Where do we get Electrical Code book

Nobody can help you unless you give your location!

http://www.constructionbook.com/electrical-codes/?CMP=KNC-Overture

Or for the Canadian code...

http://www.csa-intl.org/OnlineStore/welcome.asp

Book store Barnes & Noble list the book.

Typically such documents are a function of local ordinances.

Start with the local Code Enforcement Bureau. Typically, if a town is large, they'll have their own ordinances and inspectors. As towns get smaller and areas more rural, The state will often establish regional Code Enforcement offices, typically by County.

Very often the language used in local or regional Code Enforcement ordinances is lifted, word per word from books written by the grand daddy of all such standards, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in the USA and Canadian Standards Administration (CSA) for our friends to the north.

In some instances national codes are influenced heavily by one dominant municipality whose strict standards are used by UL and other cities as the benchmark. An excellent example of that is New York City whose electrical and fire codes are amongst the strictest in the nation. With skyscrapers over 100 stories high and up, it's easy to appreciate why.

L. J.

First of all, the NEC only applies to the US unless your country has adopted it specifically. Second, the NEC is a safety standard, not an installation guide. It does not specify at all the procedures on how to install electrical equipment. It specifies such things as wire sizes for certain ampacities and proper grounding. I will not tell you how to install that equipment. The installation part of the manufacturer's manual should give you that information. Also in the US, just reading and applying the NEC is not good enough. You must be licensed by your government and have a government inspector verify that it installed safely as per the code. It may still be installed incorrectly, but that is not a function of the code.

Also, to correct an earlier post, the NEC is not published by the UL. It is published by the NFPA. It is adopted by the UL as part of their testing. In fact, a clause in the NEC specifies that all electrical equipment must be UL approved. Also, cities and other juristictions do have some influence on the NEC, but it works primarily the other way. The city will adopt the NEC and then add their own local codes in place of some parts of the NEC as long as the local code is more strict.

You can get the NEC from any book dealer or directly from the NFPA at www.nfpa.org. They do sell a handbook that will explain the intent of some of their codes as well.

Sir,

Forgive the late reply. You state: ... a clause in the NEC specifies that all electrical equipment must be UL approved. Actually, it specifies that when approved or listed materials or equipment exist, only tested and approved/listed equipment or materials may be used, but does not limit the approvals to UL only. Depending on the items, other testing agencies are equally acceptable. In some cases there is no established standard for testing the equipment or material. In this case, then non-approved materials may be used so long as they are judged to be "suitable for their intended purpose".

--JMM

British Standard 7671.