Breaker panel outside?

[Ole Anderson]

My friends are having an addition done to their cabin up north (originally a manufactured home 25 years old), the addition being just a bedroom with a bath. For some reason the contractor elected to relocate the breaker panel (150 amp IIRC due to electric heat) to the outside of the building reachable only if you have a short ladder. Can that possibly be to code? It must be as they pulled a permit, but really?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Sometimes code is based mostly on safety, not common sense.

I would move it so I'm not on a ladder in the snow and ice at 2:30AM trying to get my heat's CB reset. (Outside also seems odd, just for security reasons .... Someone kills power (incld heat) while cabin is vacant. Owner gets to deal with frozen pipe issues??)

[Al Launier]

I think this sounds unreasonable! I would first of all seek the advice of the local building inspector to see if it is in accordance with code. I suspect it isn't. Then, using the building inspector's response I would confront the contractor & insist he make it right, at his cost, & have the building inspector approve it before paying the contractor. This panel should be easily reachable in case of an emergency! If the contractor refuses, then offer to have his work submitted to the Better Business Bureau, even submitting the situation in a local paper. There is no reasonable explanation for shoddy work to be done.

[Jim Becker]

In some areas, outdoor breaker panels (weatherproof) are common. Local code is what dictates whether it's acceptable or not.

[Steve Peterson]

Outdoor breaker panels are standard in California. They sit right next to the electric meter where is enters the house. Maybe it is different in areas where heavy snow is expected.

Additional subpanels are usually on the inside.

There are rules for open clearance around breaker panels. I am very surprised that they would allow a panel that is unreachable without a ladder.

Steve

[Chris Padilla]

My house mains are outside on the side of my house. Anyone could come along and kill power to my house and steal all my breakers! (I can't believe I just said that out loud...been fine since I bought the house in 1999!!)

The panel is somewhat high up...a short person of 5' probably couldn't reach it without a boost.

[Rich Enders]

Most of the homes here have breaker panels on the exterior. Ours leads to two sub panels: One on the exterior, and one on the interior. I have never seen one that would have to be reached with a ladder.

[Kev Williams]

Every outside breaker panel I've ever seen (I have 2 side by side on our house) have doors that can be padlocked. And fwiw, these panels are completely safe outdoors.

The reason for the high-mounted panel is simple: Snow. My parents had a mountain cabin, and 8 to 10 feet of snow was common. You DO want your panel above the snow!

[Buck Williams]

I'm no expert on the Nat'l Electrical Code, I do know from being around some construction sites that there is a restriction as to how high a panel can be installed. I Googled "NEC maximum load center height", came up with NEC 240.24A, basically states that circuit breaker etc must be reachable, 6'7" height limit. Makes sense, a disconnect should be reachable. A lot of rural areas may require permits, but in some cases an affidavit that the job was wired to code is acceptable. Depends on the locality.

[Julie Moriarty]

When we started looking at homes in Florida, I saw my first outdoor main panel. The first thing that struck me was anyone could walk into your back yard and have fun turning the breakers on and off. They all had a lockable front cover but none of the homes had locks on them.

However, none required a ladder to reach. I can see how a local code writer might deem that safe if the area is prone to floods. But to have to get up on a ladder to reach the breaker adds the possibility of someone falling off the ladder, especially if there is grass or dirt under the panel.

I'm finding a lot of adjusting here in Florida but I guess that would be the case no matter where we moved. At least the house we're buying has an indoor panel I don't need a ladder to reach. :D

[Von Bickley]

When I was doing residential electrical work, we installed a lot of outside panels when we up-graded the service. We would use the old inside panel as a junction box, and pull new wires from the out-door panel to the high current users, stove, dryer, water heater and HVAC. We never put a panel where you needed a ladder. Our panels would be located from waist high to eye level.

[Greg R Bradley]

I would think the combination of a cold environment where there is serious snow combined with an outside electrical box would not be good. A ladder required? Now that is just stupid.