Required to use UL approved items?

[rookie4now]

OK, so I think I should know this, but I don't.

Where, if anywhere in the NEC does it require that anything be UL approved? I know I can have a gutter made by the local fabricator with no problem and that's not UL approved. The issue has come up because a few customers have ordered light fixtures online and inspectors won't allow them because they are not UL approved.

Is there some distinction between a fixture that is purchased and an item that is fabricated?

On an upcoming job we are having two junction boxes custom made due to tight spacing and box fill. Will they need to be UL approved?

Code reference anyone?

Thanks.

 

[glene77is]

R4N,
Here is my first take:
(1) UL 'listed' is a 'pending' thing, where UL accepts the makers testing, until UL can do their own.

(2) UL 'approved' is a permanent thing, where UL actually did the testing.

(3) NEC refers to UL 'listed' very frequently.
Someone with NEC on CD will respond with a base quote.

(4) AHJ 'approved' is what you are after if you want to pass the 'inspection'.
I would check in advance with Code Enforcement.

 

[iwire]

Where, if anywhere in the NEC does it require that anything be UL approved?

First thing is UL does not 'approve' anything, they list things.

I know I can have a gutter made by the local fabricator with no problem and that's not UL approved.

The NEC does not specifically require a listing for a metal gutter.

366.6 Listing Requirements.

(A) Outdoors. Nonmetallic auxiliary gutters installed outdoors
shall comply with the following:

(1) Be listed as suitable for exposure to sunlight
(2) Be listed as suitable for use in wet locations
(3) Be listed for maximum ambient temperature of the
installation

(B) Indoors. Nonmetallic auxiliary gutters installed indoors
shall be listed for

The issue has come up because a few customers have ordered light fixtures online and inspectors won't allow them because they are not UL approved.

The NEC does specifically require lighing fixtures be listed.

410.6 Listing Required. All luminaires and lampholders
shall be listed.

On an upcoming job we are having two junction boxes custom made due to tight spacing and box fill. Will they need to be UL approved?

The NEC may not require these boxes to be listed but the NEC does require they be approved by the AHJ. The AHJ might only accept a listed item.

Approved. Acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.

Listed. Equipment, materials, or services included in a list
published by an organization that is acceptable to the authority
having jurisdiction and concerned with evaluation
of products or services, that maintains periodic inspection
of production of listed equipment or materials or periodic
evaluation of services, and whose listing states that either
the equipment, material, or service meets appropriate designated
standards or has been tested and found suitable for
a specified purpose.

 

[glene77is]

First thing is UL does not 'approve' anything, they list things.
The NEC does not specifically require a listing for a metal gutter.
The NEC does specifically require lighing fixtures be listed.
The NEC may not require these boxes to be listed but the NEC does require they be approved by the AHJ. The AHJ might only accept a listed item.

Bob,
Great quotes. Thanks.
You must be using a NEC CD, else you are right smart, maybe both.

 

[chris kennedy]

The NEC does not specifically require a listing for a metal gutter.

In wet locations, 376.10(3).

 

[hardworkingstiff]

Bob,
Great quotes. Thanks.
You must be using a NEC CD, else you are right smart, maybe both.

It's both.

 

[rookie4now]

Thanks, I'm confused at a much higher level now!

 

[roger]

Thanks, I'm confused at a much higher level now!

Let's start at 90.7

90.7 Examination of Equipment for Safety.
For specific items of equipment and materials referred to in this Code, examinations for safety made under standard conditions provide a basis for approval where the record is made generally available through promulgation by organizations properly equipped and qualified for experimental testing, inspections of the run of goods at factories, and service-value determination through field inspections. This avoids the necessity for repetition of examinations by different examiners, frequently with inadequate facilities for such work, and the confusion that would result from conflicting reports on the suitability of devices and materials examined for a given purpose.

If an item is not specifically required to be listed then it only need be approved by the inspector or AHJ. We have to remember there are items we use in this trade everyday that are not listed and are not required to be. As a matter of fact, not all motors are listed.

So, as previously pointed out if a particular article does not specifically call for an item to listed it doesn't need to be unless there are local requirements. In NC there is a state statute that is pretty much a blanket covering all electrical items.

? 66‑25. Acceptable listings as to safety of goods.
All electrical materials, devices, appliances, and equipment shall be evaluated for safety and suitability for intended use. This evaluation shall be conducted in accordance with nationally recognized standards and shall be conducted by a qualified testing laboratory. The Commissioner of Insurance, through the Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance, shall implement the procedures necessary to approve suitable national standards and to approve suitable qualified testing laboratories. The Commissioner may assign his authority to implement the procedures for specific materials, devices, appliances, or equipment to other agencies or bodies when they would be uniquely qualified to implement those procedures.
In the event that the Commissioner determines that electrical materials, devices, appliances, or equipment in question cannot be adequately evaluated through the use of approved national standards or by approved qualified testing laboratories, the Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance shall specify any alternative evaluations which safety requires.
The Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance shall keep in file, where practical, copies of all approved national standards and resumes of approved qualified testing laboratories. (1933, c. 555, s. 3; 1989, c. 681, s. 1.)

Roger

 

[tom baker]

Washington state requires electrical product listing by an approved testing agency, its been a law since 1934