How To Look At A House

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Can an electric panel be located over stairs?

Thursday, July 19, 2018

The purpose of the National Electric Code restrictions on the location of a panelboard is the safety of a person opening the panel for service. To safely remove the dead front (cover plate of the panel) and work inside requires a stable surface to stand on and sufficient elbow room to move around and work in front it. Standing on the steps of a stairs is not acceptable [NEC 240.24 (F)]. We occasionally see an electric panel at the side of a stair run, like in the photo above of stairs to a basement, and call it out for relocation. Also, the diagram below at right shows the clearance requirements in front of the panel: 2’6” wide, 3’-0” deep, and 6’-6” high.

   Other locations where an electric panel cannot be located are clothes closets and bathrooms; and, obviously, there cannot be anything installed in front of the panel, such as a water heater. The panel shown below has a double no-no, located behind a toilet in a bathroom. These unsafe locations are usually the result of the remodeling of an older house. In this case, the kitchen was moved to a new addition to the home, and the room was reconfigured as a bathroom.

          Also, see our articles Can an electrical panel be located under stairs? and Can an electrical panel be located at a stair landing? For a list of other locations where a panel should not be installed, go to our blog post Where are electrical breaker panels not allowed by code? 

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about ELECTRIC PANELS:

What causes copper wires to turn green or black in an electric panel?  

When should a corroded or damaged electric panel cabinet or disconnect box be replaced? 

What is a tandem circuit breaker? 

When did arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) breakers first become required?

Can an electric panel be located in a closet? 

Can an electric panel be located in a bathroom? 

Can you add circuit breakers by different manufacturers to an electric panel if they fit?

My circuit breaker won't reset. What's wrong?  

What is a split bus electric panel?

How do I identify a combination AFCI (CAFCI) circuit breaker? 

What does a circuit breaker with a yellow or white test button indicate? 

What is the maximum gap allowed between the front of a recessed electric panel box and the wall surface surrounding it? 

What are the requirements for NM-cables entering an electric panel box?

Why is a fuse box/panel an insurance problem for homebuyers? 

What is the difference between a Combination Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (CAFCI) and an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) circuit breaker?  

What is the difference between "grounded" and "grounding" electrical conductors? 

What is the life expectancy of a circuit breaker? 

My circuit breaker won't reset. What's wrong? 

Why do some breakers in my electric panel have a "TEST" button on them?

What is the right size electric panel for a house?

    Visit our ELECTRICAL and STAIRS pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.


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