COMMON RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC CODE ISSUES:  

 Unused openings. Unused openings in boxes, cabinets, equipment cases or housings shall be effectively closed to afford protection equivalent to the wall of the equipment.

 Mounting. Electric equipment shall be firmly secured to the surface on which it is mounted.

 Identification of disconnecting means. Each required disconnecting means for motors and appliances, and each service, feeder and branch circuit at the point where it originates, shall be legibly marked to indicate its purpose, except where located and arranged so that the purpose is evident.  The marking shall have the durability to withstand the environment involved. ( NO Pencil.)

 Disconnecting means:
            
Each appliance shall be provided with a means to disconnect all ungrounded supply conductors.

ALUMINUM CONDUCTORS : Use of Inhibitors;  Materials such as inhibitors and compounds shall be suitable for the application and shall be of a type that will not adversely affect the conductors, installation or equipment

    
SERVICE DISCONNECT . The service disconnecting means shall be installed at a readily accessible location either outside of a building or inside nearest the point of entrance of the

service conductors.  Service disconnecting means shall not be installed in bathrooms.

A grounding electrode conductor:

Shall be used to connect the equipment grounding conductors, the service equipment enclosures, and the grounded service conductor to the grounding electrode(s).

   STORAGE & EQUIPMENT SPACES:
In attics, under-floor spaces, utility rooms and basements, at least one lighting outlet shall be installed where these spaces are used for storage or contain equipment requiring servicing.  Such lighting outlet shall be controlled by a wall switch or shall have an integral switch.  At least one point of control shall be at the usual point of entry to these spaces.  The lighting outlet shall be provided at or near the equipment requiring servicing.

   CABINETS & PANELBOARDS:

         
 Unused openings. Unused openings in cabinets and panelboards shall be effectively closed to afford protection equivalent to that of the wall of the cabinet.  Metal plugs or plates used with nonmetallic cabinets shall be recessed at least 0.25 inch (6.4 mm) from the outer surface.

PROTECTION FROM PHYSICAL DAMAGE: Where subject tophysical damage, cables shall be protected by conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC rigid nonmetallic conduit, pipe,guard strips or other approved means.  Where passing through a floor the cable shall be enclosed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate  metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC rigid nonmetallic conduit or other metal pipe extending not less than 6 inches (152 mm) above the floor

FIXTURES IN CLOTHES CLOSETS:

               

1. Surface-mounted incandescent fixtures shall be installed on the wall above the door or on the ceiling, provided there is a minimum clearance of 12 inches (305 mm) between the fixture and the nearest point of a storage space.

 2. Surface-mounted fluorescent fixtures shall be installed on the wall above the door or on the ceiling, provided there is a minimum clearance of 6 inches (152 mm) between the fixture and the nearest point of a storage space.

 

3. Recessed incandescent fixtures with a completely enclosed lamp shall be installed in the wall or the ceiling provided there is a minimum clearance of 6 inches (152 mm) between the fixture and the nearest point of a storage space.

4. Recessed fluorescent fixtures shall be installed in the wall or on the ceiling provided there is a minimum clearance of 6 inches (152 mm) between the fixture and the nearest point of a storage space

                                                                  REQUIRED CIRCUITS:



Kitchen and dining area receptacles. A minimum of two 20-ampere-rated branch circuits shall be provided to serve receptacles located in the kitchen, pantry, breakfast area and dining area. The kitchen countertop receptacles shall be served by a minimum of two 20-ampere-rated branch circuits, either or both of which shall also be permitted to supply other receptacle outlets in the kitchen, pantry, breakfast area and dining area.
                     
Laundry circuit. A minimum of one 20-ampere-rated branch circuit shall be provided for receptacles located in the laundry area and shall serve only receptacle outlets located in the laundry area.

Bathroom branch circuits. A minimum of one 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided to supply the bathroom receptacle outlet(s). Such circuits shall have no other outlets

 HVAC OUTLET . A convenience receptacle outlet shall be installed for the servicing of heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment located in attics and crawl spaces.  The receptacle shall be accessible and shall be located on the same level and within 25 feet (7620 mm) of the heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.  The receptacle outlet shall not be connected to the load side of the HVAC equipment disconnecting means.

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  GROUND-FAULT and ARC-FAULT:

 Bathroom receptacles. All 125-volt, single-phase, 15-and 20-ampere receptacles installed in bathrooms shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

 Garage receptacles. All 125-volt, single-phase, 15-or 20-ampere receptacles installed in garages and grade-level portions of unfinished accessory buildings used for storage or work areas shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

 Outdoor receptacles. All 125-volt, single-phase, 15-and 20-ampere receptacles installed outdoors shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.

 Crawl space receptacles. Where a crawl space is at or below grade level, all 125-volt, single-phase, 15-and 20-ampere receptacles installed in such spaces shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel

  ARC FAULT: Bedroom receptacles to be arc-fault protected.

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 Working clearances for energized equipment and panel boards. Except as otherwise specified , the dimension of the working space in the direction of access to panelboards and live parts likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing or maintenance while energized shall be not less than 36 inches (914 mm) in depth. Distances shall be measured from the energized parts where such parts are exposed or from the enclosure front or opening where such parts are enclosed. In addition to the 36-inch dimension (914 mm), the work space shall not be less than 30 inches (762 mm) wide in front of the electrical equipment and not less than the width of such equipment. The work space shall be clear and shall extend from the floor or platform to a height of 6.5 ft.

Conductors entering cabinets . Conductors entering cabinets and panelboards shall be protected from abrasion and shall comply with the adopted code.

Openings to be closed. Openings through which conductors enter cabinets, panelboards and meter sockets shall be adequately closed.

Main Bonding Jumper . An un-spliced main bonding jumper shall be used to connect the equipment

     grounding  conductor(s) and the service-disconnect enclosure to the grounded conductor of the

     system within the enclosure for each service disconnect.

 Bathtub and shower space. A receptacle shall not be installed within a bathtub or shower space.

Circuit Breakers

1904- Cutter Manufacturing Co., located in Philadelphia, produces circuit breakers.the firm introduced a product that became an industry success. The new protective device, first promoted as the Inverse Time Element breaker, came to be known as the I-T-E breaker.

1928- Cutter name changed to I-T-E Corp. (From EC&M Magazine) [Speedy jim]

1921 NEC- Circuit breakers are mentioned in the .

1925 NEC- Circuit breakers requied to be enclosed and externally operable.
[This looks to be the first desription of iircuit breaker as we know it]rk

1932- Westinghouse begins marketing their modern molded case air circuit breaker

1951- Square D introduces plug-in circuit breakers

Conduit

18??- [Wires are pulled into abandoned gaslight piping.]rk

1899 NEC- removed a requirement that conduit be lined.

1916- Surface metal raceway was introduced by American Interior Conduit Co.(became American Wiremold Co. in 1919)...speedy jim

1923 NEC- 3/8"-1" EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing) "Thinwall" for exposed, dry use only.

1928 NEC- 3/8"-2" EMT for exposed, dry use only.

" Brass tubing was one of the earliest raceways, and even speaker tubes (yes, like on an old submarine) were converted for wiring use..."

Plastic boxes

1909- Bakelite patent

1925-1929- Bakelite boxes become widely used.

1950's- Bakelite enclosures marketed by Challenger Electric

1960's- Carlon introduced PVC boxes

Old Knob & Tube
                                                          



Some Useful Quick - Reference Sites:

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Appliance Ground Wire

Three electrical connections are made to a standard appliance like a clothes washing machine. The "hot" wire carries an effective voltage of 120 volts to the appliance and the neutral serves as the normal return path. The third wire is the electrical grund wire which is just connected to the metal case of the appliance.

 
If the hot wire shorts to the case of the appliance, the 120 volt supply will be applied to the very low resistance path through the ground wire. This will cause an extremely high current to flow and will cause the breaker or fuse to interrupt the circuit.

One problem with this arrangement is that if the ground wire is broken or disconnected, it will not be detectable from the operation of the appliance since the ground wire is not a part of the circuit for electric current flow. In that case, if the hot wire shorts to the case and the neutral wire does not, then the breaker may not trip and the entire 120 volts will be applied to the metal case of the appliance, representing a shock hazard. . The ground wire of an appliance is the main protection against shock hazard.