why do a lot of places in the south have thier electrical boxes outside?

Question

wow first off yes fuse breaker box or panel. duh. wow i had to go to college for that.
next duh. i got to go to college for meter. thats a no brainer. all meters are outside. unless some one person did differently.

basement or no basement up north they are in side. personally have grown up in the north i think its because of Ice. everything outside gets large large amounts of ice in and outside of it.

thats funny dude! must of not ever been to georgia or virginia! because i now live in va and my dad in ga and my brother in texas and guess what ! outside. someone also said it was lazyness. pure lazyness. this way late at night when its dark outside someone can shut off your power easyier and come in the house and do bad things.

firefighters dont shut off power! they have a special axe that they use to chop the main line. see power in a fire is extremly unstable and knows no boundries. therefore it could easyily malfunction and come out the box at them. sure in some cases they might secure power at the panel. but their main objective is to save lives quickly and safely. then save property

Answer 1

Southern people don't mind walking outside to reset a circuit breaker? Florida people don't trust electricians to come into their houses? It is allowed by the code? All of the above?

Answer 2

Most outside panels are simply a disconnect for the service. Your main panel can be disconnected from the meter for maintance/upgrade without the Power Co. having to pull the meter. If the actual breaker panel for the structure is outside ( assuming it's in a weathertight enclosure) it was probably a matter of convience, because of structural reasons preventing its being installed inside the structure. The outside panel may contain a small number of breakers ( usually 2 ) for a power source for outdoor devices.

Answer 3

First of all, by "electical boxes," I assume you mean fuse/breaker panel.
You normally see outside electical panels on older houses, as this is was a quick and easy way to upgrade the electical service of an old home when new, high wattage appliances such as stoves, dryers, and airconditioning were added.
I suppose up north a/c was less likely to be added to an old house, and since natural gas is more likely available, heating (air & water) and cooking remain in with natural gas.

Answer 4

I'm from the south and our meters are located outside of the home. The breaker boxes are located inside. This is the way it has always been.

Answer 5

In Florida its so the firefighters can shut off power to the house before they enter the building. I am from the north and its only Florida that i have ever seen it that way.

Answer 6

Recent (or not so recent) eletrical code changes require shut-offs located outside a structure in case of emergency. I'm not sure it's confined to the south, but it is not retro-active unless there is major modification to a home.

Answer 7

Goodness, I live in the south. I thought everyone's was outside.

Answer 8

In the south it doesn't get so cold, so it will not freeze up in the winter and nothing will get damaged. In the north, it does get cold, and kept inside for protection frtom the elements.

Answer 9

not as many full basements down south. also lots of below ground electric lines.

Answer 10

so the PSO man can read the meter.