Strange breaker boxes I see on TV
edwardh1
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
While watching my fav TV shows about home reemodeling (you know – for example the bath wall tile installation done in 4 hours by people who have never tiles before)
they sometimes turn off the electrical circuit- in my area -South east coast US that means go find the breaker box which is always inside the house.
On these TV shows they frequently go outside in the open sometimes on the side of the house where there is what looks like a big disconnect breaker with the individual circuit breakers right next to it on the side (and not below the big breaker)
Is this an OZ thing or midwest or what.
why a breaker box outside?
Thanks
Replies
You are required to have an outside disconnect here in Pensacola. My 1948 house had the main box outside and 2 sub-panel inside when I moved here.
I bet you "used to need" an outside disconnect. Florida is on the unified building code now (since 2002 or so) and there are not supposed to be any local rules. Of course local AHJs still have different interpretations of the same code.
The only place I saw them wanting an outside disconnect was in a piling house and they wanted it at grade but there is no NEC language to support that and all of Florida is supposed to be on the NEC (2008 now)
>>>You are required to have an outside disconnect here in Pensacola. So on Halloween do all the kids run around the neighborhood turning off people's power? What fun!Scott.
Yanking out the meter can be a disconnect! <g>
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Thats what I do when I'm not sure of the circuit. No power, no hurt.
But the fire dept. don't like to do that.
Some may *want* to go "crazy cowboy" and chop the SE cable with an axe! But they will get the power co there to disconnect at the pole or underground feed.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
The FD will pop a meter now and then but I have never seen them take an axe to the cable
>>>Some may *want* to go "crazy cowboy" and chop the SE cable with an axe!Yikes. I can't imagine that being a solution for anything.
Outside, weatherproof panels are very common here in south Florida, more so on older homes though. Most of them are newer panels on older homes so my take is that the homes' original 60 amp fuse boxes have been upgraded. One of my older homes had an outside panel and all of my rental units have them.
Many of the HGTV and DIY network shows take place in California, I have noticed too that many of the breaker boxes on these shows are outside as well as the 'closet' for the water heater.
I guess that since the weather is more mild out there that this is acceptable. Probably in Florida too.
In my area, WV you dont see any breaker boxes or water heater enclosures outside. What you sometimes see re. electrical is SE cable (or on the homes where someone cared, a mast) to the meter base then into an outside disconnect, then thru the wall and into the home. More often it is SE cable into the meter then right thru the wall into a panel mounted back to back with the meter base.
Webby
Webby is dead on. Outside panels are the norm on the left coast.I never saw an outside panel when I used to watch "This Old House".
Yeah, and where I live you wont see many oil fired boilers, like in the northeast. ;)
Webby
Edited 10/27/2009 7:31 pm ET by webby
I know this is off topic but,,,my brother that is in the heating oil/gas0line business said....
the soil conditions in the east would be to costly to run nat. gas lines. To rock for the dig, that's why oil is king.
Gotcha,
Webby
soil conditions in the east would be to costly to run nat. gas lines. To rock for the dig, that's why oil is king.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Gas lines can be run just about anywhere. We have it and we live on very rocky soil.
That's only what my brother said!!!!And he has been in the business a long time, but not out east!!
We have an outside disconnect (unfused). I think they're required here. Outside panels are the norm down south, from what I've seen (simply because it avoids the need for a utility area of appropriate dimensions with no storage in front of it), but outside panels would never fly up here -- simply too blasted cold in the winter to go outside.
Not the norm , at least in new construction. Mostly old houses with newer electric service. Besides, you should run out in a driving rainstorm to flip breakers, it will make snow look good. It will make your hair stand on end.
"why a breaker box outside?"
It's a civil defense thing. The fire dept and/or rescue folks can turn off the power from outside quidkly in case of the next Big One. The same thinking is supposed to apply to gas meters/shutoffs. That being, there's supposed to be a shut off wrench at or near the meter valve.
Places like the Midwest don't have such exposure to natural disasters. They only pay for the taxes that go to rebuild in such exposed places.