The electrical code has many locations that attempt to manage reconditioned equipment. Section 110.20 is on elf those sections that recognizes that in some locations reconditioning of equipment is prohibited. This section adds clarity recognizing that reconditioned of equipment is permitted unless it is explicitly prohibited in the electrical code. This section also provides requirements in regard to what replacement parts can be used in the reconditioning process including identified replacement parts and those that are verified under the correct standards provided by the OEM or by an engineer experienced in the design of the parts.
There are three first level subdivisions associated with this section. They are as follows:
Equipment Required to Be Listed.
Not all equipment installed is required to be listed. First level sub-division (A) helps the user of the electrical code understand this. This section recognizes the fact that some equipment is required to be listed and when equipment is reconditioned and when it is required by the electrical code to be listed, it must be listed or field labeled as reconditioned.
Equipment That is Not Required to Be Listed.
It is in first level sub-division (B) of 110.20 where we find guidance for when equipment is not required to be listed. If equipment is reconditioned and is not required by the electrical code to be listed, two conditions are required to be met:
(1) The equipment must be listed or field labeled as reconditioned
(2) the act of reconditioning must be performed in accordance with the original equipment manufacturer instructions
Approved Equipment.
it is in 110.20(B) that we find language to address when 110.20(A) and 110.20(B) are not able to be satisfied. This places the approval of the reconditioned equipment in the lap of the authority having jurisdiction. In addition, it requires that the entity responsible for reconditioning provide the authority having jurisdiction with the necessary documentation to identify all of the changes made to the equipment.
Related electrical code requirements include the following:
100 The definition of the term “Reconditioned”
100 The definition of the term “Servicing”
110.17 Requirements for when you are servicing and maintaining electrical equipment
210.2 Reconditioned GFCI, AFCI and GFPE Equipment
240.2 Reconditioned circuit breakers and fuses
242.2 Reconditioned surge devices
245.2 Reconditioned medium voltage equipment
404.16 Reconditioned switches
406.2 Reconditioned receptacles and other types of wiring devices
408.2 Reconditioned panelboards, switchboards, and switchgear
410.2 Reconditioned luminaries lamp holders and related equipment
411.2 Reconditioned low voltage lighting equipment
430.2 Reconditioned motors and related equipment
470.2 Reconditioned resistors and reactors
495.2 Reconditioned medium voltage equipment
695.2 Reconditioned fire pumps
700.2 Reconditioned life safety equipment such as transfer switches
701.2 Reconditioned Legally required equipment such as transfer switches
702.2 Reconditioned optional standby systems
708.2 Reconditioned critical operation power system equipment such as transfer switches
800.2 Reconditioned communication equipment
2023 Electrical Code changes
This is a new section for the electrical code, driven by a task group formed in accordance with the direction of the Standards Council in Decision D#19-11. The task group was appointed to identify potential proposed changes to the 2020 edition of the electrical code in the form of proposed Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) or to the 2023 edition of the electrical code in the form of Public Inputs (PIs) that are within the Task Group’s scope of activity as specified by the Standards Council.
This new Section 110.20 now establishes general requirements that apply to all equipment that is reconditioned. The concept of “reconditioned equipment” was introduced in the 2017 edition of the electrical code and then expanded to address additional requirements and specific equipment in the 2020 edition. The electrical code needed clarity in regard to specific types of equipment that can or cannot be reconditioned. The 2020 edition introduced requirements for some specific types of equipment, more often the Code remained silent on the use of reconditioned equipment. The first sentence to this proposed Section addresses the question as to whether reconditioned equipment is permitted by the Code when the Code does not specifically address the equipment in question.
Section 110.20 identifies that equipment can be reconditioned unless specifically identified that it cannot be reconditioned elsewhere in the electrical code. The electrical code does not permit reconditioning, it permits the use of reconditioned equipment or does not permit the use of reconditioned equipment.
Common QuestionIf the trip unit in a power circuit breaker is replaced because the trip unit failed, would that be considered reconditioning the power circuit breaker?
To answer this question we have to look at the definition of reconditioned. Open your electrical code book and look at the definition of reconditioned. First it focuses on restoring equipment to operating conditions. This tells us that the equipment was not functioning and then it was functioning. If you replace the trip unit on the power circuit breaker one could argue that you are returning it to operating conditions. The second sentence of the definition is what helps us understand that this action of replacing a trip unit in a power circuit breaker is not considered reconditioning. The definition moves on to tell us that normal servicing of equipment that remains within a facility is not reconditioning. It tells us that replacement of listed equipment on a one-to-one basis is not reconditioning. When an electronic trip unit is replaced on a power circuit breaker we are following the manufacturer instructions and we are replacing a one for one listed solution.
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