2008 NFPA-70 (NEC) 110.26(F) (F) Dedicated Equipment Space. All switchboards, panelboards, distribution boards, and motor control centers shall be located in dedicated spaces and protected from damage.
(1) Indoor. Indoor installations shall comply with 110.26(F)(1)(a) through (F)(1)(d). (a) Dedicated Electrical Space. The space equal to the width and depth of the equipment and extending from the floor to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft) above the equipment or to the structural ceiling, whichever is lower, shall be dedicated to the electrical installation. No piping, ducts, leak protection apparatus, or other equipment foreign to the electrical installation shall be located in this zone. Exception: Suspended ceilings with removable panels shall be permitted within the 1.8-m (6-ft) zone. (b) Foreign Systems. The AREA ABOVE THE DEDICATED SPACE required by 110.26(F)(1)(a) SHALL BE PERMITTED TO CONTAIN FOREIGN SYSTEMS, provided PROTECTION IS INSTALLED to avoid damage to the electrical equipment from condensation, LEAKS, OR BREAKS IN SUCH FOREIGN SYSTEMS. (c) Sprinkler Protection. Sprinkler PROTECTION shall be permitted for the dedicated space where the piping complies with this section. (d) Suspended Ceilings. A dropped, suspended, or similar ceiling that does not add strength to the building structure shall not be considered a structural ceiling. In other words the dedicated equipment space is a three dimensional exclusion zone above and around switchboards, panelboards, distribution boards, and motor control centers which is reserved for electrical wiring only. The space begins at the floor, the width and depth of the equipment and to a height of 6ft above the equipment or to the STRUCTURAL ceiling whichever is LOWER. So keep out unless you're the electrician. Take heed of (C), the operative term is PROTECTION not PIPING. So you can spray water in the dedicated space, just don't run the pipe in there. Hope this helps, John Drucker, CET Fire Protection Subcode Official Fire/Building/Electrical Inspector Fire Marshals Office Borough of Red Bank, NJ Not the official position of any agency, association, committee or otherwise. Obtain required applications, permits, inspections and approvals from Authority(s) Having Jurisdiction. ----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of steve Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 4:09 PM To: AFSA Subject: Re: Electrical Rooms And it's the electrical code. We get comments and RFI's all the time that assume the electrical code prohibits piping from passing through electrical rooms. What the code says is to keep piping out of the "Dedicated Space" above equipment, all the way up to the deck or to below a rated ceiling. SML Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: "Brad Casterline" <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:53:02 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Electrical Rooms Stay out of the air space from the top of all panels up bcoz that is where the conduit is and your pipe won't fly there -----Original Message----- From: Brian Harris [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 1:48 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Electrical Rooms I'm being lazy but does anybody know off the top of their head if you can run sprinkler lines over an Electrical room if it has a ceiling? Thanks! Brian Harris First Defense Fire Protection 11957 Ramah Church Road Huntersville, NC 28078 Phone: 704.948.3506 Fax: 704.948.3507 Nicet # 128476 ======= Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. (Email Guard: 7.0.0.21, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.16770) http://www.pctools.com/ ======= _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
