electrical panel location

[new land owner]

I want to install my main electrical panel in the unheated mud room.  It would be located on the wall behind the sink location but in the mud room.  I figure this way I could run all my wire runs down thru the floor and along the floor joists and then back up to the main building.  My question is, can I install in this location or is this a code issue.

[muldoon]

Provided you terminate and ground into your main box correctly, and run your branches from there, I dont see how it being an unheated location effects code.  As long as it is protected from weather, and everything else is inline, I dont think you would have any troubles. 

There are people who have their subpanels outside in weatherproof NEMA boxes on posts, so I dont think this will be an issue provided everything else is on the level. 

[MountainDon]

You can install the load center in any room except the bathroom. You need to place it where you have 30" wide and 36" deep unobstructed access to it. If you have more than 15' of wire between the meter and load center a disconnect is required, however some power companies and Cities may require a disconnect unless they are installed back to back of each other, check with your locale power company there. The disconnect must be equal to or smaller than the load center breaker.

[Jeff922]

I might not understand this correctly, but it sounds like you want to put your service panel on a "wet wall" opposite the bathroom.  I don't know of any code issues with this, but you would need to be sure there isn't any plumbing obstructions in the stud bay you want your panel in.

[bayview]

   I don't know if I would want my breaker box in the same wall as plumbing . . .

   Try to centralize the location of the box so you can access it at a later date.   (From the attic, etc . . . )   It will come in handy in case you decide to add more circuits.   

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[new land owner]

My plan is to mount the panel in the mud room that backs up to the bathroom.  There would be a 2 x 6 wall between the panel and the bathroom.

[MountainDon]

If there will be pipes in that wall you could also double stud the wall to make space for more equipment. We have a wall like that in our home; one 2x6 plus a 2x4.

[rwanders]

Think through what it will look like in that wall when you have all the electrical and plumbing in place---I have found sketching it out to scale using graph paper is a good method. That will enable you to identify conflicts between the pieces and parts and avoid the dreaded "aw shits".

Those of us with extensive experience may be able to skip that process. Lost count of the times the plumber or electrician or HVAC sub came crying that there wasn't enough room for his stuff.

[davidj]

If you're running all of the wires down, you could use a surface mounted box with plastic conduit heading through the floor.  Not as pretty, and no doubt costs a little more, but maybe quicker than messing around with extra framing or trying to weave around plumbing.

[new land owner]

That is what I was thinking of doing.  I would surface mount the panel and box it in so the wires running down the wall into the basement would be covered by a removable piece of plywood.

[dug]

Maybe (probably) a dumb question but can a circuit box be located outdoors?  I lived in 4 different houses in Arizona and they all had the breaker box on an outside wall. My current property in NM has the breaker box mounted on the utility pole.

[MountainDon]

Outdoor panels are made. They have a weatherproof cover.

[davidj]

Around our way, in the big box stores, typically the flush mount panels are indoor panels and the surface mount are more likely to be outdoor (although you want to check the documentation to make sure as this isn't always the case).  The outdoor panels typically cost  50-80% more.