Drop near the bedroom window
The window's lower sash opens. Is anything wrong here?
- Nothing. This installation is compliant
- The overhead service conductors are within 3 ft of an openable window
- The SE cable running down beside the window must be at least 3 ft from it
- Service conductors on the wall must stay at least 10 ft above grade
Show the answer and the code reference
The answer
Nothing is wrong: the open service conductors are all above the top of the window, and the jacketed SE cable beside it is not subject to the 3 ft window clearance.
Correct choice: 1. Nothing. This installation is compliant
230.9(A) keeps open service conductors and cable without an overall outer jacket, such as triplex, at least 3 ft from openable windows, doors, porches, balconies, and stairs, so nobody can reach them from inside. Its exception lets conductors run above the top level of a window be closer than 3 ft, and the insulator, drip loop, and drop here are all above the window head. The SE cable beside the window has an overall outer jacket, so 230.9(A) does not apply to it. The rest checks out too: the head is above the attachment (230.54(C)), straps are within 12 in of the head and meter-main and under 30 in apart (230.51(A)), the attachment is well over 10 ft up (230.26), and the meter-main is the outdoor emergency disconnect (230.85).
How to fix it
No correction needed. If the attachment had to go beside or below the window instead, the open conductors would need 3 ft of clearance from it.
Code references
NEC 2023 230.9(A) — Clearances on Buildings: Clearances
Service conductors installed as open conductors or multiconductor cable without an overall outer jacket shall have a clearance of not less than 3 ft from windows designed to be opened, doors, porches, balconies, ladders, stairs, fire escapes, or similar locations. Exception: conductors run above the top level of a window shall be permitted to be less than 3 ft from it.
Drills citing 230.9(A)NEC 2023 230.54(C) — Overhead Service Locations: Service Heads and Goosenecks Above Service-Drop or Overhead Service Attachment
Service heads and goosenecks in service-entrance cables shall be located above the point of attachment of the service-drop or overhead service conductors. Where that is impracticable, the head may be located not farther than 24 in from the point of attachment.
Drills citing 230.54(C)NEC 2023 230.51(A) — Mounting Supports: Service-Entrance Cables
Service-entrance cable shall be supported within 12 in of every service head, gooseneck, or connection to a raceway or enclosure and at intervals not exceeding 30 in.
Drills citing 230.51(A)NEC 2023 230.26 — Point of Attachment
The point of attachment shall provide the clearances of 230.9 and 230.24 and in no case be less than 10 ft above finished grade.
Drills citing 230.26
2026 NEC:same rule and number. No 2026 change to the 3 ft clearance from openings in 230.9(A), or its above-the-window exception, appears in the 2026 change summaries checked. The explanation's mention of the meter-main as the 230.85 emergency disconnect should read 230.70 under 2026 (230.85 was deleted). The installation still complies, because the outdoor meter-main is the service disconnect. Confidence: low
Minnesota
Minnesota enforces the 2023 NEC, adopted by reference without amendments in Minn. Rules 1315.0200 (Minn. Stat. 326B.35), effective July 1, 2023. No Minnesota amendment to 230.9 exists. The utility-owned drop is also subject to the NESC and the serving utility's own service standards. The Board of Electricity adopted the 2026 NEC, also without amendment, for permits filed on or after Aug. 17, 2026 (exams moved to the 2026 NEC on Sept. 8, 2026); see the 2026 NEC note on this drill.
How Minnesota adopts the NECWhy the other choices are wrong
- The overhead service conductors are within 3 ft of an openable window. 230.9(A) has an exception: conductors run above the top level of a window may be closer than 3 ft. The insulator, drip loop, and drop are all above the window head.
- The SE cable running down beside the window must be at least 3 ft from it. 230.9(A) applies to open conductors and multiconductor cable without an overall outer jacket. SE cable has an overall jacket, so it may run beside a window.
- Service conductors on the wall must stay at least 10 ft above grade. The 10 ft minimums in 230.24(B)(1) and 230.26 apply to the overhead conductors, drip loop, and point of attachment, all well above 10 ft here. Jacketed SE cable is meant to run down the wall to the meter; only open individual conductors must stay 10 ft up or be protected (230.50).