Please help with a code interpretation problem.
The question is with article 517 and is whether hospital rated devices are required.
The facility; an urgent care facility combined with physical therapy. It includes 7 examination rooms, 1 procedure room, and an X-Ray room.
The local inspector says hospital rated is required in the above areas per article 517-18 (b), I disagree for the following reasons.
By definition these rooms are, Patient Care Areas - (a) General care areas to include, patient bedrooms, examining rooms, treatment rooms, clinics, and similar areas.
517-18 (b) singles out patient bedrooms but does not have in the title, or paragraph, the names of the other areas listed in the definition therefore implying that the other areas not mentioned need not be included.
If exam rooms were to be included by virtue of being in the same group as patient bedrooms, treatment rooms, clinics, and similar areas. Then would not the title be, General Care Areas Receptacles?
Couldn’t one also conclude that if 517-18 (b) applies to these areas then also 517-18 (a) should apply also?
The engineered print does not spec hospital grade devices, nor does it require a second branch emergency circuit, implying that the engineer was on the same page as I. However when I called them I was told that this was a gray area due to State of Washington specs. And I didn’t get a clear answer from them either.
I checked the WAC (Washington Code) and all it indicates is that these areas fall under Article 517 NEC.
The job was not bid for these expensive devices due to it not being on the print specs. and we really don’t want to get into one of those “who pays for the xtras” battle.
Your opinions will be appreciated, thanks.
