Breaker Panel Cover door required?
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Is door covering the breakers required on a breaker panel?
Can some one cite where it is required in the code?
There is an older house I am responsible for maintaining, that has a breaker panel installed, that has no provision to cover the breakers.
I’d really rather not have to install a new panel if it isn’t absolutely required.
Thanks, Jigs
Replies
You mean just the breaker switches, right? Not the entire breaker and wiring exposed?
Lot of the older places do not have the doors on here. Just panel cover
But I don't know squat about elec code
It would take a code lawyer to be sure.
Code requires the equipment be suitable for the application, and that you be protected from touching anything 'live.' If you can touch anything 'live' with a pencil, there's something missing.
Even today panels are made that do not have a door covering the breaker handles. These are for indoor use only; many such panels have been installed outside, and that is wrong.
Most panels have both a door and an inner piece of metal that covers the wires and connections, leaving the breaker handle accessible. You need to have both of these covers in place- if that's the way the panel was designed.
Likewise, you are required to be able to open the door (at least 90 degrees), and must have the required 'working space' in front of the panel.
If you're replacing the panel, you also get to move it out of the clothes closet or bathroom where it now sits. Such locations are no longer allowed..
If the panel is of a brand that is no longer made- FPE, Zinsco, XO,and Pushmatic are some that come to mind- replacing the panel is a real good idea.
The short answer is no. If the panel was listed without a door and it is installed in the environment that it was listed for you don't need a door. Taking the door off of a panel that had one for some reason is probably going to be ruled a 110.3(B) violation.
408.38 Enclosure. Panelboards shall be mounted in cabinets, cutout boxes, or enclosures designed for the purpose and shall be dead-front.
Dead front means that the operator isn't exposed to live parts when using the panel (as described by others in previous posts).
If such a cabinet etc. were built to protect the panel, the doors of the cabinet would serve the purpose of protecting the panel, and a door would not be required. Whether that cabinet would have to be listed would be a matter of interpretation, and the local inspector would put his spin on it.
Again, as previously mentioned, the existing panel would have to be installed per the instructions, in order not to violate 110.3B.
In any case, best practice would be to install a listed cabinet etc.
Thanks
I've decided that I will see whether or not I can buy replacement breakers for the panel that is there. Depending on availibiltiy and cost, I may replace the panel.
A lot depends on Congress. The building is Forest Service housing, and with the budget as low as it has been and pojected to get lower, I may not have enough money to fix the real issues, (lead paint, failing roofs, and antiquated plumbing), on the buildings. Things that aren't absolutely necessary are going to have to wait another decade or so.