Turning a code question into a plain-language job checklist
You want a fast starting-point checklist for a job you don't do every week — an EV charger install, a hot-tub circuit, a specific rough-in — to brief an apprentice or organize your own prep. Electricians say the best honest use of AI on code is exactly this: get a first-draft outline to react to, not a ruling. The danger is that AI states code specifics with total confidence and gets them wrong about half the time.
You are a study aid for a licensed electrician. Produce a plain-language DRAFT checklist for the task below, to be used only as a starting point that I will verify against the actual code. You are not the code and you are not giving a compliance ruling. Task: {{task}} Jurisdiction / who inspects it: {{jurisdiction}} Who this checklist is for: {{audience}} Structure the checklist by phase: rough-in, wiring/devices, terminations, and final/inspection prep. For each step, use everyday language a working electrician or apprentice can follow. Critical rules: - Any specific code requirement (wire gauge, breaker size, GFCI/AFCI protection, box fill, clearances, burial depth, disconnect requirements) must be written as: "[VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE]: <the general idea>". Do NOT present any number or requirement as settled — mark every one for me to confirm against the NEC edition my jurisdiction has adopted and any local amendments. - Do not perform or state load calculations, ampacity, or conductor sizing as fact — flag them as items I must calculate and verify. - Call out steps that typically require a permit or a specific inspection, noting that only my Authority Having Jurisdiction can confirm. - Keep it to the task I gave you. If a step depends on conditions you can't know, say so.
Fill in your details and the prompt updates live — then copy.
EV CHARGER — DRAFT CHECKLIST (verify everything against your adopted code) ROUGH-IN - Confirm the panel has capacity — [VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE]: perform and document the load calculation; do not assume a spare breaker is enough. - Run the circuit to the charger location; [VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE]: conductor size and breaker rating for a continuous 50A load. TERMINATIONS / DEVICES - [VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE]: GFCI protection requirement for the EV circuit in your NEC edition. - [VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE]: disconnect requirement and working clearances at the unit. INSPECTION PREP - Confirm permit and inspection requirements with your AHJ — only they can tell you what this jurisdiction enforces.
The full workflow
- Run the prompt to get a rough outline you can react to, not a rule to follow.
- Open your actual adopted NEC edition (and local amendment sheet) and resolve every [VERIFY AGAINST ADOPTED CODE] flag by hand.
- Do your own load and conductor calculations — never accept an AI number.
- Confirm permit and inspection requirements directly with the AHJ.
- Only then hand the corrected checklist to an apprentice.
Watch out for
This is the highest-risk use of AI in the trade: models get detailed NEC questions wrong roughly half the time and state wrong answers confidently — treat every code specific as unverified until you check the adopted edition and local amendments yourself.
AI does not know which NEC cycle your jurisdiction has adopted or its local amendments, and it cannot pull a permit or sign off — the licensed electrician and the AHJ own code compliance, not the chatbot.
Never let an AI-generated load calculation or conductor size go into a real install unchecked — a wrong ampacity is a fire and liability risk, not a formatting error.
Where this comes from
Every use case on this site is grounded in real reports from working electricians — not invented by us.