The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) has submitted three code-change proposals to the New York Division of Code Enforcement and Administration, recommending that New York’s building codes use the current National Electric Code (NEC) and delete all chapters of the International Residential Code (IRC). The proposals were made on behalf of The Electrical Coalition.
Brook Stauffer, executive director of standards and safety for NECA, says the IRC has serious problems. “The NEC is our nation’s wiring rules, and probably the world’s most widely-used safety document,” she says. “Meanwhile, the IRC is an incomplete, non-consensus publication written by an association of non-electrical building officials.”
NECA points out that the IRC doesn’t have wiring rules for common residential electrical equipment like air conditioners, electric heat, and communications wiring. The group says that using the IRC will cause confusion and construction delays, since the majority of workers on building projects are trained and familiar with the NEC.
