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Panel labeling conventions

Home Improvement Asked by Tom Getzinger on December 12, 2020

I’m in WA state. PoCo is Mason PUD #1. AHJ is WA L&I. I recently had my first inspection after replacing meter box, breaker panel, lots of house wiring. Only flunked for 7 things. One of them was "label panel circuits and mount cover with 2 screws for next inspection". I left the cover off so they could see inside. I didn’t label the circuits in case they told me I needed to change any. Go figure.

I want the labels on the panel to be meaningful to me, to the inspector, and to the next poor person who has to figure out what they mean. I’m looking for any/all suggestions for what you all use. E.g., What abbreviations would be easily understood? What details are important to list? Most circuits are straightforward (e.g., just refrigerator, just microwave). A few are more complex (e.g., living room receptacles and lights, dining room ceiling fan). Once I get some suggestions, I’ll use them to describe the complex ones – perhaps then I can get feedback on them (hopefully not feedback saying just don’t do that, but if so, I’d rather know now than at the next inspection).

And to answer questions that may come up on the complex ones, this was a remodel. Some walls had drywall, some had T&G wood, some had tile. As much as possible, I didn’t want to have to open walls. I straightened things out as much as I could without going to excessive lengths. So, somethings may be a bit strange, but if they are just plain wrong (i.e., not code compliant), I’d love to know.

2 Answers

Rooms without a clear, unlikely to change, definable purpose (i.e kitchen, bathrooms, etc) are better referred to by compass direction than current function (2nd Fl NW rather than christy's bedroom or guest room or office...) and likewise if there are multiple bathrooms per floor, say.

Or, go commercial, print out a floorplan, assign numbers to rooms, and use that. If doing that, convention is 3 digits and the first is the floor, even if there are not more than 9 rooms per floor.

(not that it helps with inspection, but it can help YOU or future owner if you also label each outlet/switch with a breaker number - under the faceplate if you don't want to see it normally.)

Answered by Ecnerwal on December 12, 2020

You don't need to name every single outlet. Just a descriptor that covers most of the outlets.

You also must use labels that make sense to people not your family: so "Angie's Room" is Right Out.

Answered by Harper - Reinstate Monica on December 12, 2020

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