- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
Don, the problem is that there is no door other than the garage door so how would you get in to open it?
Duplex Garage wiring
- Thread starter perl82480
- Start date
Don, the problem is that there is no door other than the garage door so how would you get in to open it?
James L
Senior Member
- Location
- Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
- Occupation
- Electrician
My mom had a phrase for that...
Cut off your nose to spite your face
So offended about $0.10 per month that he's willing to cut out the usage of his own garage, just so his neighbor can't use it on his dime
You keep saying a dime..My mom had a phrase for that...
Cut off your nose to spite your face
So offended about $0.10 per month that he's willing to cut out the usage of his own garage, just so his neighbor can't use it on his dime
It will be more than that.
2 families using the garage door for 1/2 hour a day, at he KC rate of .15, comes in a about a dollar per month.
It’s not about the money. It’s the principle..
Oh, and code says you can’t.
Last edited:
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Have never seen such a garage, do the building codes actually permit that? In addition, if there is no personnel door, the same thing happens with a power failure.
No matter what, that door for the other guys garage door will never be fed off the panel that is connected to my meter.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Not offended...it is just the principle and a code violation.My mom had a phrase for that...
Cut off your nose to spite your face
So offended about $0.10 per month that he's willing to cut out the usage of his own garage, just so his neighbor can't use it on his dime
If there is no personnel door to the garage, it is not a place I would choose to live at for that very reason, I want a personnel door so I can access my car when there is a power failure.
wwhitney
Senior Member
- Location
- Berkeley, CA
- Occupation
- Retired
It is possible to install an automatic garage door opener along with a keyhole in the face of the door attached to a cable to the manual pull disconnect of the automatic door opener. That would allow manually opening the garage door during a power failure.
Cheers, Wayne
mtnelect
HVAC & Electrical Contractor
- Location
- Southern California
- Occupation
- Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
Looks like a Tenant - Landlord Agreement should answer the question.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Still see the lack of a personnel door as a safety hazard that impedes egress in an emergency. Some of the local codes in my area require the garage to have a personnel door, however, it appears the national building codes do not have that requirement.
Operation of the interior manual release takes much longer than opening a personnel door, especially for short people like me, as I need something to stand on to pull the release cord.
Just discuss it openly with the tenant. If it was me, I’d have no problem paying for the bit of power to run the garage door.
If the tenant was Don, I’d just say “Since there’s no power, it’s too bad you’ll have to get out in the rain to manually open the garage door.”
If the tenant was Don, I’d just say “Since there’s no power, it’s too bad you’ll have to get out in the rain to manually open the garage door.”
James L
Senior Member
- Location
- Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
- Occupation
- Electrician
A half hour a day?
You know it only takes about 10 seconds for a door to go up or down?
That means three times up and three times down in one minute. In order to use that door for a half hour you would have to open it and close it 90 times a day. Give me a break. It literally is about $0.10 per month
And people need to get over their principal when they're trying to compare $0.10 per month versus potentially $5,000 or $6,000 for a service upgrade in order to accommodate the house panel to put in a 20 amp circuit.
No, code does not prohibit it. It's not a dwelling. It's a detached garage.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
It is associated with a two-family dwelling unit and 210.25(B) very clearly prohibits the proposed installation.
I really don't care if it would cost a million dollars, it will not be connected to a panel that is supplied by my meter.
You can get garage door openers with battery backup. Id be afraid of someone getting an electric car or even a plug in hybrid. The car spaces must have a 120V 20A circuit. Even though that is only level one charging, it could cost a lot if the wrong tenant is paying. The door power would be a trivial expense.
winnie
Senior Member
- Location
- Springfield, MA, USA
- Occupation
- Electric motor research
While this is not a DIY post, it is an example of why we don't answer DIY questions. When considering a particular question we don't know all the related questions which aren't being asked.
If you consider only the garage door opener, then the cost of powering that opener is in the noise compared to the cost of an upgrade for a house panel or the cost of running separate tenants power to the garage.
But you have to ask 'what else does the code require' when power is brought to the garage. The cost to run the opener is nothing compared to the costs of other things which might get plugged in to that outlet, or other required outlets.
Separately: the energy use of moving the door is probably small compared to the control circuit which draws less power but runs continuously. For every watt of standby power the unit consumes, you have 9kWh per year of consumption. 10W of standby, 20 cents per kWh, and you are at $1.50/month simply to have the opener plugged in.
The OP might consider some sort of solar/battery powered opener, specially to avoid all the costs associated with bringing mains power to run the garage door.
If you consider only the garage door opener, then the cost of powering that opener is in the noise compared to the cost of an upgrade for a house panel or the cost of running separate tenants power to the garage.
But you have to ask 'what else does the code require' when power is brought to the garage. The cost to run the opener is nothing compared to the costs of other things which might get plugged in to that outlet, or other required outlets.
Separately: the energy use of moving the door is probably small compared to the control circuit which draws less power but runs continuously. For every watt of standby power the unit consumes, you have 9kWh per year of consumption. 10W of standby, 20 cents per kWh, and you are at $1.50/month simply to have the opener plugged in.
The OP might consider some sort of solar/battery powered opener, specially to avoid all the costs associated with bringing mains power to run the garage door.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
You would need to have shut the door while you are still inside then have it fail. Not impossible yet not too likely unless you are doing some other activity besides just parking your car in there.
Which incentivizes the owner to say “Screw it. The garage isn’t getting power. I was trying to be helpful to my tenants, but it’s not worth the hassle.”
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
210.25 is not complied with in many cases. For example, I own a home with an apartment attached and their own meter. I also have a 2 car garage detached. I want my tenant to be able to use the garage also... Would It be non-compliant if my panel fed that garage?
It isn't that simple to throw out 210.25 and tell the owner a house meter is required
The entire NEC has articles that are not complied with in many cases, that doesn’t make it right. And yes, I am guilty also as I haven’t complied with many of them like everyone else here..
As for your example? It depends on the AHJ (inspector) IF it’s inspected.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
IMO, I don't think the cmp had this in mind when they made the rule. I may be wrong- it won't be the first time nor the last. haha
Learning Always
Member
- Location
- Mn
- Occupation
- Maintenance electrician / Pt licensed contractor
I have the exact same situation. Solution: (approved and passed by building inspector & electrical inspector) was to put a fire rated wall down the center of the garage with 2 seperate vehicle doors. Each unit had a circuit to thier corresponding garage space. Did the large 16 ft door need to be changed to two smaller ones? Yup, but the cost was similar to a house meter install without the reoccurring meter charge. Cheaper in the long run for the landlord and less chances for tenant disputes.
