Emergency lights

[Franna22]

Hey guys this might seem like a dumb question. I wired some 120v dual head emergency lights. The owner want remote heads so I have to run low voltage out of the same box. I've always just used 16/2 it's only 9-12 volts. Inspector is saying can't put low and high voltage in the same box. So my question how do I run the low voltage out?? He wants me to run 12/2 for everything or 14/2 that seems a little excessive and help or code references would be great thanks

 

[Buck Parrish]

I think your method is fine. (with some exceptions) But, your wire (insulation) has to be rated for the same voltage as the 120 volt wire. Usually it's rated 600 volts

 

[iwire]

700.9 (going from memory on the section number) requires you keep emergency circuits (the low volt in this case) separate from the power wiring. The rating of the insulation has nothing to do with this.

16/2 is far to small for remote heads, voltage drop will be a huge issue. Typically we would run 10 AWG or sometimes 12 AWG.

Consider this, a single 30 watt 12 volt remote head is 2.5 amps just a couple volts of drop is a high percentage of 12 volts.

 

[electricalist]

When we have have this set up but with egress lighting such as at an exit path outside we got a kit that was set up to do so.
Im no authority but if the e light has a 90 min battery back up , adding to it will change that to less than 90 min.

Sent from my SM-G360P using Tapatalk

 

[gadfly56]

When we have have this set up but with egress lighting such as at an exit path outside we got a kit that was set up to do so.
Im no authority but if the e light has a 90 min battery back up , adding to it will change that to less than 90 min.

Sent from my SM-G360P using Tapatalk

Yes, that's true. You have to use a master box with a battery set large enough to power all the heads you're setting up. You'd have to check the manufacturer's literature to see if you can retrofit additional heads per the customer's request.