Special Equipment
Chapter 6 Scope
Chapter 6 covers special equipment: elevators (620), hoists and cranes (610), electric signs (600), welders (630), data processing (645), fire pumps (695), swimming pools (680), solar photovoltaic (690), fuel cells (692), wind (694), energy storage (706), and similar.
Concepts to Master
- Elevators (620): disconnects, feeder and branch-circuit requirements, and traveling cable rules.
- Fire pumps (695): dedicated source, continuity of power, and overcurrent protection that does not compromise reliability.
- Swimming pools (680): equipotential bonding, GFCI requirements, and restrictions on overhead conductors.
- Solar PV (690): rapid shutdown, conductor sizing, and the distinction between inverter output and array circuits.
- Data processing (645): dedicated equipment and HVAC requirements.
Traps
- Treating fire pump circuits like ordinary feeders; reliability rules override typical protection sizing.
- Forgetting pool equipotential bonding includes metal parts beyond the obvious.
- Missing rapid shutdown requirements for PV systems.
- Assuming elevator disconnects are located in the same place as ordinary equipment disconnects.
Worked Example
A fire pump feeder question often hinges on the requirement that overcurrent protection not open during a motor start or overload that would otherwise trip a standard breaker. Rule of thumb: fire pump circuits are designed for continuity, so protection is sized and selected to avoid nuisance tripping.
Rule of Thumb
Special equipment articles add requirements on top of Chapters 1-4; read the specific article for the equipment before applying general rules.