Control Systems & PLC's

Nec Electrical

National Electric Code requirements for Cable Protector

A cable protector will do much more than protect a cable or wire and the equipment that it is plugged into. The word "protector" can also apply to the individual pedestrian or vehicle that is traveling over it. The National Electric Code (NEC) has established requirements for minimizing the tripping hazard at many outdoor events which include cable protectors, but many will wonder what the NEC has to do with cable protectors.

NEC and NFPA Founding

There is an excellent story about the founding of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which oversees the enforcement of the NEC.  Thomas Edison, the inventor of the application of electricity to multiple applications with a single power source, established the Edison Electric Company (now General Electric) in 1872. In the early days of electric power, there was a debate between direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC), sprinkler systems were beginning to be introduced for fire extinguishing, yet there were also plenty of fires which the sprinkler systems could not put out or there were not sprinklers in place to cut down on the fires themselves.  In March of 1896 a group of electricians, inspectors, professors, underwriters, and businessmen organized to establish a code for electricity (there were five codes in existence at the time) and sent a draft to over 1200 individuals in Europe and North America for review. In June of 1897, the NEC was in fact established. Near the same time, in the fall of 1896, another group of concerned persons was developing a new organization to address fire protection safety to include the use of indoor sprinkler systems. This group named itself the NFPA and subsequently the organization now manages the NEC.

NEC Today

Since it has been over one hundred years since the development of the NEC, with electricity needs and capacities probably far exceeding what its original founders expected, there of course have to be updates to the code to include protecting people who encounter electrical lines. A cable protector will do this and falls under the 2008 National Electric Code requirements Article 525.

NEC Article 525

The NEC article 525 was specifically established to address outdoor fairs, festivals, circuses, carnivals and similar events and the rules would apply to temporary residence on a street, parking lot or other open space. While the rule details the secure installation, over current protection, grounding and bonding of all equipment and electrical lines, it also addresses the safety of traffic over it. A quality cable protector can bear over 40,000 pounds of weight, yet keeps a small child from tripping over a wire.

Cable Protectors that Meet NEC Code

Any organization that is hosting an outdoor event will see the benefits of using cable protectors. The quality products can range in number of channels for insertion from one to five lines, and has accessories such as extenders available if more than five cables are needed, offer left and right turn connectors and even ADA compliant ramps. In addition, three different versions of these devices are manufactured – drop over, drop in and open top. The drop over version is placed over the wire or cable on the ground, the open top is fitted between the flexible top of it, and the drop in version has a hinged door that can be opened with the lines dropped in.

While the NEC and the NFPA were founded on preventing fires from electrical sources, a cable protector will prevent injury to a person, the bottom line of any safety organization.

 

 

About the Author

The author of this article has expertise in Cable Protectors. The articles on Cable Protectors

reveal the author's knowledge on the same. The author has written many articles on Cable Protectors

as well.

Looking for National Electrical Code (NEC) online preferably in PDF format?

Is there a website where I can view the 2008 NEC or newer on preferably PDF (power point format)? You would guess this would be free information for the public. HELP

You probably won't find it online for free. This book is fairly expensive.It belongs to the National Fire Protection Association. The last version I have where I can reach it is the 1984 version which sold for $13.50 in quantity lots. I'm too lazy to get my latest version. But tou can guess the increase in 26 years will be quite a bit.

NEC 2008 Transformer Overcurrent Protection 450.3