2014 National Electrical Code now effective in 12 states; 11 more to come online by January

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says that the 2014 edition of the National Electrical Code(NEC) is now effective in 12 states: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. Eleven more states are set to enforce the 2014 edition by January 2015.

The NEC is one of the most widely used codes in the world. Many new and revised requirements in the code impact residential, commercial, and industrial electrical installations. Important changes include expanded AFCI and GFCI protection in homes and other types of buildings; new approaches to PV electric systems that provide greater safety for first responders; and the best available fire and shock protection features for residential electrical systems.

The 2014 edition also added four new articles on growing technologies:

· Low Voltage Direct Current Distribution Systems

· Modular Data Centers

· Fire Resistive Cable Systems

· Energy Management Systems

(http://www.nfpa.org/press-room/news-releases/2014/2014-edition-of-the-national-electrical-code-now-effective-in-12-states)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.