Code Change Summary: The dedicated equipment space requirements for certain outdoor equipment has been reworked into a list format and an exception was added.

Switchboards, switchgear, panelboards, and motor control centers have specific dedicated equipment space requirements. Dedicated equipment space is not the same as working space. Dedicated space is a specific area that is devoted to the electrical installation for the purpose of installing raceways, cables and electrical equipment associated with the overall electrical installation. The dedicated equipment space has different rules and allowances based on indoor or outdoor installations.

The new exception needs to be read carefully in order to make an attempt at applying it.

The new exception allows structural overhangs or roof extensions to be permitted “in this zone”. What zone? The “zone” that the exception speaks of is the work space zone.

Notice the exception is located just under 110.26(E)(2)(b) which is all about making sure the equipment requiring the dedicated equipment space complies with the working space rules in 110.26(A). This appears to be a mistake. The original code change proposals (public inputs 1226 and 4628) intended to address structural overhangs above the dedicated equipment space, not the equipment’s workspace. This code change is likely to see a revision in the 2020 NEC^®.

Notice that 110.26(E)(2)(c) remains unchanged. This section is about keeping foreign piping and equipment out of the dedicated equipment space. This section is not about architectural or structural overhangs. Electrician are masters at figuring out ways to get a pipe around or through an obstacle or structural overhang into an enclosure.

Below is a preview of Article 110. See the actual NEC^® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2017 NEC^® edition of NFPA 70.