National Electrical Installation Standards

Standards as High as Your Own

 
?
Monday, January 9, 2017

Question:

Good Morning Charlie,

I’m working in a building that has an Emergency Distribution Panel. A 4” Conduit on the load side contains 2 feeders, one for the elevator & one for an air conditioner. A question has come up as to whether the elevator feeder needs to be installed in a dedicated conduit, totally independent of any other feeder.

Jim Metzler

A

Answer:

Hey Jim thanks for your question. Different systems for elevators including power circuits are generally allowed in the same raceway as stated in 620.36. The NEC does not require that elevators be supplied from emergency systems but allows that as stated in 620.91. The Informational Note to the definition of Emergency Stems in 700.2 indicates that elevators may be supplied from emergency systems.

That can be required by other codes such as NFPA 101 - the Life Safety Code, building codes or other rules under certain conditions. If the elevator feeder is supplied from an emergency system it must be kept separate from non-emergency wiring as stated in 700.10(B). What seems strange in your example is that air conditioners are not usually considered emergency loads.

ABOUT CQD: The Code Question of the Day (CQD) is NECA and ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR Magazine’s flagship National Electrical Code (NEC®) public forum for the industry, sponsored by EATON. The daily distribution of Q&A generates a lively dialogue and shares relative Code-based practical responses.

SUBMIT YOUR CODE QUESTION: Click here to submit a question to for inclusion in an upcoming edition of the Code Question of the Day, or email codequestion@necanet.org

CHARLIE TROUT: Charles M. Trout, better known as Charlie, was a nationally known NEC® expert and author. He served on several NEC® technical committees and is past chairman of CMP-12. In 2006 Charlie was awarded the prestigious Coggeshall Award for outstanding contributions to the electrical contracting industry, codes and standards development, and technical training. Even though Charlie passed away in October of 2015, his work continues in spirit. NECA continues to maintain this question forum for its many subscribers in memory and recognition of all his significant contributions to making the NEC what it is today.

NECA STANDARDS: NECA publishes the National Electrical Installation Standards™ (NEIS™), a series of ANSI-approved performance and quality standards for electrical construction. NEIS can be purchased in the NECA Store in three formats: a printed or  PDF download of a standard or, as an  annual subscription service.

NECA SAFETY PRODUCTS & PUBLICATIONS: NECA produces electrical safety publications and products for the industry including jobsite safety guides, handbooks and resource kits. View a full listing of available resources and products »

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Unless the question requests a response based on a specific edition, all answers are based on the latest edition of NFPA 70® National Electrical Code®.

This correspondence is not a formal interpretation of the NEC® and any responses expressed to the questions are opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of NECA, NFPA, the NEC Correlating Committee any Code-making panel or other electrical technical committee. In addition, this correspondence is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or services. 

UPDATE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION PREFERENCES: Subscribe or Unsubscribe from this list.