TIA – Tentative Interim Amendment

​Did you know that on December 8, 2021, the NEC issued TIA 20-15 for 406.9(C), exception No. 2?

A TIA is a Tentative Interim Amendment to the NEC. These can be found by navigating to https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=70

Click on Current & Prior Editions and you find all Issued Amendments under the TIA heading for the 2020 Edition. You can download and print these to place in your codebooks for reference. They are placed automatically in the digital version of the NEC.

This TIA 20-15 was issued to address the use of receptacles for electronic toilet or personal hygiene devices i.e., electronic bidet seats. 406.9(C) created a zone of 3 feet horizontally and 8 feet vertically from the top rim of a bathtub or threshold of a shower stall where no receptacles are allowed to be installed. This obviously created an issue for the electronic toilet and personal hygiene devices as the toilets are commonly placed near the tubs and showers. The NEC now allows a single receptacle (simplex) to be installed in that zone if it meets the requirements of Exception No. 2. When inside the 3 x 8-foot zone, the receptacle must be a single (simplex) receptacle installed in a readily accessible location on the opposite side of the toilet from the tub or shower but NOT behind the tank. What the exception does not address is the use of the electronic bidet devices where the toilet is set between the bathtub and the shower stall and there is no place outside the defined zone. No receptacle would be allowed to be installed for a bidet in this instance.

As of the writing of this article, there have been sixteen TIA’s issued for the 2020 NEC. These include TIA’s for the following references:

725.121(C) – issued prior to printing; 210.52(C)(2) – issued prior to printing; 725.121(C),a second TIA – issued prior to printing; 240.67(C) and information note – issued prior to printing; 240.87(C) and informational note– issued prior to printing; Annex D3 – issued prior to printing; Table 430.252 – issued prior to printing

Issued AFTER printing – 551.71(F); 800.100(B)(2) informational note and figure caption; 356.10(8); 520.21; 520.53; 210.8(F) [This TIA does NOT negate the Colorado State Variance which includes ALL HVAC installations on dwelling units]; 706.50; 406.9(C), Exception No. 2; 250.114(3)e and 250.114(4)e

Of the sixteen TIA’s issued there are nine that were issued after printing the NEC.

See our Blog Page for more articles from the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the IAEI.