ELEC 8021- Week 1

C22.1-18CANADIAN ELECTRICAL CODE, PART I

S AFETY STANDARD FOR ELECTRICAL
INSTALL ATIONS
Object
The object of this Code is to establish safety standards for the installation and maintenance of
electrical equipment. In its preparation, consideration has been given to the prevention of fire
and shock hazards, as well as proper maintenance and operation.
Scope
This Code applies to all electrical work and electrical equipment operating or intended to
operate at all voltages in electrical installations for buildings, structures, and premises, including
factory-built relocatable and non-relocatable structures, and self-propelled marine vessels
stationary for periods exceeding five months and connected to a shore supply of electricity
continuously or from time to time
Exceptions
- installations or equipment employed by an electric, communication, or community antenna
- equipment and facilities that are used in the operation of an electric railway and are supplied
exclusively from circuits that supply the motive power
- installations or equipment used for railway signaling and railway communication purposes
- aircraft
- electrical systems in ships that are regulated under Transport Canada.
Definitions
Ampacity
the current-carrying capacity of electric conductors expressed in amperes.
Approved
◦ equipment that has been certified by a certification organization accredited by the Standards Council of
Canada in accordance with the requirements of
◦ CSA Group Standards; or
◦ other standards that have been developed by a standards development organization accredited by the Standards Council of
Canada, or other recognized documents, where CSA Group Standards do not exist or are not applicable, provided that such other
standards or other recognized documents
◦ are correlated with provisions of the CE Code, Part I; and
◦ do not create duplication with standards already listed in Appendix A; or
◦ equipment that conforms to the requirements of the regulatory authority (see Appendix B).
Authorized person
a qualified person who, in his or her duties or occupation, is obliged to approach or handle
electrical equipment; or a person who, having been warned of the hazards involved, has been
instructed or authorized to do so by someone having authority to give the instruction or
authorization.
AWG
the American (or Brown and Sharpe) Wire Gauge as applied to non-ferrous conductors and non-
ferrous sheet metal.
Bonding
a low impedance path obtained by permanently joining all non-current-carrying metal parts to
ensure electrical continuity and having the capacity to conduct safely any current likely to be
imposed on it.
Bus
a conductor that serves as a common connection for the corresponding conductors of
two or more circuits.
Cable
a complete manufactured assembly of one or more insulated conductors, which may also
include optical fibers, fillers, strength members, and insulating and protective material, with a
continuous overall covering providing electrical, mechanical, and environmental protection to
the assembly.
 Cable Tray
a raceway consisting of troughing and fittings
formed and constructed so that insulated
conductors and cables may be readily
installed or removed after the cable tray has
been completely installed, without damage
either to conductors or their covering.
- Ventilated
- Non Ventilated
Circuit
For the purposes of this Code, a circuit is generally considered to mean the portion of a wiring
installation that is connected to the load side terminals of an ac or dc system and that forms a
complete path or paths through which electrical current is normally intended to flow, including
utilization equipment. For example, a cable connecting the load side terminals of a three-phase
circuit breaker up to and including utilization equipment is generally considered to be a circuit, as
would be a similar3-wire single-phase installation.
Branch Circuit
Communication Circuit
Control Circuit
Circuit breaker
— a device designed to open and close a circuit by non-automatic means and to open the circuit
automatically on a predetermined overcurrent without damage to itself when properly applied
within its ratings.
Conductor
— a conductive material that is constructed for the purpose of carrying electric current.
 Bare conductor : a conductor having no covering or electrical insulation.
Covered conductor — a conductor covered with a dielectric material having no rated dielectric
strength.
Insulated conductor — a conductor covered with a dielectric material having a rated dielectric
strength.
Conduit
a raceway of circular cross-section, other than electrical metallic tubing and electrical non- metallic tubing, into which it is intended that
conductors be drawn.
Flexible metal conduit — a metal conduit that may be easily bent without the use of tools.
Liquid-tight flexible conduit —
◦ a flexible metal conduit having an outer liquid-tight jacket; or
◦ a flexible liquid-tight non-metallic conduit.

Rigid conduit — a rigid conduit of metal or a non-metallic material.

Rigid metal conduit — a rigid conduit of metal made to the same dimensions as standard pipe and suitable for threading with standard pipe
threads.
Rigid non-metallic conduit — a rigid conduit of non-metallic material that is not permitted to be threaded.
Rigid PVC conduit — a rigid non-metallic conduit of unplasticized polyvinyl chloride.
Rigid RTRC conduit Type AG — a rigid non-metallic conduit of reinforced thermoset material suitable for direct burial or encasement in concrete
and for exposed or concealed work.
Rigid RTRC conduit Type BG — a rigid non-metallic conduit of reinforced thermoset material suitable for direct burial or encasement in concrete.
Rigid Type DB2/ES2 PVC conduit — a rigid non-metallic conduit of PVC for direct burial or encasement in concrete or masonry.
Rigid Type EB1 PVC conduit — a rigid non-metallic conduit of PVC for encasement in concrete or masonry.
 Connector
Box connector — a device for securing a cable, via its sheath or armour, where it enters an
enclosure such as an outlet box.
Wire connector — a device that connects two or more conductors together or one or more
conductors to a terminal point for the purpose of connecting electrical circuits.
Disconnecting means
a device, group of devices, or other means whereby the conductors of a circuit can be
disconnected from their source of supply.
Duty
a requirement of service that demands the degree of regularity of the load.
Continuous duty — a requirement of service that demands operation at a substantially constant load for an
indefinitely long time.
Intermittent duty — a requirement of service that demands operation for definitely specified alternate intervals of
load and no-load;
load and rest; or
load, no-load, and rest.
Periodic duty — a type of intermittent duty in which the load conditions are regularly recurrent.
Short-time duty — a requirement of service that demands operation at a substantially constant load for a short
and definitely specified time.
Varying duty — a requirement of service that demands operation at loads and for intervals of time, both of which
may be subject to wide variation.
Feeder
any portion of an electrical circuit between the service box or other source of supply and the
branch circuit overcurrent devices.
Ground fault circuit
interrupter (GFCI)
a device that functions to interrupt a circuit or portion of a circuit, within a predetermined time,
when a current to ground exceeds some predetermined value that is less than that required to
operate the overcurrent protective device of the supply circuit.
Grounding
a permanent and continuous
conductive path to the earth
with sufficient ampacity to
carry any fault current liable
to be imposed on it, and of a
sufficiently low impedance to
limit the voltage rise above
ground and to facilitate the
operation of the protective
devices in the circuit.
Hazardous location
premises, buildings, or parts thereof in which
◦ an explosive gas atmosphere is present, or may be present, in the air in quantities that require special
precautions for the construction, installation, and use of electrical equipment;
◦ dusts are present, or may be present, in the form of clouds or layers in quantities to require special
precautions for the construction, installation, and operation of electrical equipment.
Overcurrent device
any device capable of automatically opening an electric circuit, under both predetermined
overload and short-circuit conditions, either by fusing of metal or by electromechanical means.
Overload device
a device affording protection from excess current, but not necessarily short-circuit protection,
and capable of automatically opening an electric circuit.
Receptacle
one or more groups of female contacts, each group arranged in a configuration, all groups
mounted on the same yoke and in the same housing, installed at an outlet and intended for the
connection of one or more attachment plugs of a mating configuration.
Switch — a device for making, breaking,
or changing connection in a circuit.
General-use switch — a switch intended for use in general distribution and branch circuits and
that is rated in amperes and is capable of interrupting its rated current at rated voltage.
Indicating switch — a switch of such design or marked so that whether it is on or off may be
readily determined by inspection.
Isolating switch — a switch intended for isolating either a circuit or some equipment from its
source of supply and that is not intended either for establishing or interrupting the flow of
current in any circuit.
Motor-circuit switch — a fused or unfused switch, rated in horsepower or kilowatts, capable of
interrupting the maximum operating overload current of a motor of the same horsepower or
kilowatt rating as the switch at the rated voltage.
Voltage
Extra-low voltage — any voltage not exceeding 30 V.
High voltage — any voltage exceeding 750 V.
Low voltage — any voltage exceeding 30 V but not exceeding 750 V.
 SI Unit- Metric Unit Multiplying factor for conversion
to previously used unit
Symbol SI unit Previously used unit

A ampere(s) 1 ampere(s)

cm3 cubic centimetre(s) 0.061 cubic inch(es)

°(s) degree(s) (angle) 1 degree(s) (angle)

°C rise degree(s) Celsius 1.8 degree(s) Fahrenheit

°C temperature degree(s) Celsius 1.8 plus 32 degree(s) Fahrenheit

h hour(s) 1 hour(s) (time)

Hz hertz 1 cycles per second

J joule(s) 0.7376 foot-pound(s)

kg kilogram(s) 2.205 pound(s)

kJ kilojoule(s) 737.6 foot-pound(s)

km kilometre 0.621 mile(s)

kPa kilopascal(s) 0.295 inch(es) of mercury

0.334 feet of water

0.145 pound(s) per square inch (psi)

 SI Unit- Metric Unit (2)
Multiplying factor for conversion
to previously used unit
Symbol SI unit Previously used unit

kW kilowatt 3415.179 BTU/h

lx lux 0.093 foot-candle(s)

L litre 0.220 gallon(s)

m metre(s) 3.281 feet

m2 square metre(s) 10.764 square feet

m3 cubic metre(s) 35.315 cubic feet

MHz megahertz 1 megacycles per second

min minute(s) 1 minute(s)

mL millilitre(s) 0.061 cubic inch(es)

mm millimetre(s) 0.03937 inch(es)

mm2 square millimetre(s) 0.00155 square inch(es)

N•m newton•metre 8.85 pound-force inches

Ω ohm(s) 1 ohm(s)
Conduit- 2006
Inches Metric designator

3/8 12

1/2 16

3/4 21

1 27

1-1/4 35

1-1/2 41

2 53

2-1/2 63

3 78

3-1/2 91

4 103

5 129
6 155
8 200
Questions?