RME-PEC 1 CHAPTER 1

Accessible (as applied to equipment)

Admitting close approach; not guarded by locked doors, elevation, or other effective means.

Accessible (as applied to wiring methods)

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, Readily (Readily Accessible)

Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to take actions such as to use tools ( other than keys), to climb over or under, to remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth

Adjustable Speed Drive

Power conversion equipment that provides a means of adjusting the speed of an electric motor.

Ampacity

The current, in amperes, that a conductor can carry continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its temperature rating.

Appliance

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.

Approved

Equipment and materials; and installation, testing and commissioning methods, recognized as acceptable by local and international standards-setting organizations - properly equipped and qualified for testing, inspections of the run of goods at factories, and service-value determination through field inspections - and/or as permitted by relevant and applicable government regulatory codes.

Askarel

A generic term for a group of nonflammable synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbons used as electrical insulating media

Associated Apparatus

Apparatus in which the circuits are not necessarily intrinsically safe themselves but that affects the energy in the intrinsically safe circuits and is relied on to maintain intrinsic safety.

Associated Nonincendive Field Wiring Apparatus

Apparatus in which the circuits are not necessarily nonincendive themselves but that affect the energy in nonincendive field wiring circuits and are relied upon to maintain nonincendive energy levels.

Attachment Plug/Plug Cap/Plug

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.

Automatic

Performing a function without the necessity of human intervention.

Bathroom

An area including a basin with one or more of the following: a toilet, a tub, or a shower.

Battery System

Interconnected battery subsystems consisting of one or more storage batteries and battery chargers, and can include inverters, converters, and associated electrical equipment.

Bonded/Bonding

Connected to establish electrical continuity and conductivity.

Bonding Conductor/Jumper

A reliable conductor to ensure the required electrical conductivity between metal parts required to be electrically connected.

Bonding Jumper Equipment

The connection between two or more portions of the equipment grounding conductor.

Bonding Jumper Main

The connection between the grounded circuit conductor and the equipment grounding conductor at the service.

Bonding Jumper System

The connection between the grounded circuit conductor and the equipment grounding conductor at a separately derived system.

Branch Circuit

The circuit conductors between the final overcurrent device protecting the circuit and the outlet(s).

Branch Circuit Appliance

A branch circuit that supplies energy to one or more outlets to which appliances are to be connected and that has no permanently connected luminaires that are not a part of an appliance.

Branch Circuit General Purpose

A branch circuit that supplies two or more receptacles or outlets for lighting and appliances.

Branch Circuit Individual

A branch circuit that supplies only one utilization equipment.

Branch Circuit Multiwire

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

Building

A structure that stands alone or that is separated from adjoining structures by fire walls.

Building Official

The government official appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and who is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the National Building Code of the Philippines (NBC) created under Presidential Decree 1096 (PD 1096) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations; and charged with the duties of issuing building permits, notices and certificates.

Building Official Office Of the

The place of business of the Building Official where processing of permits, notices, certificates and other related documents are undertaken. Also referred to as OBO in this Code.

Building Official/EE Office of the

A licensed electrical practitioner employed in the Office of the Building Official responsible for overseeing electrical installations and equipment for compliance to provisions of the Philippine Electrical Code, Part 1 (PECl), and for the approval of electrical permits and certificates issuances. Also referred to as OBO/EE in this Code.

Cabinet

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.

Cable Routing Assembly

A single channel or connected multiple channels, as well as associated fittings, forming a structural system that is used to support and route communications wires and cables, optical fiber cables, data cables associated with information technology and communications equipment, Class 2, Class 3, and Type PLTC cables, and power-limited fire alarm cables in plenum, riser, and general-purpose applications.

Charge Controller

Equipment that controls dc voltage or dc current, or both, and that is used to charge a battery or other energy storage device.

Circuit Breaker

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.

Adjustable

A qualifying term indicating that the circuit breaker can be set to trip at various values of current, time, or both, within a predetermined range.

Instantaneous Trip

A qualifying term indicating that no delay is purposely introduced in the tripping action of the circuit breaker.

Inverse Time

A qualifying term indicating that there is purposely introduced a delay in the tripping action of the circuit breaker, which delay decreases as the magnitude of the current increases.

Nonadjustable

A qualifying term indicating that the circuit breaker does not have any adjustment to alter the value of current at which it will trip or the time required for its operation.

Setting

The value of current, time, or both, at which an adjustable circuit breaker is set to trip.

Clothes Closet

A nonhabitable room or space intended primarily for storage of garments and apparel

Coaxial Cable

A cylindrical assembly composed of a conductor centered inside a metallic tube or shield, separated by a dielectric material, and usually covered by an insulating jacket

Combustible Dust

Dust particles that are 500 microns or smaller, and present a fire or explosion hazard when dispersed and ignited in air.

Combustible Gas Detection System

A protection technique utilizing stationary gas detectors in industrial establishments.

Communications Equipment

The electronic equipment that performs the telecommunications operations for the transmission of audio, video, and data, and includes power equipment ( e.g., de converters, inverters, and batteries), technical support equipment (e.g., computers), and conductors dedicated solely to the operation of the equipment.

Composite Optical Fiber Cable

A cable containing optical fibers and current-carrying electrical conductors.

Concealed

Rendered inaccessible by the structure or finish of the building.

Conductive Optical Fiber Cable

A factory assembly of one or more optical fibers having an overall covering and containing non- current-carrying conductive member( s) such as metallic strength member( s ), metallic vapor barrier(s), metallic armor or metallic sheath.

Conductor Bare

A conductor having no covering or electrical insulation whatsoever.

Conductor Covered

A conductor encased within material of composition or thickness that is not recognized by this Code as electrical insulation.

Conductor Insulated

A conductor encased within material of composition and thickness that is recognized by this Code as electrical insulation.

Conduit Body

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.

Connector Pressure (Solderless)

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.

Continuous Load

A load where the maximum current is expected to continue for 3 hours or more.

Control Circuit

The circuit of a control apparatus or system that carries the electric signals directing the performance of the controller but does not carry the main power current.

Control Drawing

A drawing or other document provided by the manufacturer of the intrinsically safe or associated apparatus, or of the nonincendive field wiring apparatus or associated nonincendive field wiring apparatus, that details the allowed interconnections between the intrinsically safe and associated apparatus or between the nonincendive field wiring apparatus or associated nonincendive field wiring apparatus.

Controller

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.

Cooking Unit Counter Mounted

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.

Coordination Selective (Selective Coordination)

Localization of an overcurrent condition to restrict outages to the circuit or equipment affected, accomplished by the selection and installation of overcurrent protective devices and their ratings or settings for the full range of available overcurrents, from overload to the maximum available fault current, and for the full range of overcurrent protective device opening times associated with those overcurrent.

Copper-Clad Aluminum Conductors

Conductors drawn from a copper-clad aluminum rod with the copper metallurgically bonded to an aluminum core, where copper forms a minimum of 10 percent of the cross-sectional area of a solid conductor or each strand of a stranded conductor.

Cord Connector

A fitting intended to terminate a cord to a box or similar device and reduce the strain at points of termination and may include an explosionproof, a dust-ignition proof, or a flameproof seal.

Cutout Box

An enclosure designed for surface mounting that has swinging doors or covers secured directly to and telescoping with the walls of the enclosure.

Dead Front

Without live parts exposed to a person on the operating side of the equipment.

Demand Factor

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.

Device

A unit of an electrical system, other than a conductor, that is intended to carry or control but not utilize electric energy.

Disconnecting Means

A device, or group of devices, or other means by which the conductors of a circuit can be disconnected from their source of supply.

Dust-Ignitionproof

Equipment enclosed in a manner that excludes dusts and does not permit arcs, sparks, or heat otherwise generated or liberated inside of the enclosure to cause ignition of exterior accumulations or atmospheric suspensions of a specified dust on or in the vicinity of the enclosure.

Dusttight

Enclosures constructed so that dust will not enter the enclosing case under specified test conditions.

Duty Continuous

Operation at a substantially constant load for an indefinitely long time.

Duty Intermittent

Operation for alternate intervals of (1) load and no load; or (2) load and rest; or (3) load, no load, and rest.

Duty Periodic

Intermittent operation in which the load conditions are regularly recurrent.

Duty Short-Time

Operation at a substantially constant load for a short and definite, specified time.

Duty Varying

Operation at loads, and for intervals of time, both of which may be subject to wide variation.

Dwelling Unit

A single unit, providing complete and independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and sanitation.

Dwelling One-Family

A building that consists solely of one dwelling unit

Dwelling Two-Family

A building that consists solely of two dwelling units.

Dwelling Multifamily

A building that contains three or more dwelling units.

Effective Ground-Fault Current Path

An intentionally constructed, low-impedance electrically conductive path designed and intended to carry current underground-fault conditions from the point of a guard fault on a wiring system to the electrical supply source and that facilitates the operation of the overcurrent protective device or ground0fault detectors.

Effective Power Production and Distribution

Power production, distribution, and utilization equipment and facilities, such as electric utility systems that deliver electric power to the connected loads, that are external to and not controlled by an interactive system.

Electric Sign

A fixed, stationary, or portable self-contained, electrically operated and/or electrically illuminated utilization equipment with words or symbols designed to convey information or attract attention.

Electric Discharged Lighting

Systems of illumination utilizing fluorescent lamps, high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, or neon tubing

Electrical Practitioner Licensed

A Registered Master Electrician (RME), Registered Electrical Engineer (REE) or Professional Electrical Engineer (PEE) who has a knowledge of electrical engineering and/ or training in electrical installations and practices, and has complied with the requirements of the Republic Act 7920 or national electrical engineering law

Electronically Actuated Fuse

An overcurrent protective device that generally consists of a control module that provides current-sensing, electronically derived time-current characteristics, energy to initiate tripping, and an interrupting module that interrupts current when an overcurrent occurs. Such fuses may or may not operate in a current-limiting fashion, depending on the type of control selected.

Enclosed

Surrounded by a case, housing, fence, or wall(s) that prevents persons from accidentally contacting energized parts.

Enclosure

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.

Energized

Electrically connected to a source of voltage

Equipment

A general term including material, fittings, devices, appliances, luminaires, apparatus, and the like used as a part of, or in connection with, an electrical installation.

Explosionproof Equipment

Equipment 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.

Exposed (as applied to live parts)

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 wiring methods)

On or attached to the surface or behind panels designed to allow access.

Externally Operable

Capable of being operated without exposing the operator to contact with live parts.

Feeder

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.

Festoon Lighting

A string of outdoor lights that is suspended between two points.

Fitting

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.

Garage

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.

Ground

The earth

Grounded (Grounding)

Connected ( connecting) to earth or to some conducting body that serves in place of the earth.

Grounded Solidly

Connected to ground without inserting any resistor or impedance device

Grounded Conductor

A system or circuit conductor that is intentionally grounded.

Grounded-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)

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.