Electrical panel clearance distance questions & answers.

This electrical wiring article series discusses safe an

d code-required working space and clearance distances around electrical panels.

Electric Panel & Equipment Working Space / Clearance Distance Q&Al Clearance Distances

OK to mount tankless water heater on back of 100A sub panel stand outdoors?

Can a gas tank less hot water heater be mounted out door in spa shed on back side of 100 amp sub panel ankerpost that sub panel is mounted to. - On 2023-11-27 by Mike

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher - NO

@Mike,

You can mount a number of gas fueled tankless water heaters outdoors, usually with some weather protection, but you need to keep any gas fueled device like a heater safely distant from a potential source of sparks such as an electric meter and panel.

Take a look at example distances at

WATER HEATER SAFETY - where we include examples of gas water heater clearance distances to various site features

GAS METER CODES & CLEARANCE DISTANCES

Best authority: check the installation instructions for the specific tankless gas water heater brand and model that you are planning to install.

or if you don't have a specific one, some examples and links to tankless water heater installation manuals are at

TANKLESS WATER HEATERS - links to tankless water heater IO manuals are on this page

WATER HEATER AGE & MANUALS - home - our guide to all brands of water heaters, manuals, contact information, age decoding, repairs.

Typically the gas fueled tankless water heater installation manual will give specific clearances and will also say

Install the appliance in accordance with the minimum installation clearances indicated in [figures in the manual] AND according to AS/NZS5601.

An example is 500 mm from an electric meter or fuse box and 1000 mm from a gas meter - source: Bosch Optiflow Gas Water Heater OPERATION MANUAL, GWH16/20/26 3 CT E23/31 F6L S2405 [PDF] at https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Bosch-OptiFlow-Manual-AU.pdf

 

Can a sub panel protrude into the working space of the main panel by a maximum of 6" just like a main panel?

Can a sub panel protrude into the working space of the main panel by a maximum of 6" as well? - On 2023-08-24 by Brian

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher - Can a sub panel protrude into the working space of the main panel by a maximum of 6" as well?

@Brian,

A sub panel will have the same access and clearance distance requirements as a main electrical panel.

 

Neighbor's fence blocks safe access to outdoor electrical disconnect

My neighbor built this fence about a foot away from my electrical disconnect on their property

. Now you cannot access the shutoff nor open the box. Could someone point me to the electrical code that prohibits this? My building wouldn't pass any electrical or fire inspection now. - On 2022-05-19 by Carl Rand

Reply by Friedmandaniel911 (mod) - access to emergency electrical shut-off controls is blocked

@Carl Rand,

Watch out: What you describe is very dangerous for exactly the reason you cite: access to emergency electrical shut-off controls is blocked.

More generally, also, the fence appears to block the minimum working space that must be left in front of electrical equipment.

But in my opinion this is an immediate life-safety hazard. The fence, if its location is legal with respect to property lines, at the very least, needs to be replaced in that section with a gate that can be easily opened to give access to the electrical equipment.

The electrical code citations about working space are given above on this page along with actual code excerpts giving distances.

What I can't know from the photo and your brief text is what your local building codes permit in distances between such devices and the property lines involved.

Comment by Rick - your electrical panel is too close to the property line to provide the necessary access and working space

@Carl Rand, Seems like your electrical panel is too close to the property line to provide the necessary access and working space. That distance should have been checked before installing the panel there. Unless you have an access easement with the neighboring property, this seems like your problem to remediate, not the neighbor's (technically). On 2022-11-25

Reply by InspectApedia (Editor)

@Rick,

Thanks for helping with that comment. You've hit the nail on the head in my view too.

DF

 

OK to mount stove vent near electrical panel / disconnect?

I have an electrical breaker panel in the laundry room flush into the wall. that wall is the opposite side to the kitchen wall.

Is there any reason I cannot install a surface mounted stove hood vent that vents up into the ceiling on the wall near the location of the panel on the opposite side of that wall? - On 2022-05-04 by Mike Drousche

Reply by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - need to know what's in wall cavity before mounting a stove hood vent

@Mike Drousche,

I'd like to be more helpful than I can (which is next to nothing - regrets - ) but the fact is I just don't have all the relevant information. I respect that you're asking an important and sensible question but it's not one that I can answer for sure.

An electrician wouldn't normally move an electrical panel spuriously. More likely there would be an issue with- code compliance - such as inadequate working space or location too close to plumbing fixtures. I see your location is in a laundry room. Perhaps that was the issue.

In your question posted at our website I also warn that wiring and hood vent exhaust - if it's vented to the building exterior - might be fighting over the same space. We don't know what's run in that wall cavity already. I think that's what you need to check. You might find that there is wiring already in your way.

 

Code requirements for working space around electrical panel when installing workshop shower

We are needing to put shower station in the shop area, but where they are wanting to put it there is a large piece of equipment & 480 vlt disconnect box within six'.

Needing the code requirements or the distance for placement on this shower. - On 2021-11-19 by lisa

Reply by Inspectapedia Com Moderator - preserve the required working space around the electrical panel for shower install in workshop

@lisa,

Watch out: You need to consider both preserving the required working space around the electrical panel (given above on this page)

and

safe clearance distances for people using the shower, such as

2017 NEC 406.9(C) Bathtub and Shower Space.

Receptacles shall not be installed within or directly over a bathtub or shower stall.

2017 410.10(D) Bathtub and Shower Areas. No parts of cord-connected luminaires, chain-, cable, or cord-suspended luminaires, lighting track, pendants, or ceiling-suspended (paddle) fans shall be located within a zone measured 900 mm (3 ft) horizontally and 2.5 m (8 ft) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.\

This zone is all encompassing and includes the space directly over the tub or shower stall.

Luminaires located within the actual outside dimension of the bathtub or shower to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower threshold shall be marked for damp locations, or marked for wet locations where subject to shower spray.

or the

2020 NEC 406.9(C) Bathtub and Shower Space.

Receptacles shall not be installed within a zone measured 900 mm (3 ft) horizontally and 2.5 m (8 ft) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.

The identified zone is all-encompassing and shall include the space directly over the tub or shower stall.

Exception: In bathrooms with less than the required zone the receptacle(s) shall be permitted to be installed opposite the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold on the farthest wall within the room.

and

2020 NEC 410.10(D) Bathtub and Shower Areas.

A luminaire installed in a bathtub or shower area shall meet all of the following requirements:

N (1) No parts of cord-connected luminaires, chain-, cable-, or cord-suspended luminaires, lighting track, pendants, or ceiling-suspended (paddle) fans shall be located within a zone measured 900 mm (3 ft) horizontally and 2.5 m (8 ft) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.

This zone is all-encompassing and includes the space directly over the tub or shower stall.

N (2) Luminaires located within the actual outside dimension of the bathtub or shower to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower threshold shall be marked suitable for damp locations or marked suitable for wet locations.

Luminaires located where subject to shower spray shall be marked suitable for wet locations.

AND

in my OPINION you may want, or your local electrical inspector may require, a safe walking path past the electrical equipment considering that passers-by may be wet.

 

Question: Indoor vs. Outdoor Electrical Panel Clearances at an RV Resort

We are in an RV resort. 1200 lots. Due to the small size of our lots (30 ft by 65 ft) it is very common for a fence, a hedge, or an RV slide to be within a foot of the outdoor electrical pedestal.

The pedestal has 30 amp and 50 amp breakers and outlets for plugging in the RV power cords.

Is there a clearance distance specified in the electrical code for outdoor panels like these. Or is the code language limited to indoor residential panels?

City code inspectors approve permits when lot owners upgrade there lots by adding new electrical circuits for outdoor kitchens, lighting etc, and have never objected to our RV or fences being within inches of the panels.

By the way, we also have galvanized water lines and spigot located within inches of the panels. 2021-11-15 Charles leahy

Reply by (mod)

@charles leahy,

Thanks, that's an interesting electrical panel clearance distance question.

Your local electrical inspector is the proper and final legal authority whom you should ask.

But in my OPINION, because the RV or trailer is not permanently installed, and can be moved if work on the panel is needed, it's simply a temporary, movable obstruction. I wouldn't consider it a hazard provided there is ready access to the electrical panel so that its switches can be accessed and turned off in an emergency.

In an opposite opinion, I'd be quite concerned if a trailer or RV blocks safe access to any electrical panel power switch.

 

OK to hang a picture in front of an electrical panel?

Can I hang a picture in front of an electrical panel in a commercial office space? Is there a code I can show to management to justify why it needs to move? - On 2021-10-15 by Mark

Reply by (mod)

@Mark,

OPINION

Watch out: Especially in a workplace, covering the electrical panel so that its location might not be immediately obvious, visible, and accessible is not a great idea, as in an electrical emergency we want to be sure that anyone can quickly find the panel to turn breakers off.

I should just use the code for clearance around the panel.

Show them or print out this page which, in fact, give the pertinent electrical code citations.

 

What's the minimum space between electrical panel and a clothes dryer?

I am ready to do a major renovation. There is an existing electrical panel box in the laundry room. I want to move the washer and dryer closer to the panel. How far away minimum must the space be from the panel to the washer/dryer? On 2021-08-11 by Anonymous

Reply by (mod)

You should at the very least, provide a free working space around the panel as shown in the drawing we provide at the top of this article.

 

OK to mount an electrical box 12" below the electrical panel?

Will an inspector have an issue with surface mounting a 4-11/16 box 12 inches below a flush mount panel. I’m specifically wondering if this impedes working space clearance for the panel - On 2021-07-06 by Darren kicker

Reply by (mod)

@Darren kicker,

From the *general* electrical panel clearances given in the article above we have

"Nothing within a space of 2' 6" (30") total width around the electrical panel sides, with the note that the panel does not have to be centered in the space (see our distances A ≠ B in our illustration).

In my OPINION the electrical inspector won't have issue with an electrical box itself mounted in that space: electrical boxes are quite often mounted near panels to provide splicing space for various circuits and even to provide local electrical receptacles or to mount a low voltage transformer.

I've not seen an electrical inspector object to those.

After all, if we interpreted the word "nothing" literally how would we ever connect the service entry or circuit wires to the panel?

 

Flammable liquids stored near the electrical panels?

I have a wall of electrical boxes/panels in the warehouse and although we have our standard clearance, some flammable liquids are stored not too far from them, about 4 metres.

What is the standard requirement? On 2021-06-17 by Sonia

Reply by (mod)

@Sonia,

The electrical code does not address clearance distances to panels beyond the working spaces given above on this page.

That's of course the absolute minimum distance.

There are separate OSHA regulations regarding the storage of flammable liquids or combustible materials including that they need to be kept closed when not in use so as to prevent the escape of combustible gases.

See Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1910.106.

 

OK to run a water line below an electrical panel?

Can a water line run underneath an electric panel? It is at floor level and against the wall. It would only interfere with the work space as much as a kick board would. On 2021-04-29 by plumdr

Reply by (mod)

@plumdr,

Final legal authority to answer the question of whether or not a water pipe can be considered to block access to the electrical panel is in the hands of the local electrical code compliance inspector.

OPINION: It's certainly plausible that inspector may not raise an issue about a 1 inch or half inch pipe running along the floor.

 

Required distance between two 460VAC / 10HP Motors side by side?

What's the distance between two 460VAC / 10HP Motors side by side ?

Is there a min. distance? - On 2021-04-14 by Steve

Reply by (mod)

@Steve, let's try to get an answer that avoids guesswork by naming the brand and model of motor and then we can take a look in the installation manual to see what the manufacturer requires. I think we need to take that route because you're not going to find this detail in the electrical codes.

 

OK to install a sub panel near a corner?

Can a subpanel be installed near a corner with the service panel on the adjacent wall? - On 2020-11-06 by Glenn

Reply by (mod)

Glenn

I think that's not an issue as long as you can maintain the require working clearance distances for the panels and provide the minimum working space around the sub panel, including distance from an abutting wall.

 

Minimum distance required between in-wall plumbing, and an electrical service panel?

In Florida code, is there a minimum distance required between in-wall plumbing, and an electrical service panel? Thank you. On 2015-05-18 by Martin -

Reply by (mod) - working space around an electrical panel = minimum clearance distances

I have not found such a reference. There is not a standard electrical code requirement that gives the minimum clearance distance between an electrical panel and a plumbing fixture, but you can figure a minimum distance from plumbing to panel by at least following the working space requirements.

Working space or safe clearance distances are required around all electrical equipment that is likely to require examination, servicing, adjustment, or maintenance while the equipment is energized.

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Continue reading  at ELECTRIC PANEL WORKING SPACE - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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