Panels in Wet Locations
WET LOCATION (definition as per Ontario Electrical Code)
a location in which liquids may drip, splash, or flow on or against electrical equipment. This includes Bathrooms/Laundry Rooms/Kitchens or near Waterlines
It is not uncommon for homes built in the 1900’s to have their Main Electrical Panel installed in a wet location. If this is the case in your home/business you must ensure the panel is protected by an enlosure, as to ensure that it may not be subjected to the splashing/spraying or dripping of water. It is as simple as building a small cabinet to surround the panel and other electrical components contained in it. This is similar as to why GFCI Receptacles must be installed within 1.5 meters of sinks/wash basins or other similar areas. Modern Canadian and Ontario building codes make it illegal for property owners to have their panels in these wet locations, the only time this is accepted is if the panel has been located there before these laws were implemented.
If you were considering renovating your property and wanted to build a bathroom/laundry room around your panel, which was not previously there, you would not be allowed to, as per:
Canadian/Ontario Electrical Code#:
26-600 - Location of panelboards
1) Panelboards shall not be located in coal bins, clothes closets, bathrooms, stairways, high ambient rooms, dangerous or hazardous locations, nor in any similar undesirable places.
2) Panelboards in dwelling units shall be installed as high as possible, with no overcurrent device operating handle positioned more than 1.7 m above the finished floor level.
However if your existing electrical panel is located in an undesirable wet location, and you were looking to upgrade the panel from Fuse-Breakers or even a service upgrade. You would be allowed to keep the panel in the wet location as long a there was an approved enclosure built around the panel, as mentioned above. If you’re looking for more information or perhaps similiar electrical services, feel free to contact us at A.J. Downing Electrical Co.
Phone: 647-527-4894
E-mail: ajdowningelectric@yahoo.ca
