New NEC 2020 Code question

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Shahzad

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Electrical Engineer
Hi Guys,

I am trying to confirm is below link the correct one to buy latest NEC 2020?

Buy NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC) Softbound

The NEC, NFPA 70, National Electrical Code covers the latest electrical wiring and installation requirements. Get up to date on AFCI, GFCI, low voltage power, and more. Order today.
catalog.nfpa.org

does anyone know the major difference between previous NEC 2017 and latest NEC 2020?

Thank you in advance for your reply.
 
So I just noticed something. The link to buy the code books lists 4 versions of the code as being available. Softbound, Looseleaf, Spiralbound, and Hardbound. Only two of the versions note that no pdf is available for that version. I wonder if you can still get the PDF version with one of the other two.

Note is also says something about access through a PDF.

1633113247873.png
 
petersonra said:
So I just noticed something. The link to buy the code books lists 4 versions of the code as being available. Softbound, Looseleaf, Spiralbound, and Hardbound. Only two of the versions note that no pdf is available for that version. I wonder if you can still get the PDF version with one of the other two.
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I wish but I highly doubt it. I hate this organization.
 
There is not a pdf version for the 2020 code and it is very unlikely that there will be one on the future.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
There is not a pdf version for the 2020 code and it is very unlikely that there will be one on the future.
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I agree, like it or not that's the reality unless someone can come up with a legal reason why they must offer a PDF version and sue them.
 
petersonra said:
Being as it has effectively become law in this country, it should be public domain.
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It is, you can view it (useless) for free or you can subscribe and then you need an Internet connection to use it (again useless). The best thing about a PDF is that there are hundreds of free PDF readers available so you can use whatever UI that you prefer. From what I've heard the online version has a pretty poor UI another reason not to pay the yearly subscription fee unless you absolutely have to. The online version does allows you to copy/paste which may allow you to copy your own version for personal use.
 
infinity said:
It is, you can view it (useless) for free or you can subscribe and then you need an Internet connection to use it (again useless). The best thing about a PDF is that there are hundreds of free PDF readers available so you can use whatever UI that you prefer. From what I've heard the online version has a pretty poor UI another reason not to pay the yearly subscription fee unless you absolutely have to. The online version does allows you to copy/paste which may allow you to copy your own version for personal use.
Click to expand...
just because you can view it for free does not make it public domain.
 
Shahzad said:
Hi Guys,

I am trying to confirm is below link the correct one to buy latest NEC 2020?

Buy NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC) Softbound

The NEC, NFPA 70, National Electrical Code covers the latest electrical wiring and installation requirements. Get up to date on AFCI, GFCI, low voltage power, and more. Order today.
catalog.nfpa.org

does anyone know the major difference between previous NEC 2017 and latest NEC 2020?

Thank you in advance for your reply.
Click to expand...
There are many significant differences such that if you were installing a new service, you would fail. EC magazine ran a series of articles on changes to the 2020 nec
 
petersonra said:
So I just noticed something. The link to buy the code books lists 4 versions of the code as being available. Softbound, Looseleaf, Spiralbound, and Hardbound. Only two of the versions note that no pdf is available for that version. I wonder if you can still get the PDF version with one of the other two.

Note is also says something about access through a PDF.

View attachment 2557961
Click to expand...
I guess then the only option would be to buy a hardcopy if I want to get a full version. I had to send it to our document controller to purchase it and he came asking there are 4 ones, which one do u want me to buy. LOL. I wonder why they have 4 different options. Why can't they keep it simple. Just a thought.
 
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Your best bet is to probably get the loose leaf. That way you can scan it and have a PDF copy. Also you can make more copies if needed. The pages on the 2020 NEC tear really easy and the binding falls off.
 
For the computer savvy, it's not hard to fetch all 908 page images from the free nfpa.org viewer, and then assemble them into an image only (non searchable) PDF. Making that searchable would require doing OCR on the images. Elsewhere there are various online discussions of the technical aspects.

Cheers, Wayne
 
A non searchable pdf would be pretty useless but I guess that it would be better than nothing.
 
I just sent a copy to a scanning service and had them create a searchable PDF for me. As long as that copy is only for my use is it a "fair use" under the copyright rules.
 
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