Outdoor Receptacles first required for dwellings?

[Don Hester]

Okay I am going down the rabbit hole because I got to know. (NEC 210.52)

First, When was it required to have an outdoor receptacle installed on dwelling units. I have a 1978 code book and it requires it there but I think it is earlier. (Sometimes I wish I had all the code cycles)

Two, When was it first required to have one on the front and back side of the home. My 2002 code book has that requirement.

[Douglas Hansen]

Our book, Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings (2013 edition) has over a hundred of these "history notes"

History note: Even though receptacles were not yet required, the 1956 NEC stated that “receptacles installed in or on open porches, breezeways, garages, and the like which may supply equipment to be used by persons standing on the ground” were to be of the grounding type [2124b]. The first requirement for a receptacle to be installed outdoors was in the 1975 NEC [210-25(b)]. The 1990 NEC required a receptacle at the front and the back if there was no direct grade level access from the front to the back (if a cord could not be pulled around the house) [210-52(e)]. This rule was simplified to a requirement for one at the front and one at the back in 1993. In 2005 the requirement was added for the outdoor receptacle at a multifamily dwelling with direct grade level access. In 2008, the requirement was added for balconies, decks and porches [210.52(E)(3)]. At the time, it included an exception for balconies, decks, and porches with a usable area less than 20 square feet, such as the increasingly popular “personal viewing balconies.” That exception was removed in the 2011 NEC.

Douglas Hansen
Code Check- Help With Building Codes (http://www.codecheck.com)

[Don Hester]

Thanks guys.

Doug awesome. Just what I was looking for. You are the man ;). Heck I have your 2001 version of Electrical Inspections and did not even think to check that there. But after reading that section it it does not state that when they were first required.

I guess I better pick up your new book. By the way this is an awesome book.



I am having some fun with some local electricians about receptacle requirements on peninsulas also. The local AHJ has a funny interpretation of the requirements.

[Don Hester]

For some reason peninsulas cause a lot of controversy. :)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I guess. It seems so straight forward to me but boy it sure seems to be a lot of personal interpretation on it.

Must fall under the construction heading of "Rocket Science" just like decks are :)