Residential service upgrade

T

Tsull048

Member
Location
Boonton, NJ, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Got my license last year and finally got my first service upgrade job. It's been so long since I've done one since I most do commercial.

I was looking through the code book just to make sure I'm up to speed but I just wanted to ask here to make sure.

From what I can tell I'll need a service disconnect outside. Obviously bond it to the grounding electrodes and the bonding bridge which I'll also have to install.
There is a photo voltaic disconnect tapped directly off the service before the breaker. It feeds a 20 amp fused disconnect with #6's.

I don't see anything about what size wire I need to tap with since it's before the ocpd.

Also it looks like a whole panel surge protector will be required too. I'm mainly looking at the things that might catch me off guard and just want to make sure I get it done right. So what am I missing if anything?
Thanks

Tim Sullivan
 
K

Ken_S

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Occupation
Electrician
The PV supply side taps are a minimum of #6 per 705.11(B)

Make sure your taps are service rated.

If you're using SER with a head, the head must be vertical.

You're going to need to update the grounding electrode system per the NJ UCC.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Tsull048 said:
From what I can tell I'll need a service disconnect outside. Obviously bond it to the grounding electrodes and the bonding bridge which I'll also have to install.
Click to expand...
You can have the service disconnect on the inside as long as you have an emergency disconnect on the outside. Then the electrodes can go to the inside panel with the service disconnect if that's easier.
 
T

Tsull048

Member
Location
Boonton, NJ, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
infinity said:
You can have the service disconnect on the inside as long as you have an emergency disconnect on the outside. Then the electrodes can go to the inside panel with the service disconnect if that's easier.
Click to expand...
This is actually how I'm going to have to do it. How would I go about bonding in the emergency disconnect? Do I just need to bond the enclosure to the grounded conductor in the emergency disconnect?
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Tsull048 said:
This is actually how I'm going to have to do it. How would I go about bonding in the emergency disconnect? Do I just need to bond the enclosure to the grounded conductor in the emergency disconnect?
Click to expand...
Yes. Something like this and don't forget the proper labels on the EM disconnect and the service disconnect on the inside.
Emergency Disconnect.jpg Em Disconnect.jpg
 
G

garbo

Senior Member
Side note: extra neat wire job& sealing bottom conduit but appears both conduits are PVC and do not see a ground wire. Did notice two copper jumpers from neutral bar that the two grounded conductors are connected to.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
garbo said:
Side note: extra neat wire job& sealing bottom conduit but appears both conduits are PVC and do not see a ground wire. Did notice two copper jumpers from neutral bar that the two grounded conductors are connected to.
Click to expand...
That's correct. This is an emergency disconnect not the service disconnect. The service disconnect is in the panel in the basement so the EGC does not begin until that point on the system. Between the EM disconnect and the service disconnect only 3 conductors are required.
 
S

suemarkp

Senior Member
Location
Kent, WA
Occupation
Retired Engineer
Because if it is the service disconnect, your GECs most likely need to originate from there and you need 4 wires to the inside panel.
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
infinity said:
I think that's it. You look at the breaker in my photo and you think where is the EGC?
Click to expand...
I don't. Ahead of the service disconnect, there is no separate EGC.

The enclosure is bonded to the neutral just like the meter base is.
 
G

Greg1707

Senior Member
Location
Alexandria, VA
Occupation
Business owner Electrical contractor
infinity said:
Without the label how would you know that it isn't the service disconnect and that they forgot the EGC? :giggle:
Click to expand...
If the intent is to inform an inspector, why not have the label inside the enclosure? Please note the label is RED . To me when I see RED that means BE CAREFUL.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Greg1707 said:
If the intent is to inform an inspector, why not have the label inside the enclosure?
Click to expand...
The NEC requires the label and although it says "marked as follows" most would assume that means on the outside. Like Larry said a trained eye should know what they're looking at but we need to dumb it down for everyone else.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
a lot of labeling required by NEC is labeling that only makes sense to electricians, and sadly doesn't make sense to all of them either.

Occupants don't understand the meaning of a lot of these labels, worse yet is some of the misunderstanding of what they may mean.

I could even extend this beyond labeling and say marking a white conductor with black tape to indicate it is ungrounded is also right up there with the amount of meaninglessness in many instances. IMO if a white conductor is landed on a circuit breaker and you don't know whether it is grounded or ungrounded.... maybe you shouldn't be messing with it. Black tape doesn't do anything magic here.
 
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