In health care facility power systems, the additional level of ground-fault protection is not permitted on the load side of which device?

In health care facility power systems, additional ground-fault protection is not permitted on the load side of the essential system transfer switch due to the critical nature of essential electrical systems in hospitals. Essential system transfer switches are designed to ensure that power is reliably supplied to critical systems, such as life-support equipment, during a power outage or other failure.

Implementing additional ground-fault protection on the load side of these switches could introduce a risk of nuisance tripping. This might disrupt the supply of power to vital equipment, which could have serious consequences for patient safety and health care operations.

Maintaining a consistently reliable power supply to essential systems is crucial, making it necessary that these systems operate without interruption. Therefore, regulations specifically prohibit additional ground-fault protection downstream of essential system transfer switches to safeguard against potential power loss or disruptions.