404.4 "within wet locations" for switches in bathroom

[jxofaltrds]

90.1 Purpose.
(A) Practical Safeguarding. The purpose of this Code is
the practical safeguarding of persons and property from
hazards arising from the use of electricity.

 

[kwired]

90.1 Purpose.
(A) Practical Safeguarding. The purpose of this Code is
the practical safeguarding of persons and property from
hazards arising from the use of electricity.

Not installing any electrical equipment at all pretty much eliminates the hazards arising from the use of electricity doesn't it?

Using a battery powered flashlight in the bathroom may have risks also though probably fairly limited risks, like being exposed to the electrolyte in the battery if it would be ruptured.

 

[renosteinke]

Kwired, your logic is sound, but it would violate the NEC to do without electricity!

After all, you're required to have a service, and required to have lights and receptacles. No CofO without a PoCo hookup.

This topic is a frustrating one, since various places have insisted on very different "right" answers, and put them in their codes.

Some places do not allow any receptacles or switches in the bathroom at all. Or, perhaps, they allow only a single, power-limited receptacle for the shaver. Ironically, it's common in these places for the electric water heater to be hung in the shower area .... go figure.

Our Northern cousins have a rule that requires switches and receptacles to be beyond the reach of someone in the shower.

I've seen all manner of things marketed for use in the tub. OK, we can chuckle at the guy who hangs a ceiling fan over the jacuzzi ..... but in Japan there are all manner of TV sets marketd for mounting over the tub. Even here, I've seen TV screens and their controls molded into listed hot tubs, specifically for use by the bathers.

Probably my favorite pic comes from a men's magazine, where the bubble-covered bathing beauty is resting her hand inches away from one of those twist-style timer switches. Yea, I've been in the trade too long ....

Folks are going to do what they will. They'll even run an extension cord, so they can use the hair dryer in the shower ... they must, for hair dryers specifically tell you to not do that!

I think it's time to set the code aside and let Darwin do his thing.

 

[kwired]

Kwired, your logic is sound, but it would violate the NEC to do without electricity!

After all, you're required to have a service, and required to have lights and receptacles. No CofO without a PoCo hookup.

This topic is a frustrating one, since various places have insisted on very different "right" answers, and put them in their codes.

Some places do not allow any receptacles or switches in the bathroom at all. Or, perhaps, they allow only a single, power-limited receptacle for the shaver. Ironically, it's common in these places for the electric water heater to be hung in the shower area .... go figure.

Our Northern cousins have a rule that requires switches and receptacles to be beyond the reach of someone in the shower.

I've seen all manner of things marketed for use in the tub. OK, we can chuckle at the guy who hangs a ceiling fan over the jacuzzi ..... but in Japan there are all manner of TV sets marketd for mounting over the tub. Even here, I've seen TV screens and their controls molded into listed hot tubs, specifically for use by the bathers.

Probably my favorite pic comes from a men's magazine, where the bubble-covered bathing beauty is resting her hand inches away from one of those twist-style timer switches. Yea, I've been in the trade too long ....

Folks are going to do what they will. They'll even run an extension cord, so they can use the hair dryer in the shower ... they must, for hair dryers specifically tell you to not do that!

I think it's time to set the code aside and let Darwin do his thing.

You bring up some interesting points. I have some additional thoughts here:

If a structure is not going to have any power does it still need wiring installed? There have been recent increases in Amish families in this area, if they want to build a new house or remodel an existing one - with no power would some jurisdictions still require them to install wiring or no CO will be issued?

Limiting power in a bathroom essentially is a violation of NEC, not allowing a switch I guess is not as long as there is a switch someplace, NEC only has limited instances where switch location is specified a bathroom is not one of them.

I really don't see what good it does to attempt to dry your hair while still in the shower - Darwin has my permission to do what he sees is necessary

 

[charlie b]

Nothing in the NEC would prohibit constructing a new building, even a new dwelling unit, with no wires, no outlets, no service entrance equipment, and no connection to the utility. It all begins with 90.2(A), which says that the NEC ". . . covers the installation of electrical . . . ." If there is no installation to be done, the NEC does not apply. That said, there may be building codes and other regulations that might force the owner to make electrical service available.