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Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 1 of 2)
Section - What impact does NAFTA have on wiring standards and approvals?

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See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge

	The North America Free Trade Agreement came into effect on
	January 1st, 1994.  NAFTA attempts to bring down trade barriers
	between Mexico, Canada and the USA.  One of the "barriers" has
	been that of approval of material.  As of January first, CSA
	approval of a device is legally considered equivalent to UL
	approval in the USA.  Conversely, UL is now accepted as
	equivalent to CSA approval in Canada.  Theoretically, this
	means that devices marked only with UL approval are acceptable
	in the CEC, and conversely CSA approval by itself of a device
	is accepted by the NEC.  This allows much freer trade in
	electrical materials between the two countries.

	This doesn't affect the electrical codes themselves, so the
	differences in practice between the NEC and CEC will remain.
	It is also my understanding that bilateral acceptance of
	"approval" will only apply when the standards applied are
	reasonably the same.  As an example, a cable approved by the
	NEC for a given purpose may not be acceptable by the CEC for
	the same purpose if the standards requirements are different.
	Eg: "NMD" ("non-metallic, damp") cable is usually required for
	residences in Canada.  "NM" cable ("non-metallic, not damp
	locations) which is used in the same situations in the US,
	would probably not be acceptable in Canada.  Also,
	municipalities can add additional requirements on top of the
	CEC, as they can in the US over the NEC.

	Thus, Canadians will probably start seeing UL-only approved
	materials in stores, and Americans the same regarding
	CSA-only.  But some differences will remain.  When in doubt on
	major items, consult an inspector.  At least in Canada, the
	fact that the material is available in a store usually means
	that it's okay to install.

User Contributions:

1
Dev
In a fire protection circuit, circuts are shown witha no example 6,8,4etc. what it mean?these circuits are connected between smode detector,junction box etc
2
kevin
My daughter dropped a small necklace behind her dresser. The necklace crossed a plug terminal and shorted the receptacle.
I bought a new receptacle and installed the same. I still have no power I suspect there could be a bigger problem,this is aluminum wiring.
I've killed the breaker and call an electrician but am curious as to what happened.P.s. there is a dimmer switch on the same circuit.
3
dennis
Regarding new construction wiring and running 12/2 and 14/3 wire in the same box.

I have multiple switches to lights. Ran 12/2 and 14/3 into switch box and inspector wrote correction needed.

What should I have done instead?

thank you
dennis
4
Robert
Does a grounding electrode facilitate the operation of a OCPD, to clear a ground fault ?
5
@dennis
Assuming you are installing two switches in a two switch box, you probably should have used 14/2 and 14/3 instead of replacing 14/2 with 12/2. If you are only installing one switch in a one switch box, you should only have one cable in the box.
6
P k
I prefer to use nothing smaller than12 awg /the smallest sized wire on a circuit determines the allowable ampacity
Ex: 15 amp-14awg. 12awg-20amp only rule for thumb other factors such as continuous load,heating and others if you do not know the safe NEC rules then please call a qualified journeyman Electrician better be safe

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Top Document: Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 1 of 2)
Previous Document: What is CSA approval?
Next Document: Are there any cheaper, easier to read books on wiring?

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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM