NEC 110.26 1200A working clearance and unobstructed egress (NJ)

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brodburg

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I have an interpretation issue and would appreciate forum insight.
The issue is that the architect and the electrical consultant are considering the language of "equipment rated 1200A" to be the sum total of the room's equipment and not 1200A per individual unit. So which is it?

Here are the details:
New construction. The job was permitted under NEC 2005. Part of the job is a mezzanine room for PV equipment. There is (1) man door to a hallway access corridor. There is also a roll-up door, but that doesn't impact this interpretation. We are installing (2) inverters in the room, each being rated 600VDC input, 480VAC 601A output and greater than 6' length. In addition, the room will also have (2) fused 800A AC disconnects and (15-20) fused 100A DC disconnects.

Does the sum total of the room equipment trigger the working space requirement or any other requirements?

(Before posting, I did read through search 18 pages of 378 posts)
 
I admire your tenacity. The answer is that you must be dealing with a single component that is rated 1200 amps or higher. The proof is simple. Look closely at the wording. Not one single item on your list of equipment is “rated 1200 amperes or more.” The 800 amp fused disconnect is not rated for 1200 amps, nor is the 100 amp disconnect, nor the 601A inverter. If you have ten panels in a room and each is rated for 225 amps, you can serve over 2000 amps worth of load, but you still don’t have anything that is rated for 1200 amps. The key comes from the meaning of the word "rated." That is a number that is assigned by the manufacturer of the equipment, and it has to do with the materials used to make the equipment and the means used to fasten components together.

Welcome to the forum.
 
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In case you wanted to hear from someone from NJ, I agree with Charlie it is not the sum but the individual piece of equipment that would bring in that requirement.
 
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