Change Summary

• Measurement criteria at dwelling unit sinks were revised for clarity in determination of which receptacles around these sinks would and would not require GFCI protection.

Expert Analysis

Note: Same requirement at 210.8(B)(5) for non-dwelling unit sinks

The 2014 NEC dictated that all 125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles installed within 1.8 m(6 ft) of any dwelling unit sink required GFCI protection. With literal interpretation, this 2014 NEC modification brought about some unintended circumstances such as mandated GFCI protection for a receptacle under the kitchen sink for a garbage/waste disposer.

For the 2017 NEC, revisions to this list item (7), along with an addition to the parent text of 210.8 will eliminate the necessity for GFCI protection for receptacles installed inside a cabinet (such as a receptacle for the garbage disposer) as the measurement to the sink would constitute “penetrating a cabinet door” in order to achieve this required 1.8 m (6 ft) measurement. This revision makes it clear that the measurement from the receptacle to the sink ends or begins at the “top inside edge of the bowl” of the sink rather than the “outside edge” of the sink. The outside edge of a sink is three dimensional and could include the bottom of the bowl, which apparently was an unintended interpretation. In today’s modern dwelling units, it is not difficult to find some unconventional sinks. This would include such things as a free-standing bowl that sits atop a countertop with no recess into the countertop at all. This revised text will help with consistent interpretation as to the method of measurement for these types of sinks.

This same revision occurred at 210.8(B)(5) for GFCI protection and measurements at a non-dwelling unit sink. Nothing previously stated concerning the measurement methodology at a dwelling unit sink would change for a sink at a commercial office break room or any other non-dwelling unit sink location.

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