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0.6m access for domestic switchboards?

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:55 pm
by JamieP
Does 2.9.2.2 (I) apply to domestic switchboards? I understand the exception "Exception: The requirements for doors of switchrooms and for emergency exit facilities need not apply to single domestic electrical installations." But it's a bit unclear which parts this does and doesn't cover to me. Although 2.9.2.2 (I) is under the header "sufficient access and exit facilities" so does the exception exempt domestic boards from these rules or not?

Re: 0.6m access for domestic switchboards?

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2022 11:13 am
by AlecK
Short answer: yes; we must have 0.6 m access space in front of a domestic swbd.
(If the swbd is in a cupboard, we only need it when the cupboard door is open)

Clause 2.9.2.2 covers both access & emergency exit requirements.
The only Exception is clearly stated to apply only to "doors of switchrooms" and "emergency exit facilities".
So anything that isn't under one / both of these headings applies in all cases.
Both these are "exit" provisions; so the Exception can't apply to anything that relates to access.

In para 1; (a) is specifically about access, (b) is about adequate space to operate or adjust (ie access), and (c) is about exit.
So the Exception can apply to (c), but not to (a) or (b).

Para 2 provides more detail on both access & egress; and like para 1 is split into 3 parts.
(iii) is about "access to the switchboard", and (ii) is about "emergency exit paths"; so the exception can apply to (ii) but not to (iii).

The tricky bit is (i); which doesn't state that it's specifically about access only, or egress only - and in fact the 0.6 m dimension is for both purposes.
Access aspect is that if you haven't got 0.6 m in front of the swbd itself, you haven't got enough space to operate / adjust.
Egress aspect is that if you haven't got 0.6 m around the doors and racked-our gear, you risk being trapped by these obstructions.

Worth looking at 2018 edition; where the clause has been amended .
In particular, para 2 has been changed to apply the distance separately to access & egress aspects.
For access; 0.6 m increased to 1.0 m for non-domestic;
and states it applies only to those faces of a swbd that need to be accessible (currently this has to be deduced from the Figs).
In most cases, a domestic swbd will only need to be accessed from the front.

For egress, the distance remains 0.6 m for all cases.

Re: 0.6m access for domestic switchboards?

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:02 pm
by JamieP
Thank you Alec