Greetings,
This could be a simple question but I was wondering if the 6 disconnect rule for service disconnect can apply for both indoor and outdoor.
My second question is about the disconnect. Does it need to be fused disconnect or just a load disconnect?
Thanks in advance.
The rule is really called the "6
hand rule", based on a firefighter having no more than 6 swipes of their hand to kill ALL power coming into a facility. Whether those 6 devices are inside or outside, breakers or disconnects is not relevent, but they all must be together, i.e. 6 movements of the hand with zero movement of the feet.
But as Tom said, this is going away in the 2020 NEC, replaced by a requirement for ONE disconnect on the outside of the building that kills all power. Same basic reasoning, less ambiguity on interpreting what is a "hand movement" and access to interior disconnects when they arrive on site. So depending on where you are and what Code cycle you must adhere to, the 6 hand rule may no longer apply. You are in Texas which the NFPA reports is still on the 2017 Code cycle, so you can still get away with the 6 hand rule, but I would be thinking about the future, because the next project someone does there may require adding that single outdoor accessible disconnect.