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Keeping
up with the requirements of the Code should be the goal of everyone
involved in the electrical industry. As part of my efforts to provide free
resources, I'll be sending out a series of
newsletters each with what I consider to be an important Code rule, along with a video clip from the multi-day recording of that product for the 2020 NEC. I encourage you to use it as a training resource for your
organization, and share with your colleagues.
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GFCI Protection [210.8 ]
Click on the image to watch the
video.
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| The content below is extracted from
Mike Holt's Illustrated Guide to Changes to The 2020
National Electrical Code. It features a Summary of the rule, and its Analysis. For a complete understanding of the rule and its application,
review the article in the textbook, and be sure to reference the 2020 Code Book.
- The summary of the change is in a
gray box immediately under a black bar with the Code rule
title.
- The analysis of the rule in the
yellow box provides the explanation and context for the
change(s). The icons signify whether the rule is new,
deleted, edited, reduced, clarified, expanded, reorganized, or
moved.
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210.8 GFCI Protection |
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There is absolutely no doubt that ground-fault
circuit-interrupter protection has done more than its fair share
of protecting people from the hazards involved with the use of
electricity. Each Code cycle increases the emphasis on GFCI
protection and the locations in which such protection is
required. With so much attention given to this section, it is
inevitable that all circuits in dwelling units will eventually
require this protection. The 2020 changes and revisions to this
section are numerous and include clarifications, expansions to
existing rules, and a few new additional items. Some items were
relocated and placed in their appropriate articles as indicated
in the Informational Notes. So much revision requires the
extensive analysis that follows. |
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Analysis |
 210.8 GFCI Protection. The method
of determining the distance from a receptacle was revised.
It is now the shortest path an appliance’s supply cord will
follow without piercing a floor, wall, ceiling, fixed
barrier, or passing through a window. This change was made
to address the question as to whether a cabinet door is a
door or doorway. With the elimination of any reference to
doors, the path through a cabinet door is included in the
measurement. In most cases this means
that receptacles installed in a cabinet under sink must have
GFCI protection. |
210.8(A) Dwelling Units. This was expanded to
require GFCI protection for all receptacles rated 125V
through 250V rated 150V or less to ground in the areas
specified in list items (1) through (11). The hazards are
related to the location of the receptacle and exists for the
higher voltage and higher current receptacles. Things like
cord-and-plug-connected shop equipment in a dwelling unit
garage that operate above 120V, or require circuits having
an ampacity greater than 20A, will now be required to have
GFCI protection.
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| The GFCI requirements for protection in dwelling unit
basements has been expanded to include both finished and
unfinished basements. |
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210.8(A)(5). List item (5) for basements was
expanded to require all basement receptacles to have GFCI
protection. Previous editions of the NEC did not require
GFCI protection for the finished areas of a basement. Floor
surfaces in finished and unfinished basements are prone to
moisture and possible flooding creating a potential
hazard. |
210.8(A)(11). A new list item (11) was added to
require all receptacles in an indoor damp or wet location to
have GFCI protection. Indoor dog washing areas were cited in
the substantiation for this new requirement. |
| 210.8(B) Other Than Dwelling
Units. The intent of this rule was corrected
for this Code cycle. The 2017 NEC specified the GFCI
protection rule applied to receptacles having a rating of
150V or less to ground. Receptacles are listed and
identified as having nominal or maximum voltage ratings, but
their voltage-to-ground ratings are not identified. This rule
was clarified to indicate that all 125V through 250V
receptacles supplied by single-phase supply circuits rated
50A or less, or three-phase supply circuits rated 100A or
less with a voltage of 150V or less to ground, must have
GFCI protection. The locations where GFCI protection is
required are found in the twelve list items, two of which
are new to the 2020 Code. |
| 210.8(B)(2). This list item now
applies to “kitchens or areas with a sink and permanent
provisions for either food preparation or cooking.” Places
like ice cream parlors, coffee shops, and similar areas
present the same shock hazard as areas with kitchens. These
places typically do not have stoves or ovens for cooking and
so the receptacles were not required to have GFCI protection
unless they were located within 6 ft of a sink. |
| 210.8(B)(6). The fact that
dampness increases the conductivity of things and results in
an increased shock hazard has been recognized, and
correlates with the new item (11) for dwelling occupancies
that also requires GFCI protection for indoor receptacles in
damp or wet locations. |
| 210.8(B)(8). List item 8
previously covered garages, service bays, and similar areas.
It was expanded to include accessory buildings. Nondwelling
occupancies may have accessory buildings and the shock
hazard in an accessory building is essentially the same as
in a garage. |
 210.8(B)(10). This rule was
editorially revised to apply to unfinished areas of
basements. It previously applied to unfinished “portions.”
The wording “not intended as a habitable room” was deleted.
The deleted language does not make a technical change in the
requirement and, unlike the change made in 210.8(A)(5) for
dwelling unit basements, it was not expanded to include
finished areas of nondwelling unit basements. |
| 210.8(B)(11). The requirement to
provide GFCI protection for receptacles installed in laundry
areas in nondwelling occupancies is more closely related to
the type of equipment than it is to the type of occupancy.
This rule will require GFCI protection for receptacles that
service laundry equipment. |
| 210.8(B)(12). List item 12 is new
and was added to cover receptacles installed within 6 ft of
bathtubs or shower stalls that are not covered by one of the
other list items. In nondwelling occupancies, there may be
tubs and showers installed in other than bathrooms and
locker rooms. |
210.8(C) Crawl Space Lighting Outlets. With the
scope change in Article 555 to include dwelling unit boat
docks, the GFCI protection requirement for boat hoists for
all occupancies is now found in 555.9, and 210.8(C) is now
“Crawl Space Lighting.” The crawl space lighting GFCI
requirement was reassigned from (E) to (C) without change
and (E) is now dedicated to a new section, “Equipment
Requiring Servicing.” |
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210.8(D) Specific Appliances. The requirement
for outlets that supply dwelling unit dishwashers to have
GFCI protection was moved to 422.5(A)(7), and 210.8(D) was
repurposed to cover “Specific Appliances.”
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| 210.8(E) Equipment Requiring Servicing.
Not all receptacles installed for servicing
heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment are
installed in locations where other rules would require them
to have GFCI protection. This change requires GFCI
protection for those receptacles that otherwise would
not
have such protection. The shock hazard concern is more
closely related to the use of portable electric hand tools
and cords while servicing the equipment rather than the
physical location of the receptacle. |
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210.8(F) Outdoor Outlets. This change requires
outlets supplying equipment such as HVAC to have GFCI
protection at dwelling units. The revision is the result of
a fatality where a person contacted a faulty
air-conditioning unit with a compromised equipment grounding
conductor (EGC). |
| The rules in 210.8(A) address GFCI protection for
receptacles. This one addresses GFCI protection for outlets
which include hard-wired equipment and was added to address
fatalities that have been caused by faulty hard-wired
equipment installed at outdoor dwelling unit locations. |
| There is also an exception that says this new rule does not
require GFCI protection for lighting outlets other than
lighting outlets covered by 210.8(C). |
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We'd
love to hear from you about this series, and the ways you're using
it. Send us your comments and feedback by clicking on Post a
Comment below. Look out for the next part in this series a month from
now, and please share with your colleagues.
This content is extracted from Mike Holt's Illustrated Guide
to Changes to the 2020 National Electrical Code
textbook.
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