Subpanel in closet

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That would depend first if this is a clothes closet. Article 240.24(2)(D) 2008 edition say shall not be located in the vicinity of easily ignitable material, such as clothes closet. Next would be to make sure that proper working clearance have been provided.
 
102 Inspector said:
That would depend first if this is a clothes closet. Article 240.24(2)(D) 2008 edition say shall not be located in the vicinity of easily ignitable material, such as clothes closet. Next would be to make sure that proper working clearance have been provided.
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That sounds about right to me.
 
102 Inspector said:
That would depend first if this is a clothes closet. Article 240.24(2)(D) 2008 edition say shall not be located in the vicinity of easily ignitable material, such as clothes closet. Next would be to make sure that proper working clearance have been provided.
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Agreed. What inspectors have told me is "if it has a rod, for hanging clothes, mounted in it then it is a clothes closet and it would be a no no".
 
It's not a "clothes closet," it's an "electrical closet." :happyyes: I put them in buildings all the time. :happyyes: OK, I will admit that I don't usually include a horizontal wooden rod in the design. :happyno:
 
charlie b said:
It's not a "clothes closet," it's an "electrical closet." :happyyes: I put them in buildings all the time. :happyyes: OK, I will admit that I don't usually include a horizontal wooden rod in the design. :happyno:
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Just so long as it is not a water closet... :D
 
It is interesting to hear some of the cmp members talk on this. In their opinion if the panel were behind the swing of a door and not near the clothing then it would not be an issue. Think of a wall perpendicular to the the door entry where the doorswings onto the perpendicular wall. In that case it should be fine but I don't know many ahj's who will buy that.
 
Are their approved drawings for this site? If you have stamped drawings what do they call out? If the stamped drawings define this as a clothes closet, then it does not matter if there is a rod present or not. Either way before I called this out as a violation I would want something to hang my hat on.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
It is interesting to hear some of the cmp members talk on this. In their opinion if the panel were behind the swing of a door and not near the clothing then it would not be an issue. Think of a wall perpendicular to the the door entry where the doorswings onto the perpendicular wall. In that case it should be fine but I don't know many ahj's who will buy that.
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What's thier reasoning for thinking this would be ok?
 
Funny, the panels in my garage and basement are within the vicinity of many easily ignitable materials but no one ever questions those. :roll:
 
david said:
Are their approved drawings for this site? If you have stamped drawings what do they call out? If the stamped drawings define this as a clothes closet, then it does not matter if there is a rod present or not. Either way before I called this out as a violation I would want something to hang my hat on.
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I was just doing an inspection. I do believe that the drawings are just architectural layouts. No electrical layouts.
 
jap said:
What's thier reasoning for thinking this would be ok?
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Simply because it is not next to clothing or combustibles. Let's face it how often have you seen a panel arc thru the cover.

I am thinking that clothing can be extremely flammable and if you remove the cover and work on a hot panel then it is possible to have an arc and the clothing could ignite. If the panel is behind a door it would appear safe.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Simply because it is not next to clothing or combustibles. Let's face it how often have you seen a panel arc thru the cover.

I am thinking that clothing can be extremely flammable and if you remove the cover and work on a hot panel then it is possible to have an arc and the clothing could ignite. If the panel is behind a door it would appear safe.
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Is there even any evidence that panel in a clothes closet has been a hazard? Are there hundreds of documented cases of where the closets went up inflames? Like Dennis said if the panel is covered I don't see the clothes as potentially bursting into flames.
 
Not that ignorance is something that the code can address, but I often find during re-meter inspectins the covers missing and the tenant or owner having to search long and hard before finding them, sometimes they can?t produce them
 
erickench said:
I inspected a single family dwelling today and I looked into a closet and saw subpanel inside the closet. Is this a violation?
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To answer your "is this a violation question", I don't know which code cycle prohibited panels in clothes closets (if this is a clothes closet).

You may want to find that out and find out when the panel was installed.


If it was a pre-existing condition then it's not a violation.
 
david said:
Not that ignorance is something that the code can address, but I often find during re-meter inspectins the covers missing and the tenant or owner having to search long and hard before finding them, sometimes they can?t produce them
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I have worked on many panels that were behind the clothes and the cover was missing.
 
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