Desk Lamp Grounding

[redtail_MH]

I understand why toasters aren't grounded due to the exposed burners, and I understand why some appliances aren't grounded when the enclosures are non-metallic. But what about Desk Lamps; these never have a safety ground even if the lamp is made of metal. Why is this?

 

[LarryFine]

I understand why toasters aren't grounded due to the exposed burners, and I understand why some appliances aren't grounded when the enclosures are non-metallic. But what about Desk Lamps; these never have a safety ground even if the lamp is made of metal. Why is this?

Generally speaking, improvements in wiring and other safety issues are a result of past problems.

Think about the evolution of yield signs/stop signs/stop-lights; accidents cause stop-lights.

Apparently, there haven't been enough problems with non-grounded lamps to require this sort of improvement.

 

[redtail_MH]

Desk Lamp Grounding

Thanks Larry for the response. Some follow-up questions:

If lamps and various appliances have floating metallic enclosures, why ground any enclosure? Who decides which electrical devices require safety grounds for enclosure protection and which do not? What is the criteria they use? Waiting around for electrocutions to justify safety grounds for a particular device just doesn't seem right to me.

 

[Bob NH]

Waiting around for electrocutions to justify safety grounds for a particular device just doesn't seem right to me.

In fact, we do wait for electrocutions and traffic deaths and plane crashes to make many decisions about where we spend our money to make things safer.

If we had some regulatory agency running around deciding to implement every means they could think of to make things safer, without any demonstration of a significant hazard or risk to safety, everything would cost more and we would stifle the economy of the country.

Just think of the things you could do. We have 40,000 traffic deaths each year, which could be cut to 1/4 of that if we simply insisted on governors on all cars and trucks to limit speeds to 25 MPH.

We could cut down on deaths due to falling down stairs if every stairway had to be at a slope not steeper than 1 in 12 feet.

And we could cut down on electrocutions if we insisted that all power systems operate at no more than 24 Volts.

 

[redtail_MH]

Desk Lamp

Desk Lamp

So who decides that appliance A requires a safety ground and appliance B does not?

 

[bkludecke]

If the product is listed (UL etc) then the ITL evaluates the product and makes the call. To change article 250 in the NEC you need to convince the commitee (body counts help) that the change is necessary.