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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 209
H
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I would have to guess that this is the side of the house (with the meter, gable of the roof, and fence coming off the house). I'd also guess that the SEC came first and the shutter came later. Most houses in my area don't get shutters on the side of the house. I think the electrician "assumed" (bad word) that there wasn't going to be a shutter on this window. I can't believe he'd take the time to remove and reinstall a shutter to run the service drop behind it.

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 794
Likes: 3
W
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Quote
As an outsider looking in, why does any of this gawky stuff need to be outside the building anyway? It spoils the aesthetics of the houses.

It's mostly a safety issue. You really don't want power wiring that has no overcurrent protection (fuses or circuit breakers) inside a house or building. If a short ever happened, it would get quite hot and maybe start a fire if it were inside the wall. Less likely to cause a fire if it's outside on the wall. Best solution is to have an underground feed. My house has the underground feed enter the meter in the basement, then to the service equipment beneath the meter, which consists of a pair of 100A fuses. That feeds a subpanel elsewhere in the house.

Another concern is the power company wanting to know that someone isn't cheating on the electric bill by taping into the unmetered feed. [Linked Image] The feed being on the outside of the house makes it easier to spot any cheating.

Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,876
E
e57 Offline
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spanish...

I hear its printed in french too.


Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,457
E
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Alan, the common thought in the USA is to have the disconnect outside, where the fire department can get to it....something about water from the hoses and electrical hazard....
This is a common misconception. There is no NEC requirement that mandates all disconnects outside a buiding.

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
Thank you Scott. I did not cite the NEC, as the requirement is not there. It is in our local ordinance and PoCo specs, however.

It's a good point, however. It is not enough to only know the NEC, or only your trade....

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