The NEC has long regulated the required space around electrical equipment installations so that a worker who is going to examine, adjust, service, or maintain equipment that may be energized is not exposed to excessive danger from live (ungrounded) parts. The worker must have enough space available so as not to contact a surface that could effectively make his body a path to ground. In the past, equipment installations above a drop ceiling, such as small transformers, air handlers, VAV’s, and the like, have not been addressed, and the enforcement of Article 110.26 in these spaces has been difficult at best, as the space above a drop ceiling is often very crowded.
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