Robbie R
Member
- Location
- North Georgia
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineering Manager
Hey folks,
I've been struggling with what I believe is a "gap" between Codes in regards NEC 708 and Fire/Police Stations and Public Safety Buildings located within a Seismic Category IV zone.
Lets start with the definition of a Category IV Structures which states:
"American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standard ASCE 7-22, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE/SEI, 2021), define “essential facilities” as “buildings and other structures that are intended to remain operational in the event of extreme environmental loading from flood, wind, tornado, snow, or earthquakes.” Essential facilities are also designated as Risk Category IV structures."
Move on to NEC Article 708 which states:
"The provisions of this article apply to the installation, operation, monitoring, control, and maintenance of the portions of the premises wiring system intended to supply, distribute, and control electricity to designated critical operations areas (DCOA) in the event of disruption to elements of the normal system.
Critical operations power systems are those systems so classed by municipal, state, federal, or other codes by any governmental agency having jurisdiction or by facility engineering documentation establishing the necessity for such a system. These systems include but are not limited to power systems, HVAC, fire alarm, security, communications, and signaling for designated critical operations areas."
Question: Does a Risk Category IV Building ALSO need to comply with NEC Article 708?? The Codes are not clear nor definitive. Has anyone ever run into this?
In my opinion, NEC 708 is a silly code and way overkill in the vast majority of designs. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the requirements of this specific Code seem to be a complete waste of money. The vast majority of these buildings already have emergency backup and have seismic bracing.
I've been struggling with what I believe is a "gap" between Codes in regards NEC 708 and Fire/Police Stations and Public Safety Buildings located within a Seismic Category IV zone.
Lets start with the definition of a Category IV Structures which states:
"American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) standard ASCE 7-22, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE/SEI, 2021), define “essential facilities” as “buildings and other structures that are intended to remain operational in the event of extreme environmental loading from flood, wind, tornado, snow, or earthquakes.” Essential facilities are also designated as Risk Category IV structures."
Move on to NEC Article 708 which states:
"The provisions of this article apply to the installation, operation, monitoring, control, and maintenance of the portions of the premises wiring system intended to supply, distribute, and control electricity to designated critical operations areas (DCOA) in the event of disruption to elements of the normal system.
Critical operations power systems are those systems so classed by municipal, state, federal, or other codes by any governmental agency having jurisdiction or by facility engineering documentation establishing the necessity for such a system. These systems include but are not limited to power systems, HVAC, fire alarm, security, communications, and signaling for designated critical operations areas."
Question: Does a Risk Category IV Building ALSO need to comply with NEC Article 708?? The Codes are not clear nor definitive. Has anyone ever run into this?
In my opinion, NEC 708 is a silly code and way overkill in the vast majority of designs. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the requirements of this specific Code seem to be a complete waste of money. The vast majority of these buildings already have emergency backup and have seismic bracing.