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NEC 110.26 Working Space for Disconnect

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brycenesbitt

Senior Member
Location
United States
I'm considering asking for a variance for a new disconnect, where the conditions of NEC 110.26 are not met.
I'm writing to see if any words of wisdom come from this group.
The situation is multifamily, three meters existing, a fourth meter to be added.
There's no main disconnect: the three meters connect in a gutter.
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We'd like to add a main disconnect ahead of the gutter, but the location is non-compliant for NEC 110.26. It's a condition 1 situation. 240.24(A) height is fine. The issue is a wooden fence 30 inches from the wall, and a wooden step below the area. 110.26.(A)(1)(c) applies to the 'existing building' but does not help. The choices seem to be to shrink the deck/steps that are in the way, or abandon the disconnect plan.
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Nobody has any problem working in this space, it's just a technical violation.
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The 110.26 text reads "working space for equipment likely to require examination adjustment servicing or maintenance while energized". A disconnect is very infrequently examined or adjusted, but would seem to count, no?
 
Sparky2791

Sparky2791

Senior Member
Location
Allentown, PA
brycenesbitt said:
Nobody has any problem working in this space, it's just a technical violation.
Click to expand...
No one has a problem until someone gets hurt an the lawyers get involved.
brycenesbitt said:
The 110.26 text reads "working space for equipment likely to require examination adjustment servicing or maintenance while energized". A disconnect is very infrequently examined or adjusted, but would seem to count, no?
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IMO , yes this counts as equipment. Really only choice is to achieve the proper clearance. Not likely any inspector will allow a variance for that, proper clearances is Electrical Inspector Licenses 101.
Why are you adding the main disconnect? Rule of six applies here.
 
B

brycenesbitt

Senior Member
Location
United States
Sparky2791 said:
Really only choice is to achieve the proper clearance. Not likely any inspector will allow a variance for that, proper clearances is Electrical Inspector Licenses 101.
Why are you adding the main disconnect? Rule of six applies here.
Click to expand...
Because electrical meters are on two faces of the building already, having a single disconnect is more clear and robust.
Having a single disconnect allows load monitoring of the combined total draw, so the new smart loads can be shed if needed.
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If there's an incident, likely the two inches of missing clearance will become an issue. Not because that's what caused the injury, but because that's how our courts work. The missing clearance is of course the present existing condition, so at least not being made less compliant.
 
E

Elect117

Senior Member
Location
California
Occupation
Engineer E.E. P.E.
1) Remove the step / gate.
2) Put the D/C on the other side of things. Attach sticker, call it service disconnect (if with fuses) and then double back to the gutter.

I don't see how smart loads or load shedding will help when you are line side of services. You are not going to load shed whole apartments lol. Or maybe you will.
 
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brycenesbitt

Senior Member
Location
United States
Elect117 said:
I don't see how smart loads or load shedding will help when you are line side of services.
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Without it's 100A 100A 100A (existing) 100A (new) on a 400A drop.
With the disconnect the new service can be 400A. Then the EV charger loads
get load manged down to 0A. The difference is 24kw vs. 96kw available overnight, when the apartment loads drop to near zero.
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So if in fact the AHJ is a stickler about the 2 inches of clearance and the step, then it's a carpentry problem.
 
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