Electrical – Can/should I install the breaker box in an annexed room

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I have three choices for the breaker box, in Brazil there is no national code restricting its location, but I still want it to have a good/proper location.

  • In my workshop that is annex to the house, but have its own locked entrace (you have to go to out to enter it), can be placed plainly visible but it is not easily accessible from inside the house.

  • Inside a half bath (just toilet and sink, 1.5×1.5m) opposite wall to the toilet.

  • In the laundry in the same wall next to the gas water heater. It seems to be the most recommend spot, but it also is very close to water/heat sources.

Can I put it in the workshop? If not, the half-bath seems to carry less water than the laundry.

Best Answer

(Punting to the US NEC since the OP mentioned Brazil doesn't have an electrical code, and the 2014 NEC is what I have handy.)

First off -- putting a panel in a half-bath is a bad idea, due to the hazards it poses to any electrician working inside it. In the US, it'd be dinged by an inspector as a 240.24(E) violation:

(E) Not Located in Bathrooms. In dwelling units, dormitories, and guest rooms or guest suites, overcurrent devices, other than supplementary overcurrent protection, shall not be located in bathrooms.

That said, is the workshop kept locked when not in use? If so, I suspect putting breakers there would fail 240.24(B) in the US NEC (the exceptions are for multi-tenant buildings under 24/7 professional management and don't apply to single-family dwellings as a result):

(B) Occupancy. Each occupant shall have ready access to all overcurrent devices protecting the conductors supplying that occupancy, unless otherwise permitted in 240.24(B)(1) and (B)(2).

This leaves the laundry room -- a properly placed panel in the laundry room should not be subject to moisture on a regular basis, but a NEMA 3R enclosure for the panelboard (i.e. an outdoor-rated panelboard) is a good insurance policy against a burst washer hose nonetheless.

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