National Electrical Code 2005 Softcover Version

By National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Book Overview

2005 This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877656231
• ISBN13: 9780877656234
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: National Fire Protection Association
• Length: 792 Pages
• Weight: 3.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.4" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

The National Electrical Code 2005

This book is the quintessential book for all electricians who work actively in the field. It is almost necessary for all electricians looking to take their journeyman or master electricians test. A new NEC book is released every 3 years making it one of the tools an electrician must buy to keep up on the code changes. It's too bad it's so expensive. If you are considering becoming a licensed electrician you can look forward to shelling out at least $100.00 every three years to renew your license, and about $40.00 every year for licensing fees. But you can make a very good living being an electrician, so don't let the costs scare you away form this great trade.

Important Resource

Wanting to make internal wiring systems safer is the right thing to do. However, knowing how to meet that goal has never been more difficult. And with internal wiring systems more complex than ever, having a resource that provides correct answers about the NEC rules along with details in a simple explaination, is even more useful. That's exactly what the NEC 2005 Handbook does. I have used this resource for years and can always count on it to provide answers in a clear and concise manner. The latest Handbook continues to improve with the increased use of illustrations and expanded discussions to help the reader know the NEC rule specifics... while helping in its understanding. The Handbook is a "must have" reference if you are serious about doing all you can to meet the safety goals of the NEC Rules.

student use

This book is far better than the standard red code book. this has more useful information with the pics and tables that is more helpful. and the tabs are great makes finding the sections alot easier.

Great quality book - oodles better than the paperback version

I bought this book because I am studying to be an electrician. I like it considerably more than the paperback version it is far easier to find section headings and sub-headings when you are looking for something. The paper is strong and glossy-white (as opposed to gray and flimsy in the paperback) and headings are in bold type and indented. That may not sound like much, but it is many times easier to read this version than the paperback version I was supplied to by my school. The book also features notes about many revisions to the Code from the 2002 edition as well as numerous examples, illustrations, and diagrams of different regulations. The book is very well constructed, albeit, rather large at 1300+ pages. If you need to buy a code book, this one will last a lot longer than the paperback one!

Required reference for handymen and professional electricians

The National Electric Code, also knows as NFPA-70, is the standard that building officials use to define what is legal to use in electric services of all kinds. NFPA is the National Fire Protection Association. The Electric Code began almost as soon as Edison wired some of his new lights in New York, and the first electricity caused fire happened. Soon thereafter the National Fire Protection Association began writing safety codes aimed at preventing fires and promoting safe wiring techniques. Today, more than a century later, the Electric Code is republished every 3 years. As new inventions and new applications for electricity are ever expanding the code book expands and is revised to define the new applications. The 2005 edition has been updated to include recent developments in available materials and equipment. The code has 772 large pages detailing every electric installation from common house wiring to installation requirements for 35,000 volt transformers. The tables detailing how many conductors you can put in a conduit go on for 50 pages in the appendix. The problem most people have with the code comes from its complexity and scope. If you are a handyman, or even an electrician, it takes years of study to learn all its requirements, and even then they change it on you. It can be helpful though. One year I was installing wire for a welder in my garage. I found a paragraph that allowed me to derate the current load of the conductors based on the duty cycle percentage of the welder. I saved quite a bit of money on heavy wire that wasn't needed, and had a safe installation. The code is so long and complex that several other books have been written to help professional and amateur electricians understand the code, translating it's stilted language and detailed requirements into plain English for common applications. The "Illustrated Guide to the National Electric Code," by Charles R. Miller, is one of the better ones. There are also numerous how-to handbooks on electric wiring based on the code. For example, "Wiring Simplified," by Richter and others. is an easy do-it-yourself guide. However, even an illustrated guide book is not the code. When the electric inspector comes out to review your work you need to know that you wired it correctly. You can bet he's read the code and will be approving or disapproving your work based on its requirements. Over the years I've had to repair and straighten out many half-baked and outright dangerous electric installations. Many of them were done by well meaning men who just didn't know how electric wiring was supposed to be done. I recommend that everyone doing wiring from homeowner to seasoned electrician, to electric engineer ought to own a current copy of the National Electric Code. The 2005 edition will be current until 2008.