Episode 19 - What’s New in the 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code transcript

Trevor Tremblay: So essentially it's making sure that all metal parts and the water around the pool are all bonded together to create an equal potential plane. And that'll help to minimize shock because we have seen quite a number of situations in recent years where pool users would report tingling, either walking out of their in-ground pool or touching the water in their hot tubs, passing infants from the hot tub to someone standing outside the hot tub. And these new rules are really aimed at tightening up these requirements to help reduce issues and keep people safe around the water.

Saira Husain: The work electricians do in Ontario is changing fast. New technologies, new systems, and new expectations on every job site. On May 1st of this year, a major part of that change took effect, the 29th edition of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, which is essentially the Canadian Electrical Code with Ontario Amendments. On this episode, we're breaking all of that down. We'll cover what's new, why it matters, and what you need to know to stay ready for what's next. Grounded in Ontario is a podcast for you, the province's licensed electrical contractors, master and certified electricians, and offers safety tips, tech and best practices. Now let's get grounded. Hello listeners. I'm Saira Husain from the Electrical Safety Authority and the host of Grounded in Ontario. I've got Trevor Tremblay with me today. He's a technical advisor at the ESA and obviously no stranger to this podcast. Today Trevor's going to walk us through some of the big changes in the new Ontario Electrical Safety Code. Hello, Trevor. Welcome back.

Trevor Tremblay: Thanks, Saira. It's always my pleasure to be here.

Saira Husain: So Trevor, with all the changes, we just touched on new technologies, updated requirements, and a lot to unpack. Where do you think we should kick things off?

Trevor Tremblay: There's a lot to dive into, but I think a good place to start is where most larger jobs always start, and that's at the plan review stage.

Saira Husain: So my understanding is an electrical plan review is essentially when an expert checks all the electrical drawings and designs for a building before any actual construction or wiring begins, right? Is that a fair way to put it?

Trevor Tremblay: That's right. And the new Code makes two changes about the plan are requirements that are required. These changes are for power production equipment and EVs. The first one is about the installation under the scope of Section 64, including bi-directional EVSE with an output greater than 10 kilowatts. And the second is about the total load of electrical vehicle supply equipment greater than 20% of the service for other than dwelling units.

Saira Husain: So before we dive into the changes, can you give our listeners a quick explanation of what bi-directional EVSE actually is?

Trevor Tremblay: So EVSE stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. In simple terms, it's the charging station or the dock that provides the electricity to your electric vehicle, often mistakenly as the charger, the charger's built into the car. And the EVSE's role is to safely and efficiently deliver the power. So it talks to your car, it says, I can give you 32 amps. The car will draw 32 amps till it's charged or it might lower as it goes on. And bidirectional pretty much means it's just two way. So you have your electric vehicle supply equipment, it takes power from the grid, and it'll actually return it back through your EVSE. And typically you also need another piece of equipment, kind of like a home automation kit to make sure that it doesn't possibly back feed the grid when it's not supposed to, or it'll feed a backup panel when the power is out.

Saira Husain: Great. That definitely sounds like cool technology. Now that we've cleared that up, what's the first rule change we should know about for Section 64?

Trevor Tremblay: Under the previous edition of the Code, these types of installations, you only need to get plan review done if your system was producing 10 kilowatts or more and running in parallel with the utility. Now even standalone systems require plan review. They're just as complex as the stuff connected to the grid. And we're seeing, actually, more complexities because now we have large generators, solar batteries, all feeding off grid installations. So it's actually very, very hard to inspect and install for that matter. So also remember there are other installations that require plan review in the rule 2-010 and you can also check out our bolt and on the website, 2-7-40.

Saira Husain: Got it. And what about the second change? You mentioned something about 20%. Can you elaborate on that for us?

Trevor Tremblay: I can do that. Another new requirement is when EVSE — electric vehicle supply equipment — is being installed. Some of these things are huge and a constant load, so sometimes it can put some strain on your service and it could be undersized. For this reason, plan review submission is required when the total load from the EVSE is greater than 20% of the service. It's also important to note the requirement only applies to places that aren't single dwellings. So we're not going to make you do it in your house. We're seeing huge charging stations with multiple charging outlets when all the cars are there, it puts a strain on that service. We want to make sure the service can handle it. The last thing we want to see is a costly repair to either a service failing or having an unplanned outage like possibly for days or weeks. And another point that we talked about, the 20% is based on the nameplate rating of the system, even though an energy management system is utilized.

Saira Husain: I agree that's a perfect place to start. Now, some electricians may not have run into the plan review process before. It's basically when you submit electrical drawings to ESA's expert team of plan reviewers before the electrical work begins. They don't approve or certify plans, but they do go through them carefully. They catch any issues before the equipment gets ordered. Wires go in or defects get flagged later by our inspectors.

Trevor Tremblay: That's exactly right. ESA's plan review team looks at thousands of submissions every year, including some of the most complex installations going on in the province. They do it with the goal of identifying potential problems early during design stages and keeping projects on track. This is why it's important submitting plans and wait for the plan review report to come back before any electrical work begins. As an electrical contractor, you want to make sure that when someone gives you the drawings to quote, make sure that they've actually given you the revision of drawings that they submitted to plan I review. If they didn't, there could be some costly changes made and could actually make you do it again or you ordered the wrong material and possibly costly delays in your project. And it's also of requirement in the Code under rule 2-010.

Saira Husain: Thanks, Trevor. That's actually really helpful context and great advice for our listeners. It's good to know that we have these checks in place to help avoid issues during the actual construction phase. Now, beyond these plan review requirement changes, what should the licensed electrical contractors be paying attention to in the new Code?

Trevor Tremblay: So they did make a clarification in section four that I want to bring some attention to. And section four is the section that gives you the requirements for selecting sizing and installing electrical conductors. They now made the clarification that it also applies to DC, not just AC. So you have your alternating current, which has typically been used everywhere in your homes, businesses. And now with the advent of alternative power sources, solar batteries, DC is becoming very popular and a lot of questions has come up. Does this section apply to DC because the Code was really silent on it. So they just wanted to clarify to make sure everyone knows that, hey, you have to select your impasse, these conductors, even if they're DC based on section four.

Saira Husain: It's definitely interesting to see how much the new Code is involved as newer technologies become more mainstream. Are there any other notable changes in the new Code that you think our listeners should have on their radar?

Trevor Tremblay: So another change I'd like to flag is around service entrance conductors, especially the use of bear neutrals. In the previous Code, the rule was referred to as use of bear neutrals in consumer services. Now it reads use of neutral conductors in consumer services. The important part here is that the updated Code generally prohibits running these bare neutrals in services unless they're part of neutral supported cable or busway. This changes to align with other changes in Section 10 of the Code.

Saira Husain: Can you elaborate on what constitutes a neutral supported cable or a busway in those exceptions?

Trevor Tremblay: Neutral supported cable is an overhead electrical cable. Typically you have a bare neutral and the hot conductor wrapped around it, and that ties into both ends. So at your mast at poles, you typically see it for overhead services at your house, they could be copper, aluminum, aluminum being the most common. Don't forget there are different types of neutral supported cable. You have NS 75 and NS 90, make sure you know which one you're using because they do have different incapacities. A busway is a bit different. It's a metal enclosure. It's got the copper bus bars inside it all supported. Usually you see that in larger installations to carry more current and it all bolts and typically in large commercial or industrial settings.

Saira Husain: Thanks, that really helps paint the picture. Historically though, we could run on insulated wires and raceways for service entrances. Is that still allowed under the new Code?

Trevor Tremblay: No. So before this Code cycle it was only permitted in service raceways and electrician commonly ran it uninsulated inside raceways for services typically with PVC raceways into homes or buildings and even rigid steel in older installations. It was kind of funny, I was on an inspection. I actually saw the triplex run to the mast. They just connected it there, looped it into the mast and down in the service panel. I stood there for a while trying to figure out what was wrong and you can't run the triplex in the mast. And the reason a lot of people did run bare neutrals in the service raceways was for conduit fill purposes.

Saira Husain: Got it. Well that definitely makes sense. Protecting those conductors is crucial. Does the new Code happen to have any changes specifically related to electric heat?

Trevor Tremblay: It does. With the push to move away from fossil fuels, we're seeing a kind of a comeback with electric heat. So in the new Code, it does have some rules that affect where you can put baseboard heaters and receptacles in close proximity. And now essentially it states you cannot put a baseboard heater under a receptacle unless there's clearance of 1.2 meters vertically below the receptacle or 200 millimeters away horizontally. And the only exception is when the heater comes with a safety guard that prevents any cord drapes, anything, a pillow falling on it from accidentally making contact with the hot parts. This change helps reduce things like overheating of cords, which could become a fire hazard. And if you plug in an appliance or something too close to the heat source, you don't want that cable melting, overheating, that sort of thing. And I've even had a pillow fall on a baseboard heater. Thankfully enough, it wasn't there long enough to catch fire, but it did actually discolor the fabric.

Saira Husain: Well, that's good to know. That extra spacing really does make sense, especially if the goal is to ensure safety.

Trevor Tremblay: Another tricky part is there aren't any really of these approved guards available right now. So as a contractor you're going to have a challenge trying to figure out where to put your receptacles, especially if you have a long wall with baseboard heaters on it. You might want to talk to your customers beforehand to maybe change what heating they're putting in that room because they might not be happy with the receptacles 1.8 meters above their baseboard. A lot of people don't like seeing them above everything plugged in at waist height. So planning is going to be crucial with the baseboard heaters.

Saira Husain: That's definitely something to watch out for. It sounds like a real design challenge. It's good though that you brought this up for our listeners to consider during installations. I mean, I know for me as a homeowner I would definitely like to know this in advance for consideration. Now moving on, and speaking of receptacles, have there been any other notable changes concerning them in the new Code?

Trevor Tremblay: There have been other changes. Yes. The new Code updated the title of one of the rules concerning receptacles to more accurately reflect what it actually applies to. It used to be called Receptacles for Single Dwellings. It's been updated to say Outdoor and Garage Receptacles for Single Dwellings.

Saira Husain: So what exactly does this title change mean for us in practice?

Trevor Tremblay: So basically the old rule only needed one outdoor receptacle, readily accessible from greater ground, and all those receptacles had to be on a dedicated circuit or circuit. So if you had more than one circuit on two dedicated for one dedicated for the other, that was good. And the part about them being on their own dedicated circuit hasn't changed. But additionally now you might need two outdoor receptacles and they still need to be easily accessible from ground or grade. It's really about improving safety and convenience for your outdoor power use and eliminate the possibility of cores being run through doors and windows. In my opinion, you can never have too many receptacles.

Saira Husain: Well, I'm all about improving convenience, especially when it also improves safety. So it makes complete sense for me that we may need more than one outdoor receptacle to prevent those additional hazards. So then how many do you actually need and how do you know the precise requirement for a given dwelling?

Trevor Tremblay: So there's a couple of variables you have to take into account like the number of sides, the length of your perimeter. So let's start with if you have opposite walls. Essentially when you have opposite walls, you need two receptacles, one on each opposite side. If you have a scenario where you almost only have adjacent walls, say a town home, then you would need two receptacles, one on each side. But they have to be separated by no less than half of the length of the longest wall. But if you do have a smaller home and the perimeter is less than at grade level is less than 20 meters or 20 meters or less, you'll only need to install one outdoor receptacle. And one of the things you want to make sure is that make sure you have the proper number of receptacles out there because if you miss that second receptacle, sometimes if the basement's not finished or everything's drywalled, it makes it very tough and costly to get that second receptacle in on a final.

Saira Husain: Now speaking of training, what have you heard from the inspectors who've already gone through the new Code training? Was there any feedback from the inspectors about which changes might be more important than others?

Trevor Tremblay: One of the changes that caused the most discussion was about pool bonding. And anytime you start talking about pools, water and electricity, it tends to get people's attention. It's a pretty big and important subject. So I think we should dive into those details in another podcast.

Saira Husain: Well, for sure. I'm always looking for new podcast episodes, so listeners, if you have any, please make sure you send them into podcast@esasafe.com. But Trevor, maybe you can just give us a quick summary just to what people's appetites.

Trevor Tremblay: Well, I can definitely do that for you, Saira. So at a high level, the new Code is putting in some new requirements for pool bonding. So essentially it's making sure that all metal parts and the water around the pool are all bonded together to create an equal potential plane. And that'll help to minimize shock because we have seen quite a number of situations in recent years where pool users would report tingling, either walking out of their in-ground pool or touching the water in their hot tubs, passing infants from the hot tub to someone standing outside the hot tub. And these new rules are really aimed to tighten up these requirements to help reduce issues and keep people safe around the water. We do have some good news for the pool business. So the new Code came out May 1st. We will not be enforcing any of these rules till October 1st, just giving the pool installers a little time to make the changes and to finish what they've already quoted for this summer because a lot of these quotes were done previously, like before this rule came out. And to the contractors out there, I do recommend if you can, follow the new rules because it might be more costly at the end of the day following up on these tingle voltages because sometimes you have to get utilities involved, us involved. And it might not be a simple fix. I always recommend doing it, but again, you don't have to do it until October 1st.

Saira Husain: Well, thanks for that teaser. It's definitely an important topic and I know our listeners appreciate the heads up. I definitely look forward to digging into that subject with you in greater detail in a future episode. Now that brings us to one of my favorite parts of this podcast: listener questions. This question comes from Scott in Woodbridge, Ontario. Scott asks, my pool house does not have a bedroom and it's not attached to my house. Do I need AFCI breakers for my plugs and switches?

Trevor Tremblay: So the requirement for arc fall protection for receptacles in rule 26-658 only applies to a dwelling unit. So a detached pool house is not part of the dwelling and as such does not need to have any AFCI protection on those receptacles or lights.

Saira Husain: Now I know this episode just covers some of the highlights of the new Ontario Electrical Safety Code. It definitely doesn't cover everything. So for those of you who are interested in learning more, ESA does offer training courses specifically geared towards the 29th edition of the new Code. There are obviously other training providers out there as well, so do your research. But for those of you who are interested, check out the course selection at esasafe.com/courses. And there we have it, Trevor, another episode in the books.

Trevor Tremblay: Looking forward to many more, Saira.

Saira Husain: Same Trevor, and thank you always to our amazing listeners. We want to hear from you. So please email us at podcast@esasafe.com. We're open to topic suggestions and comments. Make sure you subscribe on any platform where you get your podcast so that you'll get notified about our next episode. And remember, this podcast is for general informational purposes only. While we endeavor to provide information that is relevant and current as of the date of initial broadcast, you should always consult the current edition of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code bulletins and applicable technical guidelines. Until next time, be safe, work safe and stay grounded.