National Electrical Installation Standards

Standards as High as Your Own

 
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Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Question:

Hello Charlie, and thank you for providing this service to the industry, I look forward to reading the responses every morning. We are getting some electrical equipment in from Singapore to be used in California. Does the equipment need to be rewired to code to be used here in the States? Thanks, John Roberts
A

Answer:

Hello John, great question. From a strictly electrical code standpoint, any electrical equipment imported from another country and installed in a jurisdiction where the NEC® is adopted, would need to be approved in accordance with Section 110.2. The local AHJ may use any the methods in Section 110.3 for examining the equipment for approval. Depending on the type of electrical equipment the NEC® may require it to be listed. If the equipment is not listed by an OSHA recognized NRTL, a field evaluation may be required for approval by the AHJ. If the equipment’s integral wiring is not installed/wired in accordance with the applicable standards used by the Field Evaluation Body (FEB), modifications to the equipment wiring may need to be made.

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.

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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.

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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. 

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