Kids are going to love that external shut off switch.

This is what you get when the industry gets to write their own code, the manufacturers are on the NFPA boards and they want to sell new expensive parts.

Looks like code writers got sponsors now with obvious financial interests in the new construction business.

All joking aside, the NEC was once literally about fire prevention and safety, now with some of the new additions in 2014, 2017, and 2020 I truly believe a lot of what in these codes today are more about raking in windfall profits for the major home builders, construction material suppliers, and pricing out the smaller independent and especially the non-union contractors who will be forced to jack up their rates to almost non-competitive levels against the massive statewide and/or nationwide outfits. Some of these additions are totally logical, the whole house surge suppression, the emergency cut off for the house, and the outlets next to a bathtub. What makes no sense is the need for a GFCI on a range, most ranges are not close enough to water to even warrant that, the same with the clothes dryer on a GFCI, unless they think the moisture from the clothes being dried in it presents a hazard. A GFCI in an attic is kind of silly too, unless of course the code writers are concerned with a major roof leak. The HVAC equipment being on a GFCI is just incredible, no one plugs anything into the that equipment and any exposed components are in grounded enclosure, the only ones who would likely be exposed to energized HVAC equipment is a technician who unless they are idiotic enough to service it in a torrential downpour likely aren't in any danger. I wonder how many HVAC outfits are going to use this to sell homeowners new equipment needlessly and will use service calls for repeated nuisance tripping of the GFCI as a "proof" that the customers HVAC equipment is failing and no longer safe. The grommet or busing in the cabinet hole is another WTF item, like has there been that many documented cases of a dishwasher cord being damaged and causing serious threats to life and property to warrant this change?? What's next? They'll want bushings in every hole bored in a wood stud or joist? I better not say that too loud, it might end up in the 2023 NEC. The emergency cut off for the building makes sense considering the main breaker is typically inside and only means of disconnect from outside would be to pull the meter, unfortunately there is other safety issues that could come from this. If someone planned on committing a home invasion robbery or a burglary, they could easily kill the power to home this way before entering, in the cover of total darkness and most security cameras would stop recording unless it was on a UPS. The code doesn't specify whether or not that box could be locked out, but locking it would defeat the purpose of the cut off in the first place.

That emergency disconnect on the exterior is a nightmare waiting to happen for home owners. Vandals will most certainly be turning off peoples power and really bad actors will do it to draw the homeowner outside where they can be attacked. The typical padlock that may be used is as useless as a TSA lock on your luggage.

I’m convinced the same people that update the code sell breakers both GFCI and AFCI. The days of $2 and $3 breakers are gone now everything is $50+. They’re getting carried away because fewer and fewer people die or are even injured due to electrical issues and most of not all aren’t from code compliant electric. This is the reason people don’t get professionals to do the work or permits and inspections because they can do it cheaper. So a 6’x6’ bathroom with a shower can’t get a receptacle despite a receptacle being required by code; makes sense.

The NEC has been taken over by manufactures for sure. If people were being injured by these issues it would be understandable. These could changes are for the benefit of device manufactures. For example stoves and dryers have grounded metal cabinets, leakage current will either trip the breaker or in the case of resistive heating elements flow to ground. The NEC was a great and respected institution that has now run amuck.

We need to make a NPC National Politician Code, and revise it every 3 years because these crooks are getting way out of hand.

Look at the new Leviton breakers, with a smart phone ap. Have you ever had so many problems with circuits, that you needed to monitor them constantly? Have a glass door to watch your breakers? Be able to turn them on/off remotely? Be alerted when it trips? I can count on 1 hand the number of times a breaker has tripped in my house since the mid 1980's. One time a receptacle failed out in the yard, in a garden, the rest was running too many heaters trying to thaw pipes. The electrical industry is creating products, then legislating against problems that rarely occur.

These changes provide safety for people who do stupid things, but at a cost of thousands of dollars extra in the construction of a new house. A single 220V GFCI costs over $160!

GFI for AC and whole home surge protector lol yeah I’m not doing that unless the homeowner wants it. They should stick with safety otherwise people are just going to ignore everything they say. The NEC is becoming a salesman for manufacturers.

Changes to electrical codes for residential are driven by the equipment manufacturers . They develop a product then create the market by lobbying for rule changes . A cash cow.

This was a well done presentation highlighting everything I was looking for in a clear & precise way that is easy to remember! Thank you!

These changes seem right on track with the economic inflation. Electrical is already expensive, let's see how we can make it more expensive.

Horror movie antagonists gonna love the off switch to the whole house outside.

Simple switch (emergency switch)? No, it's a type 3 rain tight 200amp or more double pole switch. That ain't gonna be cheap! Now what would be neat is if they would have that double throw so you can have a generator inlet on the bottom poles. That would be a better solution to the main breaker interlocks the NEC allows, but most power utilities want banned. They should also make a meter base as part of the enclosure since you will need that too. But then hey, how long does it take to cut the security band and pull the meter? Can't the fire department just do that?

Some A hole inspectors are going to love enforcing these changes. Grommet thru cabinetry holes, please who thinks up this stuff ?

Really good video!! Very clear and concise. Keep them coming!

Before a new panel is installed in a home, the electrician will already have $2000 in parts before he does any wiring between the panel/surge protection/arc/gfci breakers.

greetings sir; i came upon the video much later but still enjoyed it. i am retired, was an electrician therefore i am an electrician and found this expose' very informative. also i have a hearing disability but your voice was very easy to understand and i did not have to turn up the volume. thank you very much and have a great day..................g

Thanks for the video! If I'm honest I rather watch a video instead of reading it and your pictures and explanations make it easy for me to understand. Keep up the good work sir!

2020 NEC: Rev up your wallets.

Some of these GFCI requirements are going to add hundreds of dollars to installations. Not to mention the headaches of tripped GFCI breakers.

Great explanation on things! Caught my total attention

I put a complete new service in my house like 4 years ago. It was NOT required to install the exterior principal mains disconnect breaker at that time but did it anyway just for the reasons you specified. The inspector liked it. Also say something about all the changes that are required to the existing panel(s) in the dwelling pertaining to how you how NEED to change how your grounds and neutrals have to be changed when installing a new whole house disconnect right after the meter box. Every panel after that outside main disconnect is now technically a sub panel. A grounding bar(s) need to be installed in the current panel(s) to seperate the ground wires from the neutral bar. AND REMOVE THE GREEN BONDING SCREW FROM THE NEUTRAL BAR.

Thank you. I made all Magic electric company, MDEC electric company, and many other electricians, all in Michigan watch your video.

I now have one in wa State. Not required here but put one in because of power surges that took out a surround sound. Energy star air cleaner. Many light bulbs. A plug in surge protector that saved the computer and wi fi An X box and also took out a relay on the furnace leaving is without heat for a week last fall. We thought the problem came from our recalled zinco box. Replaced that but the problems still happened with surges and brown outs. Finally called the city. One guy who tried to blame it on our electrition, listened to the symptoms with eyes glazed over. Another man unbeknownst to me was listening and went and asked our neighbor if he too was having problems. he did. So they went up in the lift and looked in the transformer which had a loose wire bouncing around. At this point if we had had that protector before, it would have cost us less then what it cost to fix and replace the damage done.

These are great videos Dave!

You don't use a GFCI in every outlet, just the first outlet in the circuit. Of course you would have to know how everything is wired and that would be difficult in an existing installation. I was referring to a new installation. AFCIs seem to trip if the vacuum cleaner gets unplugged while it's running. They're protection is so narrow they don't seem worth the effort. After watching the video on the new 2020 codes, I think the code writers are running out of things to regulate.

Thanks for your time. Very Educational.

That was informative. Thank you, sir.

4:10 "Including through a doorway" < That'll be removed. I've always interpreted the distance rules as a 6' cord on a typical radio or whatever.

thanks for all the information , less information a got to ask the inspector .

Meter mains are the best. Seems like at this point just put arc/gfi combo breakers on everything? I see alot of service calls coming.

billytheweasel is correct, "door, doorway," was removed. Other than that, good presentation.

Luckily many local jurisdictions around here are still on the 2011 NEC.

Years ago before fan boxes existed had a good gadget crazy customer who always went to extremes. For a huge chandelier that he was going to purchase down the road I bent 2 pieces of 4" wide 1/4' thick steel plate and mounted them back to back and installed a deep 2 1/8" octagon box with a 3/8" eye bolt drilled & tapped thru 2 steel plates along with a nylock nut. Drilled 4 1/4" by 20 tapped holes to mount box with grade 5 hex headed bolts and nylock nuts. Inspector seemed to like it. It supported my 250" fat ass with no problems.

Can see the outdoor disconnect adding $1500 for a replacement service in the thousands of row homes near me that are only 16' wide. The garage & door take up at least 13.5' and 95% of the homes have a central AC unit inches off wall. Will have to pay AC tech to pump down refrigerant and move unit at least 3' plus depth of outdoor service disconnect then lengthen the refrigetant, 240 volt power and control wires. Most driveways are in a 8 to 17 degree sloop so a frame might have to be installed to get AC unit level. O yea kids will be shutting disconnects off.

DORA in Colorado has issued a amendment to not require GFCI protection of outdoor ac units / heat pumps because of a tripping issue on the manufacturers wiring in the units internally.

Why such crazy rules for electrical ceiling boxes, when led lghts are getting lighter and smaller.

Funny that there is a lot of talk about blue junction boxes for ceiling lights. In the past year we have not installed any blue boxes for ceiling lights. We have only installed LED puck lights that the 14/2 Lumex connects to in a small box within the puck. Even exterior under-eve lights have been LED pucks. I think NEC is addressing issues for designs that within a year or two nobody will be using.

GFCI protection on a dryer and ac/heat pump unit has to be something a manufacturer and insurance company got together and lobbied for. I want to know how many electrocutions have occurred from either and of those how many were fatalities.

Watching and laughing can you mention a few places arc fault and GFCI are not needed? Everything else that is plugged in need protection so might as well bite the bullet and buy enough arc protection to fill up all but two slots

Mercy That’s gonna add a lot to the cost of a new home Over kill

Affordable housing?

I can see more jobs being done for cash and NO inspection.

Awesome video thank you

Living in Los Angeles (earthquakes) I really don't have a problem with requiring fan rated boxes for any ceiling box, barring the game room example which should be covered by a variance on a case by case basis. The good quality fan rated boxes are about $15. That's not that much for even a whole house. Now the GFCI and AFCI madness, that's another issue!

I used to always half jokingly say NEC/NFPA was only about protecting insurance companies profits. After AFCI's saved only four lives in testing... the cash registers started ringing again. Now this ridiculous hubris. The home/ business owner pays and pays while the Wall Street earnings reports get better and better. Insurance bills ever go down folks?? Hmmmm.

Any word on Battery-to-Home? PG&E Clearly cares more about executive salaries and shareholder profits than it does about providing safe/reliable power. I understand that the tech is already in use in Japan, and that Australia is doing a pilot project.

So which lobbyist got the surge protector in? They only last 3-5 years and I guarantee no one is going to replace it.

If you have a bathroom receptacle in other location than what is required by NEC can it be on the same circuit as the other receptacles in the bathroom?

Regarding the whole house surge protector. If I'm doing major Renovations which involve electrical modifications what is the likelihood I'll have to retrofit one? It probably varies by area but does it seem like something they're going to push for?

Great - the outdoor power switch is turned off and now the back up generator starts up....

Thanks it was useful information

Why wouldn't you include an article for each change you mention so it can be referenced?

you left out GFCI on back of congruent wall to sink. The back side of the wall that carries the plumbing. Wet/damp includes mud rooms and garages. All piercings require fire stops.

Great video... But would like to see references for each one...

Great info. I understand but I don't get the grommet in the side of a wood cabinet. Wood stud walls have wire running through holes in wood. When it comes to cabinets. I drill a separate hole for wire. An a separate for plumbing

What if your tub needs an outlet?

nailed it thanks m2j

Honestly....the expense of the GFCI/AFCI breakers is starting to make more and more sense.

How does the No Plug zone work with Powered toilets/ Bidets?

So when the burglars come during the night they can shut the power off to my house with a convenient disconnect switch outside... brilliant!

In CT... If the panel is more 10ft from the meter socket then you have to install a meter with main breaker... Last time I bought one it was almost $600 vs less than $200 for a standard meter socket. Now every service is gonna need these? Christ... Before long it'll be $10k for a service.

Just saying if the fire fighters was smart he would know you can disconnect power from the meter it’s all about money

I have always disliked ceiling boxes ,looks like in my area GFI for dryers ,stoves are not here "YET" .

At what point do we simply AFCI and GFCI the entire service and be done with it. Just a huge ugly can on the side of the house with a $3,600 reset switch.

12:51 Wife goes to plug her hair dryer in and and gets all bitchy with husband over having to crawl under the counter top to plug it in, husband tells her "Sorry baby, it's not my fault, it's the 2020 NEC." as he hands her the code book. Husband wakes up in the ER with a concussion brought on by the code book being thrown back at him. :D :D :D

I don't understand why rhe the panel it's outside in Texas?

Ok when you are running romex in a cabinet the NEC has said forever that romex Per installation shall be protected so if you sleeve the wire in liquid tight that covers you on worrying about protecting wire through your cabinets the 3 foot rule and 8 foot rule by your bathtub with the picture that you showed in the bathroom requires you to have a receptacle within 3 foot of each one of the sinks so you put it outlet smack dab in the middle between both sinks and recovered the last one was the fan rated boxes they make fiberglass boxes that are 70 pound fan rated and it said that your box Hass to be rated for 70 pounds not a 70 pound not a 70lb a 70 pound fan would have down forces that would be taken into consideration that’s why on the metal box it said it was able to hold 90 pounds with a 70 pound fan you just have to have a 70 pound rated box which you can get a fiberglass box that does it it’s just a flimsy bracket boxes you can’t use anymore

I have a ceiling fan with very short paddles that will fit 12 inches from wall

In most of Europe we've had the whole house on GFI's for years, it works great. Several circuit breakers share one GFI to save cost.

I have always been of the opinion that electrical equipment manufacturing companies lobby the NEC for monetary gain. The net result is increased costs for the home owner with little or no gain in safety.

Thanks for the video, is there any updates on solar system?...

No mention about service entrances

It's still prevalent from the 70's, external panels. Crazy.

the sink next to the bathtub will never be an issue, for you can put a gfi 3 ft from outside basin of sink. even if the sink is overlapping the bathtub we can meet the requirements of putting a gfi next to the sink

How would a GFCI breaker operate on a dryer/range where the neutral is grounded?(which most are) It would trip once plugged in.

As per the ceiling fan boxes, I can already see a few reasons for the change. Not all fans rotate parallel to the floor like a frisbee. I’m seeing the type that rotate like a car tire more & more. Some of those blades are wide and short, long long and narrow. Also, the example given of a game room with 10 recessed “puck lights.” If they are spaced from the wall enough to accommodate fans, let's say 2 rows of 5 lights.... You (presumably original owner) may not want any fans. But 16 years later you sell it to someone who decides they want to put up fans on those center boxes, having 2 fans & 8 lights. The NEC already has several requirements on the premise of potential future property ownership exchanges. For example, it is required to have a raceway installed in a basement even if there are no plans to use it, it needs to be there. All unused romex cables must be removed or “dead-headed” inside a covered box that is labelled (i.e. old AC circ), to eliminate confusion 20 years later. Similarly, exposed gas lines such as to a water heater must be painted yellow to clearly identify them, and all pvc or abs drain lines need to be protected from nails/screws/drills before drywall is installed. All of the codes are very “forward-thinking.”

Just a matter of time until it’s gfci/afci everywhere unless a special circumstance.

The labeling done on the dishwasher & disposal should have been done on the cabinet surface next to each outlet, because someone could very easily mix up the plates. 🤔 🤦‍♂️

Thanks for the video it was very helpful. The one question I have is on the ceiling boxes that just be rated for 50 pounds can we use a labeling machine to label them? Thanks

When calculating the number of receptacle outlets, is a duplex receptacle counted as 2?

External Emergency Shutoff: Thieves are going to love this code update!!!

The grommet on the hole seems ridiculous

In "no plug" zone, what about plugs for jacuzzi tubs, which need a warmer

does dishwasher need to be 15 or 20 amp GFCI? does it have to be dedicated?

The trip current on the 220V side must be really high I imagine otherwise you'll get a lot of nuisance trips (source: I had my furnace on a backup panel fed by a 5mA GCFI and it tripped all the time). At which point ... is the GFCI really protecting against bodily harm?

That island formula is ridiculous lol

can we just add a single surge suppressor combination GFCI to do the entire house? I know I know , bad idea.. but wouldn't that be nice?

so ware do I buy a 50 pound light fixture before I should ever worry about the need to install one

I'm amazed the electrician who labeled those outlets could spell! Oh, wait a minute...nvrmnd.

Was there a new code about outlets below grade requiring to be gfci protected as well as afci protected? As an example a finished basement. All outlets would need to be gf/af?

Surge Protective Device; 230.67 services, see also the new article 242 - no more 280/285. Emergency Disconnect, Exterior (services); 230.85 - a service emergency disconnect and a PV rapid shut-down (if any) need to be outside by the meter. 210.8 will likely continue to ping pong back and forth because cords are not supposed to run through doorways, in allowable practice. 210.8 (A)(6) and (7); Range outlets etc. that don't serve the counter top and are over 6' from a sink wouldn't be required to be GFCI protected. 210.8(10) Now the dryer needs to be GFCI protected.

Aren't the GFCI & AFCI designed to protect against electrical surge? If so, why do we need whole house surge protectors.

You should add the code articles.

The emergency disconnect is a horrible idea. Pranksters will go to people's houses who are out of town and flip the switch for shits and giggles, ruining all the food in the fridges. Burglars will flip the switch and shut off most of the security system (yes you could have battery backup but unlikely the whole system including internet modem will be on battery backup).

With regard to ceiling boxes supporting 50 pounds - that only happens when an appropriate box is used AND fastened in a proper manner.

Can't the fireman pull the outdoor meter socket to shutdown power?