Can Electric Panel be Located in Closet

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Molo

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For an existing house with a 100amp circuit breaker panel, can we build a clothes closet that will include the existing panel?

Thanks in Advance!
Bill
 

hj

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When I built my last house, the inspector wanted 3' of clear space in front of it. Many homes in this area have panels in closets. The code may since have changed, however.
 

JWelectric

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It doesn’t matter how much room one has around a panel it cannot be installed in a closet or dwelling bathroom. All panels are required to have 30 inches in width and 36 inches in depth for a person to stand while working on the panel.
 

Speedy Petey

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It can be installed in a closet, just not a clothes closet or where easily ignitable material are stored. This is as long as clearances are met and maintained.
 

FullySprinklered

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Whose house is it?
Never mind. Just rolled back and saw that you were in New York. Just follow the rules.
 

DonL

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It can be installed in a closet, just not a clothes closet or where easily ignitable material are stored. This is as long as clearances are met and maintained.


They put the panel in the closet in apartments here.

Clothes hangers included.

It should be safe if the door is on the panel, and closed.

I would install a smoke alarm.

I guess the code varies for different locations.
 

Speedy Petey

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They put the panel in the closet in apartments here.

Clothes hangers included.

It should be safe if the door is on the panel, and closed.

I would install a smoke alarm.

I guess the code varies for different locations.
I HIGHLY question this.
I know I hear TX is pretty "wild west" when it comes to codes. All the time we hear "I am in rural Texas. We don't have any codes or inspections here." But in a city like Houston? I'd find it hard to believe you don't follow the NEC in one form or another, and a panel in a clothes closet has been a major violation for a very long time.
 

JWelectric

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In a perfect world nothing happens to a panel in a closet but we all know that this is not a perfect world.

The flow of current causes heat. More resistance more heat.

Ever see neutrals in panels that were getting dark and even black?
Wonder what was causing that to happen?

Ever touched a breaker or fuse and it felt warm?
Wonder what was causing that to happen?

Do a little googling and see how many fires started by a panel in a closet.
Ask yourself if you would leave a candle burning in a closet. It would take a very long time to boil a cup of water with a candle but the heat that could be generated by your pane is enough to turn solid copper to a vapor in milliseconds.

The code will not allow a light in a closed unless it is totally enclosed or above the ceiling (recessed). Could this be due to the amount of heat from the bulb? Ever touched a light bulb while it was burning?

My Grandpa always said, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a ton of cure.” With this thought in mind, who would want to install a panel in an area that could easily ignite?

The codes are a minimum safe installation guide that is adopted into law. Once the codes have been met it lets people such as but not limited to home owners, banks, insurance companies, tax departments (humor), fire departments, and the list continues, that this building meets a minimum safety standard.
 

JWelectric

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Petey
It wasn’t but a couple years back that it was legal to put panels in the closets of mobile homes.
Mobile homes are managed by HUD which also managed many projects throughout our nation for the installation in apartment complexes.
To really make it sad is a lot of these installations were with FP panels and breakers which at one time were top of the line.
 

DonL

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Petey
It wasn’t but a couple years back that it was legal to put panels in the closets of mobile homes.
Mobile homes are managed by HUD which also managed many projects throughout our nation for the installation in apartment complexes.
To really make it sad is a lot of these installations were with FP panels and breakers which at one time were top of the line.


When I was young, I lived in a trailer house, and the Fuse Box with aluminum wire was in my bedroom closet.

At night I would here snap crackle pop, and see sparks flying.

It was a bit scary. That is when I learned to respect electricity, and would re-tighten the connections.
 

Speedy Petey

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In a perfect world nothing happens to a panel in a closet but we all know that this is not a perfect world.

...........

The codes are a minimum safe installation guide that is adopted into law. Once the codes have been met it lets people such as but not limited to home owners, banks, insurance companies, tax departments (humor), fire departments, and the list continues, that this building meets a minimum safety standard.
Yes, true. Thing is it was stated that you cannot put a panel in a closet. This is simply not entirely true.
Thing is, there is usually a distinct difference between a utility/mechanical closet and a clothes closet.
 

Speedy Petey

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Petey
It wasn’t but a couple years back that it was legal to put panels in the closets of mobile homes.
Mobile homes are managed by HUD which also managed many projects throughout our nation for the installation in apartment complexes.
To really make it sad is a lot of these installations were with FP panels and breakers which at one time were top of the line.
Yup. I have worked on MANY of them.
Thing is, not nearly all mobile homes are managed by HUD. In fact I don't know of any in my area. All are privately owned, even if they are rented out. And many owners are cheap SOBs.
 

JWelectric

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Managed was a bad choice of words there. Most mobile homes are built to HUD standards which are outside the realms of the NEC. Most mobile homes will have a UL sticker somewhere close to where the electrical connects to the unit.

When I do an inspection on a new mobile home all I look at is the neutral and grounding connections made on the inside panel and ring the neutral in the outside main, did one a couple of months ago with no 20 amp AFCI breaker.
 

FullySprinklered

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Who kicked the ant bed? Are you thinking to enclose a panel already in place? If so, try to leave plenty of space to access the panel in case it needs attention of some sort. People do all kinds of things with shelving and so forth which makes it difficult for the electrician to come in and do his job. The minimum amount of space required is proscribed in local, state, city, and national codes. I've run into panels with arching connections, some that had been fried by lightning strikes and the breakers were welded onto the busses and couldn't be removed. An important thing to remember is that all those connections are in a heavy-duty metal box, and are there for a reason. To prevent fires if something goes wrong. I wouldn't store my gas cans in there, but your ugly Christmas sweater might look better with that charcoal look.
 

ActionDave

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In a perfect world nothing happens to a panel in a closet but we all know that this is not a perfect world......

....My Grandpa always said, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a ton of cure.” With this thought in mind, who would want to install a panel in an area that could easily ignite?
Yet breaker panels are installed in garages where some of the most burnable, explodable, and combustible things are stored.
 

DonL

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Yet breaker panels are installed in garages where some of the most burnable, explodable, and combustible things are stored.

It is strange where they have put them over the years.

My fathers house has the fuse box in the kitchen cabinets, where paper goods can be stored.

No door on the fuse box either.


Happy Holidays, watch out for those Christmas lights and extension cords.
 

Jadnashua

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The codes evolve over the years as real-life experiences discover some of the 'what-if' situations and materials science and new products become available, and the code then tries to protect others from having a similar situation. Obviously, not everyone will experience some of these situations, but the idea of the codes is to make it safe from ourselves. Just like most people think that they are great drivers, there are a lot of them that aren't...same can be true about the average person's perceptions of what is right when it comes to plumbing or electrical work...there's a reason why we in the USA have codes to protect the innocent (or stupid).
 

JWelectric

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Yet breaker panels are installed in garages where some of the most burnable, explodable, and combustible things are stored.
I never get to see this on a final of a new house but when doing change out inspections and needing to see the size overcurrent in the panel for the new unit I have seen many a scary scenario.

The one I like best;
The water heater was under the landing at the top of the stairwell with new circulating pump installed beside on the wall. The entire floor area was covered in boxes of spray paint with a 5 gallon can of gas sitting within inches of the gas valve on the heater. This area is enclosed with a small make up air grill.

Homeowner was totally unaware of the dangers involved but was convinced of the dangers by the local fire chief.
 
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