Christmas Lights in NEC

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I agree with Jim W. It's just like the government forcing health care down your throat. They own GM (formerly known as General Motors, now known as government motors), will they make you buy a car?They have Fannie May and Fredie mac...going to make you buy a house? When it comes to chrismas lights, it's about time to take a stand!
 
Political Post!!!

Good definition of a political post - when the reader can guess with reasonable certainity who you voted for...

Back on topic - my (Blue LED) Christmas lights are now a permanent fixture on the front porch. They're pretty, I like them, they're staying. You dont want to see how they're powered :)
 
We need to get off of calling them cristmass lights. Nec did not use that term. Now problem begins with who is saying when the lights went up ? 90 days from that certified date and they must be watched 24 / 7 for all of 90 days. Who is saying i didnt take them down at 3 am and reinstall at 4 am ? Not saying not good rule but is no way to enforce so is worthless. We pay for every worthless letter nec prints. Write it with teeth or drop it.
 
I have a set of "LazyMan Christmas Lights" 80 ft long, 6 different LED colors and a switch box to turn each on and off. I change the colors according to the holidays. St pats day was green and white. My birthday is tomorrow and it will be red, white and blue.
I will post a video on U-tube.
In our downtown area we have permanently installed LED lights on some of the trees and they have a different listing.
My house is stucco so I hot glue gun the lights to the stucco.
http://www.smarthome.com/C06LM/Lazy-Man-Lights/p.aspx
 
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Keep in mind that the 90 day rule is not about Christmas Lights (sorry, Jim, but I will continue to call them that, despite Tom's excellent year-round solution). ;) The rule is about temporary lighting installations, with holiday lighting being cited as an example. If the lighting installation is "permanent," and that means listed for the environment and installed in accordance with an approved wiring method, the 90 day rule does not apply. And I continue to believe, with proper acknowledgements of Bob's disagreement, that a string of lights that is attached, however temporarily or permanently, to a gutter or other outside location, but that does not have a power source, is not a ?temporary lighting installation,? and thus the NEC?s 90 day rule would not apply in this instance either.

Back to the original question. I believe that if a local jurisdiction wishes to create and enforce their own ?take em down after 90 days? regulation, then they cannot use the NEC as a basis or justification for that regulation.
 
tom baker said:
I have a set of "LazyMan Christmas Lights" 80 ft long, 6 different LED colors and a switch box to turn each on and off. I change the colors according to the holidays. St pats day was green and white. My birthday is tomorrow and it will be red, white and blue.
I will post a video on U-tube.
In our downtown area we have permanently installed LED lights on some of the trees and they have a different listing.
My house is stucco so I hot glue gun the lights to the stucco.
http://www.smarthome.com/C06LM/Lazy-Man-Lights/p.aspx
Click to expand...

And when he's lonely they're just red.:D
 
charlie b said:
Keep in mind that the 90 day rule is not about Christmas Lights (sorry, Jim, but I will continue to call them that, despite Tom's excellent year-round solution). ;) The rule is about temporary lighting installations, with holiday lighting being cited as an example. If the lighting installation is "permanent," and that means listed for the environment and installed in accordance with an approved wiring method, the 90 day rule does not apply. And I continue to believe, with proper acknowledgements of Bob's disagreement, that a string of lights that is attached, however temporarily or permanently, to a gutter or other outside location, but that does not have a power source, is not a ?temporary lighting installation,? and thus the NEC?s 90 day rule would not apply in this instance either.

Back to the original question. I believe that if a local jurisdiction wishes to create and enforce their own ?take em down after 90 days? regulation, then they cannot use the NEC as a basis or justification for that regulation.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. Many people commonly misunderstand and confuse 590.3 and immediately associate the "decorative lights" as a "HOLIDAY THING ONLY", they're not just for that. And there isn't anything that say you can't have them up all year round.
 
So if your decorative lights are fed from an extension cord, would that still make it a permanent installation?
 
dbuckley said:
Political Post!!!

Good definition of a political post - when the reader can guess with reasonable certainity who you voted for...

Back on topic - my (Blue LED) Christmas lights are now a permanent fixture on the front porch. They're pretty, I like them, they're staying. You dont want to see how they're powered :)
Click to expand...

It's only political if I didn't talk about the Christmas Lights, or a maybe decorative lights, which i did :) . Politics are for when your ready to change out the AHJ! NOW that is a blood sport!!!
 
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