# Help on 2011 NEC 230.2



## bkelly (Jun 17, 2016)

I have been an electrician for 40 years and a Building Official for 10 years,  and 230.2 still confuses me. I have a project, multi-family apartment with10 buildings. Each building has 11 apartments. There are no firewalls in these buildings. At the end of each building is a pad mount xfmr, there are 2 service laterals to the building in the same location. On the building each of the 2 laterals terminate in a tap box. The 2 tap boxes are side by side. 1 tap box feeds a 6 meter pack with 6 individual 100 a breakers. The other tap box is the same set up, with 5 meter packs. I count 11 movements to disconnect power to the building. The engineer cites 230.40 Ex. 1 as allowing this. Am I missing something?

Buck


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## cda (Jun 17, 2016)

Welcome!!

It is Friday give them a business day or two to answer


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## cda (Jun 17, 2016)

Are you

In the North Texas state
Or

South Texas state ??


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## north star (Jun 17, 2016)

*# ~ #*


Buck,

Welcome to The Building Codes Forum !   

Ask your engineer to [ please ] define occupancy from the applicable
building code.........Me thinks that your engineer is misconstruing occupancies
for "occupants".

In all seriousness Buck, ...please take the time to courteously educate your
engineer on Bldg. Occupancies types........Show `em that a Building Official
has some valuable knowledge.


*# ~ #*


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## chris kennedy (Jun 17, 2016)

This is interesting indeed. Before I start with def's from NEC, IBC, and MW the key to your question is in this statement.



bkelly said:


> There are no firewalls in these buildings.



How are there no fire walls/partitions between dwelling units???


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## cda (Jun 17, 2016)

chris kennedy said:


> This is interesting indeed. Before I start with def's from NEC, IBC, and MW the key to your question is in this statement.
> 
> 
> 
> How are there no fire walls/partitions between dwelling units???




Ceiling is the top of the rated envelope???


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## cda (Jun 19, 2016)

Buellar


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## Francis Vineyard (Jun 20, 2016)

Based on the 2011 NEC (new underlined);
*
230.40 Number of Service-Entrance Conductor Sets.*
Each service drop, set of overhead service conductors, set
of underground service conductors, or service lateral shall
supply only one set of service-entrance conductors.

_Exception No. 1: A building with more than one occupancy
shall be permitted to have one set of serviceentrance
conductors for each service, as defined in 230.2,
run to each occupancy or group of occupancies. If the
number of service disconnect locations for any given classification
of service does not exceed six, the requirements of
230.2(E) shall apply at each location. If the number of
service disconnect locations exceeds six for any given supply
classification, all service disconnect locations for all
supply characteristics, together with any branch circuit or
feeder supply sources, if applicable, shall be clearly described
using suitable graphics or text, or both, on one or
more plaques located in an approved, readily accessible
location(s) on the building or structure served and as near
as practicable to the point(s) of attachment or entry(ies) for
each service drop or service lateral, and for each set of
overhead or underground service conductors.

*
230.71 Maximum Number of Disconnects.


(A) General. *The service disconnecting means for each service
permitted by 230.2, or for each set of service-entrance
conductors permitted by 230.40, Exception No. 1, 3, 4, or 5,
shall consist of not more than six switches or sets of circuit
breakers, or a combination of not more than six switches and
sets of circuit breakers, mounted in a single enclosure, in a
group of separate enclosures, or in or on a switchboard. There
shall be not more than six sets of disconnects per service
grouped in any one location.
For the purpose of this section, disconnecting means
installed as part of listed equipment and used solely for the
following shall not be considered a service disconnecting
means:

(1) Power monitoring equipment
(2) Surge-protective device(s)
(3) Control circuit of the ground-fault protection system
(4) Power-operable service disconnecting means


*230.2 (E) Identification. *Where a building or structure is supplied
by more than one service, or any combination of
branch circuits, feeders, and services, a permanent plaque
or directory shall be installed at each service disconnect
location denoting all other services, feeders, and branch
circuits supplying that building or structure and the area
served by each. See 225.37.


_


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## cda (Jun 21, 2016)

bkelly said:


> I have been an electrician for 40 years and a Building Official for 10 years,  and 230.2 still confuses me. I have a project, multi-family apartment with10 buildings. Each building has 11 apartments. There are no firewalls in these buildings. At the end of each building is a pad mount xfmr, there are 2 service laterals to the building in the same location. On the building each of the 2 laterals terminate in a tap box. The 2 tap boxes are side by side. 1 tap box feeds a 6 meter pack with 6 individual 100 a breakers. The other tap box is the same set up, with 5 meter packs. I count 11 movements to disconnect power to the building. The engineer cites 230.40 Ex. 1 as allowing this. Am I missing something?
> 
> Buck





So do the replies help??


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## Filthy McNasty (Feb 1, 2017)

I believe what you are describing is more than one service for the building.  So you have two.  That would be "12 moves of the hand" and be code compliant.  It is 6 moves of the hand per allowed service.  

When there is more than one service on a building (if the AHJ allows more than one, for a given situation), then the requirements of 230.2(E) kick in.  EACH service must have a sign and note the location of the other service.  This is where most electrical contractors get confused (and inspectors as well).  The signage has to be worded properly to conform to 230.2(E).  I've seen jobs passed where someone took a marker and wrote on one service "1 of 2" and on the second "2 of 2" and that was it.  This would NOT comply with 230.2(E).  Read over 230.2(E),

Hope this helps.


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## Julian Sanchez (May 7, 2020)

Good evening, 

In my case I have an apartment building where city utilities company in Jonesboro AR removed a couple of the meters. 

City inspector says that I have to add now a disconnect means to those for the utility company to reinstall meters, question is where in the code does it specify what type of disconnect needs to be? these are for 1 bedroom apartments with 100A panels


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## Rick18071 (May 8, 2020)

Maybe this is an utility requirement?


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