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View Full Version : Fuse panel in a crawl space help?


PUCKONASTRING
Sep 25, 2011, 06:52 PM
Can I put my pannel/breaker box in the 5ft. High crawlspace of my
New home? The house is built in ontario .

Thank you

twinkiedooter
Sep 25, 2011, 07:17 PM
Check with your local building codes to see if this is permissible or not. Probably not.

ma0641
Sep 25, 2011, 07:20 PM
Lets see. It's January in Ontario, windchill -30 degrees and you want to go into the crawl space to reset a breaker? Surely there are other places to put your box. Even an attached garage would be better. Crawl spaces are inherently damp, metal is more subject to corrosion, you become a good ground and that's another reason why I'd advise against it.

donf
Sep 25, 2011, 07:20 PM
If you were here in the U.S. I would tell you, No.

According to the NEC, the main panelboard must be in an easily accessible location, normally as close as possible the Service Entrance.

Think of it this way, if there is a fire and the Fire Dept. comes running in, how are they to know that they must disconnect the home from the crawl space.

Of course they can always use the surround and drown process which is almost guaranteed to save the concrete foundations.

I will see if I can find any information from the web, but I strongly suspect that the Canadian answer will also be "No"

ma0641
Sep 25, 2011, 07:36 PM
Oh, by the way, mine is in a finished hallway with a nice picture over it.

donf
Sep 26, 2011, 04:22 AM
I did some checking on the Electrical Requirements for Ontario.

The answer still remains, "No". The Ontario electrical code requires that the panel be in an "Easily Accessible" area.