Baseboard Heaters

[Buck Hartley, CMI]

How far above electric baseboard heaters should wall outlets be?

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by bhartley

How far above electric baseboard heaters should wall outlets be?

Hi there,

receptacles are not allowed in any wall space above electric baseboard heaters

Regards

Gerry

[David P. Valley]

Here ya go...

[Buck Hartley, CMI]

That is what I thought. THANKS!!!

[Christian F. Mettel]

I guess I know what'll get called out in my house when I go to sell it.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by cmettel

I guess I know what'll get called out in my house when I go to sell it.

Remove the receptacle, nut the wires together and put a blank cover on it.

[menser]

Hey guys,
How about outlets above hydronic baseboard heaters? Are those allowed?
Thanks,
Mark

[David P. Valley]

Originally Posted by menser

Hey guys,
How about outlets above hydronic baseboard heaters? Are those allowed?
Thanks,
Mark

It doesn't matter what type of heating is below an outlet. Electrical cords become brittle over time as the heat dries out the cord. Outlets above any heat source should be either removed or never used.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by dvalley

It doesn't matter what type of heating is below an outlet. Electrical cords become brittle over time as the heat dries out the cord. Outlets above any heat source should be either removed or never used.

David, is this your opinion our is there code or installation instructions that indicate you can't have receptacles above non-electric hydronic baseboard heaters?

Since hot water baseboard heaters often occupy the entire length of outside walls as they do in my own home, how could one meet the NEC requirements for receptacles locations on walls 2 ft in length or greater?

[Marc D. Shunk]

Originally Posted by dvalley

It doesn't matter what type of heating is below an outlet. Electrical cords become brittle over time as the heat dries out the cord. Outlets above any heat source should be either removed or never used.

It is true that electrical cords can become brittle when exposed to heat for long periods of time.

While it's probably a very good idea to not have cords over other types of baseboard heat (such as hot water baseboard), there's no "legal" precedent for this. In homes with hot water baseboard heat, for instance, every foot of every exterior wall is often occupied by a hot water convector unit. In this case, it would be impossible to meet the NEC's legal receptacle spacing requirements and still meet the "good idea" of not having receptacles over heat sources.

[jrivera]

Attached Thumbnails

Dave is this from Inspection Depot

Mic

[rmccullough]

I always call out a concern when an outlet is over an ELECTRIC Baseboard heater. Over a hydronic is not as critical, Electrical ones CAN and DO over heat, Never seen a Hydronic one do that. hard for water to START a fire. Doesn't the NEC address this?

Guess I should have READ all the posts, my $.02 wasn't needed,,