2005 Electrical Code Changes

[HayZee518]

409 proposals - 166 rejections

A hot water heater rated at 120 gallons or less SHALL be included in the service calculations as 100% continuous load.

Fixed baseboard heating SHALL also be included in the service calculations as being 100% continuous load.
(used to be considered only as a branch circuit load)

Switch and receptacles yokes are to be grounded to a metal box by more than two screws. (yoke mounting screws)(Green equipment ground screws)

Spring type clips that used to be used for grounding is not permitted. They may fall off or lose their grounding ability over time. 10-32 green colored hex head screws are only permitted.

[Kidd6488]

quote:Switch and receptacles yokes are to be grounded to a metal box by more than two screws. (yoke mounting screws)(Green equipment ground screws)

Spring type clips that used to be used for grounding is not permitted. They may fall off or lose their grounding ability over time. 10-32 green colored hex head screws are only permitted.

What about surface-mounted metal handy-boxes fed by metal conduit that is used as the grounding conductor? Can you then use contact for grounding or do you have to make a little jumper from the inside of the box to the switch/outlet?

~Jonathon Reinhart

[HayZee518]

Use a short pigtail off the green ground screw in the box and the green grounding screw on the device. Effectively the screw with EMT digs in and actually indents the conduit for the ground. Compression connectors have a metal ring that compresses against the tubing wall. Equipment ground is the metal tubing IF it is continuous for the whole length, including fittings (LBs, LLs "C" etc.) A lot of industries pull in a continous green ground wire with the conductors sized the same as the neutral and hot wire. This wire is also bonded and spliced at each box where there is a device.

[Kidd6488]

Ok, I have some handy-boxes that on the back, there is a slight dip in the box, so that there is a hump on the inside. I believe it has a threaded hole in the center of that hump. Is that for a grounding screw? (So that it will go in and not hit the wall behind the box?)

~Jonathon Reinhart

[HayZee518]

Yeppers! It is tapped for a 10-32 ground screw.

[Kidd6488]

Ok, but say I run regular NM-B into a handybox, I can ground the box just by putting the outlet or grounded switch in, correct? Or do I need to ground the box separately also?

~Jonathon Reinhart

[Rewired]

If you are running regular romex into the box you should attach the ground to the box and the device. There should always be some sort of grounding between any device and its metal box JUST IN CASE for some reason the device is removed from the box and left hanging, or the screws and the straps holding the device in were to corrode, you would lose your grounding between the box and device..

I know its rare and unlikely that it would happen, BUT as you know , it isnt a perfect world, and if it WAS we wouldn't need "safetys" such as grounding, overcurrent / overload devices etc... now would we?

[Kidd6488]

Wow, then I have some boxes to change around here! Does sound like a good idea, but is it code? I haven't looked through yet to see, but does NEC say that the device's screw connection doesn't sufficiently ground the box?

~Jonathon Reinhart

[HayZee518]

Section 210-7 explains that receptacle grounding SHALL be by means of a conductor NOT the two 6-32 screws that hold the device in a box. What this means is that the green grounding screw is fastened to a pigtail jumper to a box or the equipment grounding conductor brought into a box - say off a romex with ground SHALL be made to the box and the receptacle. Sometimes the device isn't made flush with the box but extends out from the box only to be held in place by the "ears" of the device and the plate and the outlet screws, in which case the device is just floating on two screws.