While completing my continuing education yesterday from Jade Learning I ran across this verbiage which led into a question on the new NEC 2020. Number 11 which covers wet and damp locations in the home. If you do not think the new code affects you make sure you never have an insurance claim due to your tank. Remember the NEC was established for insurance companies in the very beginning. If you have a new home with a built in tank or one in the basement, you will never get an inspection without GFCI protection. When I changed insurance companies last time they sent out an inspector to make sure everything was good.
Section 210.8(A) now includes eleven locations within a dwelling unit to which the electrician must give consideration when determining GFCI protection requirements. That eleventh location is Indoor Damp and Wet Locations and must be considered in addition to damp and wet locations previously covered by Section 210.8
With over 100 million homes in the U.S., there are often situations where GFCI protection should be administered and required, but the situation doesn’t meet any specific requirement as outlined in Section 210.8(A) of the NEC. One inspector submitted a comment to the Code Making Panel (CMP) stating he inspected a home with a dedicated dog washing area. Since the area wasn’t a sink or bathroom, nor was it located in an unfinished portion of the basement, the NEC didn’t give the inspector authority to require the needed GFCI protection for the receptacle in that area. This new requirement for protection in Indoor Damp and Wet Locations now gives the AHJ some latitude when making such a determination.
GFCI Requirements for Receptacles Rated to 250 Volts
Section 210.8(A) also requires in this new 2020 Code cycle that receptacles rated 125- to 250-volts be GFCI protected when located in areas outlined in 210.8 requiring such protection. This is new for the 2020 Code cycle as only 125 Volt receptacles required this protection in 2017 and earlier Code cycles. This new requirement applies to dwelling unit receptacles up to 250 Volts, when supplied by a single-phase branch circuit rated 150 volts or less to ground. This requirement may affect ranges and clothes dryers when they are located in some of the areas specified in 210.8(A). Many electric clothes dryer receptacles are installed in a laundry area, basement, or within six feet of a sink and will need this protection. 240 Volt clothes dryers in a garage and any 240 Volt electric ranges located in any of these same specified areas will fall under this new GFCI requirement.
GFCI Requirements for Basements
The next significant change is to the intent of Section 210.8(A)(5). This subsection was specific to unfinished basement portions not intended as habitable rooms. However, this has been replaced with a new directive requiring that all basement areas, whether finished or unfinished, be GFCI protected. The NEC Code Making Panel (CMP) indicated that a finished space within a basement does not negate the overall safety risk associated with branch circuits installed below grade level of the earth’s soil. AHJs should also keep in mind that in addition to these new GFCI requirements for receptacles in all areas of the basement, Article 210.12(A) still requires that the branch circuits in habitable areas of basements be AFCI protected.
GFCI Protection
It seems with every new Code cycle that the list of conditions and locations mandating GFCI protection is growing. This ever-expanding need for GFCI protection is due to real-world occurrences as well as studies documenting where potential hazards exist.
Section 210.8(A) now includes eleven locations within a dwelling unit to which the electrician must give consideration when determining GFCI protection requirements. That eleventh location is Indoor Damp and Wet Locations and must be considered in addition to damp and wet locations previously covered by Section 210.8
With over 100 million homes in the U.S., there are often situations where GFCI protection should be administered and required, but the situation doesn’t meet any specific requirement as outlined in Section 210.8(A) of the NEC. One inspector submitted a comment to the Code Making Panel (CMP) stating he inspected a home with a dedicated dog washing area. Since the area wasn’t a sink or bathroom, nor was it located in an unfinished portion of the basement, the NEC didn’t give the inspector authority to require the needed GFCI protection for the receptacle in that area. This new requirement for protection in Indoor Damp and Wet Locations now gives the AHJ some latitude when making such a determination.
GFCI Requirements for Receptacles Rated to 250 Volts
Section 210.8(A) also requires in this new 2020 Code cycle that receptacles rated 125- to 250-volts be GFCI protected when located in areas outlined in 210.8 requiring such protection. This is new for the 2020 Code cycle as only 125 Volt receptacles required this protection in 2017 and earlier Code cycles. This new requirement applies to dwelling unit receptacles up to 250 Volts, when supplied by a single-phase branch circuit rated 150 volts or less to ground. This requirement may affect ranges and clothes dryers when they are located in some of the areas specified in 210.8(A). Many electric clothes dryer receptacles are installed in a laundry area, basement, or within six feet of a sink and will need this protection. 240 Volt clothes dryers in a garage and any 240 Volt electric ranges located in any of these same specified areas will fall under this new GFCI requirement.
GFCI Requirements for Basements
The next significant change is to the intent of Section 210.8(A)(5). This subsection was specific to unfinished basement portions not intended as habitable rooms. However, this has been replaced with a new directive requiring that all basement areas, whether finished or unfinished, be GFCI protected. The NEC Code Making Panel (CMP) indicated that a finished space within a basement does not negate the overall safety risk associated with branch circuits installed below grade level of the earth’s soil. AHJs should also keep in mind that in addition to these new GFCI requirements for receptacles in all areas of the basement, Article 210.12(A) still requires that the branch circuits in habitable areas of basements be AFCI protected.
GFCI Protection
It seems with every new Code cycle that the list of conditions and locations mandating GFCI protection is growing. This ever-expanding need for GFCI protection is due to real-world occurrences as well as studies documenting where potential hazards exist.