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Tamper-Resistant Receptacles, GFCIs & More

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Electrical Construction and Maintenance

Mike Holt, NEC Consultant

Sun, 2012-01-01 09:00

All questions and answers are based on the 2011 NEC.

Q. Are outdoor receptacles at a dwelling unit required to be tamper-resistant?
A. Yes. According to 406.12, all non-locking type 15A and 20A, 125V receptacles in the following areas of a
dwelling unit [210.52] must be listed as tamper-resistant:
Wall space 210.52(A)
Small-appliance circuit 210.52(B)
Countertop space 210.52(C)
Bathroom area 210.52(D)
Outdoors 210.52(E)
Laundry area 210.52(F)
Garage and outbuildings 210.52(G)
Hallways 210.52(H)
An Exception to this rule notes that receptacles in the following locations arent required to be tamper-resistant:
1. Receptacles located more than 5 ft above the floor.
2. Receptacles that are part of a luminaire or appliance.
3. A receptacle located within dedicated space for an appliance that in normal use isnt easily moved from
one place to another.
4. Nongrounding receptacles used for replacements as permitted in 406.4(D)(2)(a).
Q. If you replace a 2-wire receptacle with no equipment grounding conductor with a GFCI, is an equipment
grounding conductor required for the GFCI?
A. If no equipment grounding conductor exists in the outlet box for the receptacle, such as old 2-wire Type NM
cable without an equipment grounding conductor, existing nongrounding-type receptacles can be replaced using
one of the following [406.4(D)(2)], as shown in the Figure (click here to see Figure).
a. Another nongrounding-type receptacle.
b. A GFCI-type receptacle marked No Equipment Ground.
c. A grounding-type receptacle, if GFCI protected and marked GFCI Protected and No Equipment Ground.
GFCI protection functions properly on a 2-wire circuit without an equipment grounding conductor because the
circuit equipment grounding conductor serves no role in the operation of the GFCI-protection device. See the

07-03-15 5:43 PM

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definition of Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter for more information.

Caution: The permission to replace nongrounding-type receptacles with GFCI-protected grounding-type
receptacles doesnt apply to new receptacle outlets that extend from an existing outlet box thats not connected to
an equipment grounding conductor. Once you add a receptacle outlet (branch-circuit extension), the receptacle
must be of the grounding type, and it must have its grounding terminal connected to an equipment grounding
conductor of a type recognized in 250.118, in accordance with 250.130(C).
Q. Section 220.54 expresses electric clothes dryer loads in watts, and Table 220.55 provides wattage demands
for ranges. Can watts be converted to VA for service calculations?
A. Yes. The feeder/service load for electric clothes dryers located in a dwelling unit must not be less than
5,000W (5,000VA), or the nameplate rating of the equipment if more than 5,000W (5,000VA). Kilovoltamperes (kVA) are considered equivalent to kilowatts (kW) for loads calculated in this section [220.54].
When a building contains five or more dryers, its permissible to apply the demand factors listed in Table 220.54
to the total connected dryer load. A clothes dryer load isnt required if the dwelling unit doesnt have an electric
clothes dryer circuit receptacle outlet.
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