NEC Changes – From 1923

How many outlets are required in a bedroom?

Growing up, I wondered why the bedrooms in Grandma’s house only had one “plug-in” in each room. So, I looked in my NEC collection to find the answer.

The NEC was first published in 1897. Although the code cycle is now 3 years, in the early 1900s, it was sometimes updated every 1 – 2 years. The first mention of convenience outlets appeared in 1923, NEC section 1404: “Receptacles for attachment plugs (convenience outlets) are strongly recommended in order to facilitate the use of electrical appliances which, otherwise, must be connected to sockets designed primarily only as lamp holders.” (Do you remember seeing those cords hanging from light sockets at the “Carousel of Progress” in Disney World?)

Starting in 1928, section 1602, it was recommended that each room be provided with at least two attachment plug receptacles. The 1933 NEC, section 2012 recommended that if there were outlets installed in the bedroom they should be installed “so no point on the wall, as measured horizontally along the wall will be 15 feet from such an outlet.” In 1935, they recommended at least one receptacle outlet, still with the 30 foot preferable spacing between.

For outlet placement, up to this point, the words, “recommended” and “preferred” were used. Finally, in 1937, the phrase “shall be” is used and the spacing is dropped down to 20 feet between outlets. In 1956, section 2124, outlet spacing was changed to 12 feet.

How did electricians interpret the rules when a wall was less than 6 feet in width? In 1959, section 210-22 contains the code that has changed very little in the last 45 years: “receptacle outlets shall be installed so that no point along the floor line in any usable wall space is more than six feet, measured horizontally, from an outlet in that space, including any usable wall space two feet wide or greater.”

The NEC changes for two basic reasons: to address new technologies and to correct life-safety issues. As you look back in the old codes, some wording has remained the same for over 100 years and some wording changes nearly every code cycle. Now, at least I know that my Grandparent?s 1920s house exceeded code recommendations.