What do you think?
Definitely report worthy. Every neutral conductor needs its own hole and fastener in the bus bar, not shared with any other conductors.
It’s a bad install that doesn’t meet building standards and needs correction by a licensed electrician. It would definitely make my report, but personally, I wouldn’t elevate it to a “defect” unless I observed evidence of arching or overheating.
Double-lugged neutrals used to be allowed, but not anymore. The general problem is when you turn a breaker OFF thinking you have that circuit fully isolated, in reality you don’t because the neutral is still live. Also, double, triple, or more lugging in this instance, increases the probability that the connections will get loose and cause arcing, heat, and even a potential fire.
Just dont know where this pass or fail thought process come from. Does ASHI teach this? Just wondering where it started…
Panels don’t pass or fail.
You call out what you see.
I’d document as defect.
The neutrals are all attached to a bus bar. Three in one hole or one in each hole there is effectively zero impedance difference and they are still equipotential.
It’s all about preventing uneven pressure that could result in arcing and even with even pressure, it’s concentrating heat in one spot.
When? And by who? I don’t believe the NEC or any manufacturers have ever allowed more than one grounded neutral per lug/screw.
Good point. So, it is really just about loose connections causing arcing or loosing a neutral under load that can cause an overvoltage.
Yeah, pretty much. They can cause more heating in that area, causing the conductors to move, possibly the screw to move…to create gaps and arcing or just a plain ole wire that falls out and stops working.
There’s a video I saw once on YouTube that accelerated the process of wires heating and cooling. You could watch them squirm. Was bizarre. If I can find it I’ll post it.
There’s other issues as well. If someone working on a panel needs to remove a neutral from the bus, it’s best if they don’t affect a neutral from a different circuit, generally speaking. Probably not a big deal for electricians, but a DIY homeowner may not realize what they are doing when they loosen the screw holding multiple neutrals. They may only have the one circuit they are working on turned off. Also, many times the ground and neutral for a circuit are under the same screw. So if you loosen the screw to remove the neutral, you’ve also now just lost the ground. Again, not a huge deal for an electrician who knows what they are doing, but can be bad news for the untrained.
At time of the inspection there were one or more neutral (white) wires that were doubled or bundled together under the same lug (screw) within the electrical (service or distribution) panel. This is an improper and unsafe installation that could cause loose connections and overheating. Neutrals (or grounding conductor) should always have a single terminal connection (Unless the manufacturer states otherwise, bus bars are only designed for one current carrying conductor per terminating lug). The purpose of the neutral wire is to complete the electrical circuit by providing a path back to the electrical panel where the neutral is connected and bonded to the earth ground. Recommend further evaluation and corrective repair as necessary for reasons of safety from a qualified electrical contractor in accordance with accepted practice.
The listing of the panel did not allow multiple neutrals or a mix of neutral and grounding conductors. Since few read the instructions and labels a direct cite to this was added to the NEC. Previously it was an obscure requirement that the instructions be followed.
All true and another potential issue is that one of those neutrals “from a different circuit” is for a MWBC. The result could be their nice LCD TV or other 120 volt appliances going up in smoke.