

2. that meter main is your service disconnect. everything that leaves there needs separate neutral and grounding conductor but both bond to service grounded conductor at the meter main.

3. If your foundation is electrically isolated or would happen to contain coated rebar it does not qualify as an electrode. If it does qualify as an electrode you are required to use it as an electrode. If you have no qualifying electrodes your best thing is two rods at the house. The house must have a grounding electrode system as it is a separate structure and is supplied by either service or feeder conductors. Since is supplied by feeder conductors you tie the GES to the equipment ground at the main disconnect instead of to the grounded conductor.
 
I only worked in VT a little bit but dropped my masters up their when I retired. They used to have only 3-4 inspectors for the entire state but did have inspections and permits back when I worked their.

Although back then I don't think you needed a license to wire a house.

Used to have to go to Montpelier for the permits.
 
Eddie702 said:
I only worked in VT a little bit but dropped my masters up their when I retired. They used to have only 3-4 inspectors for the entire state but did have inspections and permits back when I worked their.

Although back then I don't think you needed a license to wire a house.

Used to have to go to Montpelier for the permits.
Click to expand...
We are not required to pull electrical permits for single family homes in Vt. Only in big towns like Burlington that have their own inspectors are you required to pull permits for single family homes. All of the permitting can be done online now. You still do not need a license to wire a house but it does have to be permitted and inspected in those big towns and multifamily/commercial building. You need a masters license to pull permits.
 
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