Texas Administrative Code › Title 26 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Part 1 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION › Chapter 554 - NURSING FACILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE AND MEDICAID CERTIFICATION › Subchapter D - FACILITY CONSTRUCTION › Division 5 - FACILITIES LICENSED ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 AND BEFORE APRIL 2, 2018 › Section 554.341 - Electrical Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 The design of the electrical systems must be done by or under the direction of
					 a licensed professional electrical engineer approved by the Texas Board of
					 Professional Engineers to operate in Texas, and the parts of the plans and
					 specifications covering electrical design must bear the legible seal of the
					 engineer. Utilities; heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems;
					 vertical conveyors, and chutes must meet the requirements of NFPA 101, Chapter
					 9, Building Service and Fire Protection Equipment.
(b) Fire protection systems must meet the
					 requirements of §554.337 of this division (relating to Fire Protection
					 Systems).
(c) Electrical systems
					 must meet the requirements of NFPA 70.
(d) Specific requirements for lighting and
					 outlets at resident bedrooms must meet the requirements of §554.334 of
					 this division (relating to Architectural Space Planning and Utilization).
(1) Emergency electrical service.
(A) To provide electricity during an
					 interruption of the normal electric supply, an emergency source of electricity
					 must be provided and connected to certain circuits for lighting and power.
					 Facilities that were constructed or received design approval or building
					 permits before July 5, 2016, may comply with the emergency electrical system
					 requirements for existing health care facilities in NFPA 99. All other
					 facilities covered by this section must comply with the emergency electrical
					 system requirements for new health care facilities in NFPA 99.
(B) Emergency electrical connection service
					 must be provided to the distribution systems as required by NPFA 101 and NFPA
					 99. Rehabilitation or modernization of an existing emergency power system must
					 be based on the assessed risk category and according to the requirements of
					 NFPA 99 for new health care facilities.
(i)
					 The following systems must be arranged for automatic connection to the
					 alternate power source, without delay :
(I)
					 illumination for means of egress, nurse stations', medication rooms, dining and
					 living rooms, group bathing rooms not directly connected to resident bedrooms,
					 and areas immediately outside of exit doors ;
(II) exit signs and exit directional signs as
					 required by NFPA 101;
(III) alarm
					 systems including fire alarms activated by manual stations, water flow alarm
					 devices of sprinkler systems, fire and smoke detecting systems, and alarms
					 required for nonflammable medical gas systems, if installed;
(IV) task illumination and selected
					 receptacles at the generator set location;
(V) selected duplex receptacles including
					 such areas as resident corridors, each bed location where patient care-related
					 electrical appliances are utilized, nurse stations, and medication rooms
					 including biologicals refrigerator;
(VI) nurse call systems;
(VII) resident room night lights;
(VIII) a light and receptacle in an
					 electrical room or a boiler room;
(IX) elevator cab lighting, control, and
					 communication systems;
(X) all
					 facility telephone equipment; and
(XI) paging or speaker systems, if intended
					 for communication during emergency. Radio transceivers where installed for
					 emergency use must be capable of operating for at least one hour upon total
					 failure of both normal and emergency power.
(ii) The following systems must be arranged
					 for delayed automatic or manual connection to the alternate power source :
(I) Heating equipment must provide heating
					 for general resident rooms. This will not be required if:
(-a-) the outside design temperature is
					 higher than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.7 degrees Celsius);
(-b-) the outside design temperature is lower
					 than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.7 degrees Celsius) and, when selected rooms are
					 provided for the needs of all confined residents, then only those rooms need to
					 be heated; or
(-c-) the facility is
					 served by a dual source of normal power.
(II) In instances when interruptions of power
					 would result in elevators stopping between floors, throw-over facilities must
					 be provided to allow the temporary operation of any elevator for the release of
					 passengers.
(C)
					 The emergency lighting must be automatically in operation within ten seconds
					 after the interruption of normal electric power supply. Emergency egress
					 lighting must not be switched.
(D)
					 Emergency service to receptacles and equipment may be delayed automatic or
					 manually connected. Receptacles connected to emergency power must have red
					 faceplates.
(E) The design and
					 installation of emergency motor generators must be in accordance with NFPA 37,
					 NFPA 99, and NFPA 110.
(i) Generators must be
					 located a minimum of three feet from a combustible exterior building finish and
					 a minimum of five feet from a building opening, if located on the exterior of
					 the building.
(ii) Generators
					 located on the exterior of the building must be provided with a noncombustible
					 protective cover or be protected as per manufacturer's
					 recommendations.
(iii) Motor
					 generators fueled by public utility natural gas must have the capability to be
					 switched to an alternate fuel source in accordance with NFPA 70.
(iv) Stored fuel capacity must be sufficient
					 for not less than four hours of required generator operation.
(F) The normal wiring circuits for
					 the emergency system must be kept entirely independent of all other wiring and
					 must not enter the same race-ways, boxes, or cabinets according to NFPA
					 70.