110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment.

Electrical equipment doors, in the open position, shall not impede the entry to or egress from the working space.
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Electrical equipment doors, in the open position, shall not impede the entry to or egress from the working space.

Code Change Summary: Code language was revised regarding entry to and egress from the working space of electrical equipment.

In the 2023 NEC®, a public input was accepted to relocate a concept to the parent text in 110.26 that previously only applied to “large equipment” in 110.26(C)(2).

The requirement that open equipment doors must not impede the entry to or egress from the working space, was previously found in 110.26(C)(2) under the heading of “Large Equipment”. Equipment in this section is considered “large equipment” if it contains overcurrent devices, switching devices, or control devices and is either of the following:

  1. Rated 1200 amperes or more and over 6 feet wide
  2. Service disconnecting means installed in accordance with 230.71 where the combined ampere rating is 1200 amperes or more and over 6 feet wide

Whether or not electrical equipment is considered “large equipment”, open equipment doors should not impede the entry to or egress from any required working space.

Relocating the requirement to the parent text of Section 110.26 is more appropriate and will now apply to all equipment working space instead of just “large equipment” working space.

A similar change also occurred in 110.33(A), which applies to installations over 1000 volts.

Below is a preview of the NEC®. See the actual NEC® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2023 NEC® edition of NFPA 70.

2020 Code Language:

110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment. Access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electrical equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such equipment.

2023 Code Language:

110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment. Working space, and access to and egress from working space, shall be provided and maintained about all electrical equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such equipment. Open equipment doors shall not impede access to and egress from the working space. Access or egress is impeded if one or more simultaneously opened equipment doors restrict working space access to be less than 24 inches wide and 6 ½ feet high.

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110.26 Spaces About Electrical Equipment.

Below is a Real Question from our Electrical Continuing Education Courses for Electrical License Renewal:

Which of the following is true of working space?

A: Open equipment doors shall not impede access to and egress from the working space.
B: Access or egress is impeded if one or more opened equipment doors restrict working space access to be less than 36 inches wide and 7 feet high.
C: Closed equipment doors shall impede access to and egress from the working space.
D: Working space is not addressed in the NEC.
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