Canadian Electrical Code, Part I (26th Edition), Safety Standard for Electrical Installations

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.

The requirements in this Code address the fundamental principles of protection for safety contained in Section 131 of International Electrotechnical Commission Standard 60364-1, Low-voltage electrical installations. IEC 60364-1, Section 131, contains fundamental principles of protection for safety that encompass protection against electric shock, thermal effects, overcurrent, fault currents, and overvoltage. Therefore, compliance with the requirements of this Code and proper maintenance will ensure an essentially safe installation. Safe installations may be also achieved by alternatives to this Code, when such alternatives meet the fundamental safety principles of IEC 60364-1 (see Appendix K). These alternatives are intended to be used only in conjunction with acceptable means to assess compliance of these alternatives with the fundamental safety principles of IEC 60364-1 by the authorities enforcing this Code.

Wiring installations that do not make provision for the increasing use of electricity may be overloaded in the future, resulting in a hazardous condition. It is recommended that the initial installation have sufficient wiring capacity and that there be some provision made for wiring changes that might be required as a result of future load growth.

This Code is not intended as a design specification nor as an instruction manual for untrained persons.

This Code covers 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, with the following exceptions:

a) installations or equipment employed by an electric, communication, or community antenna distribution system utility in the exercise of its function as a utility, as recognized by the regulatory authority having jurisdiction, and located outdoors or in buildings or sections of buildings used for that purpose;

b) equipment and facilities that are used in the operation of an electric railway and are supplied exclusively from circuits that supply the motive power;

c) installations or equipment used for railway signalling and railway communication purposes, and located outdoors or in buildings or sections of buildings used exclusively for such installations;

d) aircraft; and

e) electrical systems in ships that are regulated under Transport Canada. For mines and quarry applications, see also CSA M421.

This Code and any standards referenced in it do not make or imply any assurance or guarantee by the authority adopting this Code with respect to life expectancy, durability, or operating performance of equipment and materials so referenced.