Hot water tank clearance from electrical panel

Rmelo99

Rmelo99

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What is permitted/not permitted with regard to the placement or spacing of a hot water tank and the main electrical service panel?
 
I believe the NEC requires 3' in front of panel. Spacing on the side's of panel is 30" over all on side's of panel.



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Union Made!
 
So there is not safety or fire "hazard" of it being closer?

Just want to confirm there is no plumbing clearance, I couldn't find one.

The NEC reg as far as I know is a service clearance right?
The water heater in a house a friend is selling is about 1-2ft to the right of the panel. There are no obstructions in front of the panel.

The home inspector for the buyers said it was a fire hazard and needs to be moved. Now this water heater has been installed for 11years w/o issue,

I called the city bldg inspector and he said it isn't in violation and that they will simply have to bring it to code if/when they decide to change it out to a new one.
 
An access space that is 30" wide, or the width of the panel, whichever is greater, must be provided and the space must be 36" deep in front of the panel. The "width" space may be designated in any way as long as the panel is anywhere completely within that width.

Any door must be openable to at least 90 degrees.
 
30" from either side of the panel, 36" in front of the panel and nothing but wiring can be installed over the panel.
Just because it's been there does not make it right, it just means that whoever put it in didn't bother to have it inspected. Move it. The inspector is right. Plumbers are not allowed to voilate the NEC and electricians are not allowed to voilate the IPC
 
Ok, so the 30" clearance for the panel can be measured from either side? Because there is like 4-6ft of space to the left of the panel and about 1-2ft to the right. Nothing in front.

Sounds to me as the clearances that are governing the position of the water heater are the NEC's panel clearances.

I checked clearances from a few diff electric tank water heaters mfgs and most are minimal and seem to be more concerned with combustibles, not proximity to electrical panels.
 
nhmaster said:
30" from either side of the panel, 36" in front of the panel and nothing but wiring can be installed over the panel.
Just because it's been there does not make it right, it just means that whoever put it in didn't bother to have it inspected. Move it. The inspector is right. Plumbers are not allowed to voilate the NEC and electricians are not allowed to voilate the IPC
Click to expand...

NH Master, Is the effectivly a 30 X 36 open area in front of the panel?
 
It's actually 30" left, 30" right plus the width of the panel so in most cases it ends up being about 6' total.
 
Thanks, Never had to crack the book on that one!
Never had a water heater come that close to a panel and well... Information not used gets stored a little deep in the hard drive...
The numbers did ring a bell though...
 
nhmaster said:
It's actually 30" left, 30" right plus the width of the panel so in most cases it ends up being about 6' total.
Click to expand...

That is totally wrong.

NEC 110.26(A)(2) Width of Working Space. The width of the working space in front of the electric equipment shall be the width of the equipment or 750 mm (30 in.), whichever is greater. In all cases, the work space shall permit at least a 90 degree opening of equipment doors or hinged panels.
 
Yep, that's the in front clearance, guess I missed that. You also need 30" to each side though, and that's so someone doesn't cram something so tight to the side of the panel that the wiring can't be accessed.
 
nhmaster said:
Yep, that's the in front clearance, guess I missed that. You also need 30" to each side though, and that's so someone doesn't cram something so tight to the side of the panel that the wiring can't be accessed.
Click to expand...

Stop telling people that they need 30" to each side of the panel. THAT IS WRONG! Saying it several times doesn't make it right.

The code requirement is plain English: "The width of the working space in front of the electric equipment shall be the width of the equipment or 750 mm (30 in.), whichever is greater."

If the panel is 20" wide you need a total width of 30", which can be any 30" space that you like as long as the panel is located anywhere within that 30" width.

The DEPTH of the working space must be 36" out from the panel.

Lay out a space that is 30" along the wall where the panel is located, and extends 36" from the front of the panel. You can mark the area on the floor. You can't store anything in that area.
 
guess I been wrong all this time, sorry, but that's what the local electrical inspector has been telling us for years so looks like he's got it wrong also. good ammunition for next time I run across it though. Thanks chris for the diagrams.
 
Thanks for all the help. I'm just tired of home inspectors claiming "VIOLATION of CODE" and they don't even know what they're talking about.

the bad part is that I think he has scared the buyers by telling them and their agent that it's a fire hazard and in violation, if it goes it will spew water all over the electrical panel. DUH the entire basement is full of pipes that can go and spew water all over the panel.....

Thanks for the pictures Chris. I knew the NEC reg was a service clearance, I deal with those all the time. The way I always tell people is to take an imaginary 30x36 box and it has to fit in front of the panel.
 
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