408.43 Panelboard Orientation.

Panelboards are not permitted face-up.
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Panelboards are not permitted face-up.

Code Change Summary: New code section about panelboards installed face-up.

In the 2020 NEC®, a public input (code change proposal) was accepted to provide mandatory language regarding panelboards installed in a face-up position. For those electricians who have had the pleasure of wiring inside a public laundromat, this new code language will ring a bell.

For many years, the bulkheads behind commercial washing machines in a coin laundromat have been a hot spot to install panelboards in a face-up position. Many of these are listed as a commercial appliance outlet center assembly which adds more confusion.

Installing a panelboard face-up is an invitation for lint and other debris to enter the enclosure through circuit breaker spaces and also makes it difficult to ensure safe working space is provided for the service electrician.

In the 2020 NEC®, panelboards are not allowed to be installed in a face-up position.

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 2020 NEC® edition of NFPA 70.

2017 Code Language:

This code section did not exist.

2020 Code Language:

N 408.43 Panelboard Orientation. Panelboards shall not be installed in the face-up position.

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408.43 Panelboard Orientation.

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

Based on the 2020 NEC, which of the following is true?

A: Panelboards installed in a laundromat must be rated dust-tight.
B: Circuit breakers must be installed horizontally.
C: Panelboards are permitted face-up.
D: Panelboards are not permitted face-up.
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