The 2026 National Electrical Code® (NEC®) has been reorganized and will improve usability for electrical workers, inspectors, engineers, and others working in the electrical field. Randy Barnett explains new Articles, a commonsense grouping of information, and the relocation of existing information. Examples of major changes within each chapter are given, chapter-by-chapter.
Since 1937 revisions to the NEC have been primarily just adding new information or new articles in an “appropriate” chapter. When the Code was almost exclusively residential in content, and incandescent lamps and motors dominated electric loads, that approach seemed to work very well. In the last many years, however, the world of electrical installations has changed drastically. Electronic drives, solid state controls, communication systems, optical fiber cable, low-energy power supplies, and electric vehicle chargers, are just a few examples of an ever-changing NEC landscape. The reorganization of the National Electrical Code for 2026, and continuing with major organizational restructuring for 2029, puts the code into a more commonsense and thus usable format.
Randy begins with an example of data center electrical installation and its relationship to modern electrical construction challenges. View this EC&M Tech Talk if you plan on using the 2026 NEC!
About the Author
Randy Barnett
CESCP
Randy Barnett is a master electrician, ICC Commercial Electrical Inspector, NFPA-certified Electrical Safety Compliance Professional and has worked as an electrician and technician in nuclear and coal-fired power plants, government nuclear research facilities, and in industrial maintenance and construction. He is the author of Commercial and Industrial Wiring – American Technical Publishers, numerous articles, and the producer of a monthly Tech Talk video series for EC&M Magazine. Randy provides training and program development services for clients such as, NTT Training, ABB, American Polywater, Socomec, and Schneider Electric. Randy can be reached at www.randybarnett.net.