Definition of Terms Flashcards
Admitting close approach;
not guarded by locked doors, elevation, or other effective means.
Accessible (as applied to equipment)
Capable of being
removed or exposed without damaging the building structure or finish
or not permanently closed in by the structure or finish of the building.
Accessible (as applied to wiring methods)
Capable of being
reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without
requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb over or
remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth.
Accessible, Readily (Readily Accessible)
The current, in amperes, that a conductor can carry
continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its
temperature rating.
Ampacity
Utilization equipment, generally other than industrial,
that is normally built in standardized sizes or types and is installed or
connected as a unit to perform one or more functions such as clothes
washing, air conditioning, food mixing, deep frying, and so forth
Appliance
Acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction
Approved
A generic term for a group of nonflammable synthetic
chlorinated hydrocarbons used as electrical insulating media
Askarel
A device that, by insertion in
a receptacle, establishes a connection between the conductors of the
attached flexible cord and the conductors connected permanently to
the receptacle.
Attachment Plug (Plug Cap) (Plug)
The organization, office, or
individual responsible for approving equipment, materials, an
installation, or a procedure.
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)
Self-acting, operating by its own mechanism when
actuated by some impersonal influence, as, for example, a change in
current, pressure, temperature, or mechanical configuration.
Automatic
An area including a basin with one or more of the
following: a toilet, a tub, or a shower.
Bathroom
The permanent joining of metallic parts to form
an electrically conductive path that ensures electrical continuity and
the capacity to conduct safely any current likely to be imposed.
Bonding (Bonded)
A reliable conductor to ensure the required
electrical conductivity between metal parts required to be electrically
connected.
Bonding Jumper
The connection between two or
more portions of the equipment grounding conductor
Bonding Jumper, Equipment
The connection between the grounded
circuit conductor and the equipment grounding conductor at the
service
Bonding Jumper, Main
The connection between the grounded
circuit conductor and the equipment grounding conductor at a
separately derived system.
Bonding Jumper, System
The circuit conductors between the final
overcurrent device protecting the circuit and the outlet(s)
Branch Circuit
A branch circuit that supplies energy to
one or more outlets to which appliances are to be connected and thathas no permanently connected luminaires (lighting fixtures) that are
not a part of an appliance.
Branch Circuit, Appliance
A branch circuit that supplies
two or more receptacles or outlets for lighting and appliances
Branch Circuit, General-Purpose
A branch circuit that supplies only one
utilization equipment
Branch Circuit, Individual
A branch circuit that consists of two or
more ungrounded conductors that have a voltage between them, and a
grounded conductor that has equal voltage between it and each
ungrounded conductor of the circuit and that is connected to the
neutral or grounded conductor of the system
Branch Circuit, Multiwire
A structure that stands alone or that is cut off from
adjoining structures by fire walls with all openings therein protected
by approved fire doors.
Building
An enclosure that is designed for either surface mounting
or flush mounting and is provided with a frame, mat, or trim in which
a swinging door or doors are or can be hung.
Cabinet
A device designed to open and close a circuit by
nonautomatic means and to open the circuit automatically on a
predetermined overcurrent without damage to itself when properly
applied within its rating
Circuit Breaker
Rendered inaccessible by the structure or finish of the
building. Wires in concealed raceways are considered concealed, even
though they may become accessible by withdrawing them
Concealed
A conductor having no covering or electrical
insulation whatsoever
Conductor, Bare
A conductor encased within material of
composition or thickness that is not recognized by this Code as
electrical insulation
Conductor, Covered
A conductor encased within material of
composition and thickness that is recognized by this Code as electrical
insulation
Conductor, Insulated
A separate portion of a conduit or tubing system that
provides access through a removable cover(s) to the interior of the
system at a junction of two or more sections of the system or at a
terminal point of the system.
Conduit Body
A device that establishes a
connection between two or more conductors or between one or more
conductors and a terminal by means of mechanical pressure and
without the use of solder
Connector, Pressure (Solderless)
A load where the maximum current is expected
to continue for 3 hours or more
Continuous Load
A device or group of devices that serves to govern, in
some predetermined manner, the electric power delivered to the
apparatus to which it is connected
Controller
A cooking appliance designed
for mounting in or on a counter and consisting of one or more heating
elements, internal wiring, and built-in or mountable controls
Cooking Unit, Counter-Mounted
Localization of an overcurrent condition
to restrict outages to the circuit or equipment affected, accomplished
by the choice of overcurrent protective devices and their ratings or
settings
Coordination (Selective)
Conductors drawn from a
copper-clad aluminum rod with the copper metallurgically bonded to
an aluminum core. The copper forms a minimum of 10 percent of the
cross-sectional area of a solid conductor or each strand of a stranded
conductor
Copper-Clad Aluminum Conductors
An enclosure designed for surface mounting that has
swinging doors or covers secured directly to and telescoping with the
walls of the box proper
Cutout Box
Without live parts exposed to a person on the operating
side of the equipment
Dead Front
The ratio of the maximum demand of a system, or
part of a system, to the total connected load of a system or the part of
the system under consideration
Demand Factor
A unit of an electrical system that is intended to carry or
control but not utilize electric energy
Device
A device, or group of devices, or other
means by which the conductors of a circuit can be disconnected from
their source of supply
Disconnecting Means
Constructed so that dust will not enter the enclosing case
under specified test conditions
Dusttight
Operation at a substantially constant load for an
indefinitely long time
Duty, Continuous
Operation for alternate intervals of (1) load and
no load; or (2) load and rest; or (3) load, no load, and rest
Duty, Intermittent
Intermittent operation in which the load conditions
are regularly recurrent
Duty, Periodic
Operation at a substantially constant load for a
short and definite, specified time
Duty, Short-Time
Operation at loads, and for intervals of time, both of
which may be subject to wide variation
Duty, Varying
A single unit, providing complete and independent
living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent
provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and sanitation.
Dwelling Unit
A building that consists solely of one
dwelling unit
Dwelling, One-Family
A building that consists solely of two
dwelling units
Dwelling, Two-Family
A building that contains three or more
dwelling units
Dwelling, Multifamily
A fixed, stationary, or portable self-contained,
electrically illuminated utilization equipment with words or symbols
designed to convey information or attract attention
Electric Sign
One who has undergone training
in electrical engineering and has complied with the requirements of
Republic Act 7920 or otherwise known as the New Electrical
Engineering Law
Electrical Practitioner, Licensed
An electrical practitioner
that has not complied with the requirements of RA 7920 or a qualified
person with relevant education and experience to enable him or her to
perceive risks and to avoid hazards which electricity can create
Electrical Practitioner, Non-Licensed
Surrounded by a case, housing, fence, or wall(s) that prevents persons from accidentally contacting energized parts.
Enclosed
The case or housing of apparatus, or the fence or walls
surrounding an installation to prevent personnel from accidentally
contacting energized parts or to protect the equipment from physical
damage.
Enclosure
Electrically connected to a source of voltage.
Energized
Apparatus enclosed in a case that is
capable of withstanding an explosion of a specified gas or vapor that
may occur within it and of preventing the ignition of a specified gas or
vapor surrounding the enclosure by sparks, flashes, or explosion of the
gas or vapor within, and that operates at such an external temperature
that a surrounding flammable atmosphere will not be ignited thereby.
Explosionproof Apparatus
Capable of being inadvertently touched or approached nearer than a safe distance by a person. It is
applied to parts that are not suitably guarded, isolated, or insulated
Exposed (as applied to live parts)
On or attached to the
surface or behind panels designed to allow access
Exposed (as applied to wiring methods)
Capable of being operated without exposing
the operator to contact with live parts
Externally Operable
All circuit conductors between the service equipment, the
source of a separately derived system, or other power supply source
and the final branch-circuit overcurrent device
Feeder
A string of outdoor lights that is suspended between two points
Festoon Lighting
An accessory such as a locknut, bushing, or other part of a
wiring system that is intended primarily to perform a mechanical
rather than an electrical function.
Fitting
A building or portion of a building in which one or more
self-propelled vehicles can be kept for use, sale, storage, rental, repair, exhibition, or demonstration purposes.
Garage
A conducting connection, whether intentional or
accidental, between an electrical circuit or equipment and the earth or
to some conducting body that serves in place of the earth
Ground
Connected to earth or to some conducting body that
serves in place of the earth
Grounded
Intentionally connected to earth through a
ground connection or connections of sufficiently low impedance and
having sufficient current-carrying capacity to prevent the buildup of
voltages that may result in undue hazards to connected equipment or to persons
Grounded, Effectively
Connected to ground without inserting any resistor or impedance device
Grounded, Solidly
A system or circuit conductor that is
intentionally grounded.
Grounded Conductor
A device intended for
the protection of personnel that functions to de-energize a circuit or
portion thereof within an established period of time when a current to
ground exceeds the values established for a Class A device
Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
A system intended to
provide protection of equipment from damaging line-to-ground fault
currents by operating to cause a disconnecting means to open all
ungrounded conductors of the faulted circuit
Ground-Fault Protection of Equipment
A conductor used to connect equipment or
the grounded circuit of a wiring system to a grounding electrode or
electrodes.
Grounding Conductor
The conductor used to
connect the non–current-carrying metal parts of equipment, raceways,
and other enclosures to the system grounded conductor, the grounding
electrode conductor, or both, at the service equipment or at the source
of a separately derived system.
Grounding Conductor, Equipment
A device that establishes an electrical
connection to the earth
Grounding Electrode
The conductor used to connect
the grounding electrode(s) to the equipment grounding conductor, to
the grounded conductor, or to both, at the service, at each building or
structure where supplied by a feeder(s) or branch circuit(s), or at the
source of a separately derived system
Grounding Electrode Conductor
Covered, shielded, fenced, enclosed, or otherwise
protected by means of suitable covers, casings, barriers, rails, screens,
mats, or platforms to remove the likelihood of approach or contact by
persons or objects to a point of danger
Guarded
An accommodation combining living, sleeping,
sanitary, and storage facilities within a compartment
Guest Room
An accommodation with two or more contiguous
rooms comprising a compartment, with or without doors between such
rooms, that provides living, sleeping, sanitary, and storage facilities
Guest Suite
An enclosure identified for use in
underground systems, provided with an open or closed bottom, and
sized to allow personnel to reach into, but not enter, for the purpose of
installing, operating, or maintaining equipment or wiring or both.
Handhole Enclosure
Any shaftway, hatchway, well hole, or other vertical
opening or space in which an elevator or dumbwaiter is designed to
operate
Hoistway
Recognizable as suitable for
the specific purpose, function, use, environment, application, and so
forth, where described in a particular Code requirement
Identified (as applied to equipment)
Where this
Code specifies that one equipment shall be “in sight from,” “within
sight from,” or “within sight,” and so forth, of another equipment, the
specified equipment is to be visible and not more than 15 m distant
from the other
In Sight From (Within Sight From, Within Sight)
The highest current at rated voltage that a
device is intended to interrupt under standard test conditions.
Interrupting Rating
Not readily accessible to persons
unless special means for access are used
Isolated (as applied to location)
Equipment or materials to which has been attached a label,
symbol, or other identifying mark of an organization that is acceptable
to the authority having jurisdiction and concerned with product
evaluation, that maintains periodic inspection of production of labeled
equipment or materials, and by whose labeling the manufacturer
indicates compliance with appropriate standards or performance in a
specified manner
Labeled
An outlet intended for the direct connection of a
lampholder, a luminaire (lighting fixture), or a pendant cord
terminating in a lampholder
Lighting Outlet
Equipment, materials, or services included in a list published
by an organization that is acceptable to the authority having
jurisdiction and concerned with evaluation of products or services, that
maintains periodic inspection of production of listed equipment or
materials or periodic evaluation of services, and whose listing states
that the equipment, material, or services either meets appropriate
designated standards or has been tested and found suitable for a
specified purpose
Listed
Conductor or conductive part intended to be energized
in normal use
Live Parts
Locations protected from weather and not subject
to saturation with water or other liquids but subject to moderate
degrees of moisture
Location, Damp
A location not normally subject to dampness or
wetness
Location, Dry
Installations under ground or in concrete slabs or
masonry in direct contact with the earth; in locations subject to
saturation with water or other liquids, such as vehicle washing areas;
and in unprotected locations exposed to weather.
Location, Wet
A complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp or lamps
together with the parts designed to distribute the light, to position and
protect the lamps and ballast (where applicable), and to connect the
lamps to the power supply
Luminaire
A switchgear assembly
completely enclosed on all sides and top with sheet metal (except for
ventilating openings and inspection windows) containing primary
power circuit switching, interrupting devices, or both, with buses and
connections.
Metal-Enclosed Power Switchgear
An assembly of one or more enclosed
sections having a common power bus and principally containing motor
control units
Motor Control Center
A type of surface, flush, or freestanding
raceway designed to hold conductors and receptacles, assembled in the
field or at the factory
Multioutlet Assembly
Action requiring personal intervention for its
control. As applied to an electric controller, nonautomatic control does
not necessarily imply a manual controller, but only that personal
intervention is necessary
Nonautomatic
A load where the wave shape of the steady-state
current does not follow the wave shape of the applied voltage
Nonlinear Load
A point on the wiring system at which current is taken to
supply utilization equipment
Outlet
An arrangement of incandescent lamps, electric
discharge lighting, or other electrically powered light sources to
outline or call attention to certain features such as the shape of a
building or the decoration of a window
Outline Lighting
Any current in excess of the rated current of
equipment or the ampacity of a conductor. It may result from
overload, short circuit, or ground fault
Overcurrent
Operation of equipment in excess of normal, full-load
rating, or of a conductor in excess of rated ampacity that, when it
persists for a sufficient length of time, would cause damage or
dangerous overheating
Overload
A single panel or group of panel units designed for
assembly in the form of a single panel, including buses and automatic
overcurrent devices, and equipped with or without switches for the
control of light, heat, or power circuits; designed to be placed in a
cabinet or cutout box placed in or against a wall, partition, or other
support; and accessible only from the front
Panelboard
A compartment or chamber to which one or more air ducts
are connected and that forms part of the air distribution system
Plenum
An enclosed assembly that may include receptacles,
circuit breakers, fuseholders, fused switches, buses, and watt-hour
meter mounting means; intended to supply and control power to
mobile homes, recreational vehicles, park trailers, or boats or to serve
as a means for distributing power required to operate mobile or
temporarily installed equipment
Power Outlet
That interior and exterior wiring,
including power, lighting, control, and signal circuit wiring together
with all their associated hardware, fittings, and wiring devices, both
permanently and temporarily installed, that extends from the service
point or source of power, such as a battery, a solar photovoltaic
system, or a generator, transformer, or converter windings, to the
outlet(s)
Premises Wiring (System)
An enclosed channel of metal or nonmetallic materials
designed expressly for holding wires, cables, or busbars, with
additional functions as permitted in this Code
Raceway
Constructed, protected, or treated so as to prevent rain
from interfering with the successful operation of the apparatus under
specified test conditions
Rainproof
Constructed or protected so that exposure to a beating
rain will not result in the entrance of water under specified test
conditions
Raintight
A receptacle is a contact device installed at the outlet
for the connection of an attachment plug. A single receptacle is a
single contact device with no other contact device on the same yoke. A
multiple receptacle is two or more contact devices on the same yoke
Receptacle
An outlet where one or more receptacles are
installed
Receptacle Outlet
Any electric circuit that controls any
other circuit through a relay or an equivalent device
Remote-Control Circuit
Equipment enclosed in a case or cabinet that
is provided with a means of sealing or locking so that live parts cannot
be made accessible without opening the enclosure
Sealable Equipment
A premises wiring system whose
power is derived from a source of electric energy or equipment other
than a service
Separately Derived System
The conductors and equipment for delivering electric
energy from the serving utility to the wiring system of the premises
served
Service
Service conductors made up in the form of a cable
Service Cable
The conductors from the service point to the
service disconnecting means
Service Conductors
The overhead service conductors from the last pole
or other aerial support to and including the splices, if any, connecting
to the service-entrance conductors at the building or other structure
Service Drop
The service
conductors between the terminals of the service equipment and a point
usually outside the building, clear of building walls, where joined by
tap or splice to the service drop
Service-Entrance Conductors, Overhead System
The
service conductors between the terminals of the service equipment and
the point of connection to the service lateral
Service-Entrance Conductors, Underground System
The necessary equipment, usually consisting
of a circuit breaker(s) or switch(es) and fuse(s) and their accessories,
connected to the load end of service conductors to a building or other
structure, or an otherwise designated area, and intended to constitute
the main control and cutoff of the supply
Service Equipment
The underground service conductors between the
street main, including any risers at a pole or other structure or from
transformers, and the first point of connection to the service-entrance
conductors in a terminal box or meter or other enclosure, inside or
outside the building wall
Service Lateral
The point of connection between the facilities of the
serving utility and the premises wiring
Service Point
Any window used or designed to be used for the
display of goods or advertising material, whether it is fully or partly
enclosed or entirely open at the rear and whether or not it has a
platform raised higher than the street floor level
Show Window
Any electric circuit that energizes signaling
equipment
Signaling Circuit
The total components and subsystems
that, in combination, convert solar energy into electrical energy
suitable for connection to a utilization load
Solar Photovoltaic System
The written consent of the authority having
jurisdiction
Special Permission
That which is built or constructed.
Structure
A device
intended to provide limited overcurrent protection for specific
applications and utilization equipment such as luminaires (lighting
fixtures) and appliances
Supplementary Overcurrent Protective Device
A manually operated device used in
conjunction with a transfer switch to provide a means of directly
connecting load conductors to a power source and of disconnecting the
transfer switch
Switch, Bypass Isolation
A switch intended for use in general
distribution and branch circuits. It is rated in amperes, and it is capable
of interrupting its rated current at its rated voltage
Switch, General-Use
A form of general-use switch
constructed so that it can be installed in device boxes or on box covers,
or otherwise used in conjunction with wiring systems recognized by
this Code
Switch, General-Use Snap
A switch intended for isolating an electric circuit
from the source of power. It has no interrupting rating, and it is
intended to be operated only after the circuit has been opened by some
other means
Switch, Isolating
A switch rated in horsepower that is
capable of interrupting the maximum operating overload current of a
motor of the same horsepower rating as the switch at the rated voltage
Switch, Motor-Circuit
An automatic or nonautomatic device for
transferring one or more load conductor connections from one power
source to another
Switch, Transfer
A large single panel, frame, or assembly of panels on
which are mounted on the face, back, or both, switches, overcurrent
and other protective devices, buses, and usually instruments
Switchboard
The words
Thermally Protected appearing on the nameplate of a motor or motorcompressor indicate that the motor is provided with a thermal
protector
Thermally Protected (as applied to motors)
A protective device for assembly as an integral part of a motor or motor-compressor that,
when properly applied, protects the motor against dangerous
overheating due to overload and failure to start
Thermal Protector (as applied to motors)
Equipment that utilizes electric energy for
electronic, electromechanical, chemical, heating, lighting, or similar
purposes
Utilization Equipment
Provided with a means to permit circulation of air
sufficient to remove an excess of heat, fumes, or vapors
Ventilated
A flammable liquid having a flash
point below 38°C, or a flammable liquid whose temperature is above
its flash point, or a Class II combustible liquid that has a vapor
pressure not exceeding 276 kPa at 38°C and whose temperature is
above its flash point
Volatile Flammable Liquid
The greatest root-mean-square (rms)
(effective) difference of potential between any two conductors of the
circuit concerned.
Voltage (of a circuit)
A nominal value assigned to a circuit or system
for the purpose of conveniently designating its voltage class (e.g.,
120/240 volts, 480Y/277 volts, 600 volts). The actual voltage at which
a circuit operates can vary from the nominal within a range that
permits satisfactory operation of equipment.
Voltage, Nominal
For grounded circuits, the voltage between the
given conductor and that point or conductor of the circuit that is
grounded; for ungrounded circuits, the greatest voltage between the
given conductor and any other conductor of the circuit
Voltage to Ground
Constructed so that moisture will not enter the enclosure under specified test conditions
Watertight
Constructed or protected so that exposure to the
weather will not interfere with successful operation
Weatherproof
