Fixed Equipment & Luminaire Circuit

[roc]

Did NEC Section 210.23(A)(2) recently change on the limitations for 15A/20A branch circuits with fixed equipment (other than using the term luminaries)?

I thought that the 50% limit on the equipment only applied when you had the fixed equipment plus receptacles on the same circuit, or the fixed equipment plus both receptacles and luminaires on the same circuit (since the luminaires usually don?t draw much). That?s how my 2002 pocket guide and Mike Holt guide read.

But when I doubled checked the 2002 NEC it seems to read either luminaires or receptacles (or both). Did something get messed up in this section, because limiting the fixed equipment to 50% with just some kitchen lights (errrr luminaires) on the circuit seems out there ... am I missing something here ...

[ October 22, 2003, 01:17 AM: Message edited by: roc ]

 

[steve66]

Re: Fixed Equipment & Luminaire Circuit

I think you read it wrong. 210.23(A)(2) The total rating of utilization equipment fastened in place, other than luminaires....

Luminaires replace the term "lighting fixtures", and I believe anywhere the term is used, the old term "lighting fixtures" follows it in parentheses. I'm not sure about "lighting units".

The 2002 NEC doesn't have a line in the margin by 210.23. I took this to mean it hasn't changed. But the format in the 1999 NEC is different. 2002 has (A)(1) and (A)(2), but the 1999 just has (A). Maybe the line means the requirements have changed, and 210.23 was just rephrased without intending to change the requirements.

Since we have mentioned luminaire, does anyone else hate the spelling? MS Word and Autocad always want to change it to "luminarie". I guess luminaire as a light fixture has a slightly different meaning than luminarie, which could be a candle or someone who is really smart.

Steve

 

[earlydean]

Re: Fixed Equipment & Luminaire Circuit

luminaire was added to give the NEC an international flavor.

 

[tom baker]

Re: Fixed Equipment & Luminaire Circuit

Luminaire has long been used by the Illumination Engineering Society for what we would call a light fixture. When I first did roadway lighting design in 1989, what we might call a "streelights" was a luminaire.

[ October 22, 2003, 10:02 AM: Message edited by: tom baker ]

 

[roc]

Re: Fixed Equipment & Luminaire Circuit

I read the term " other than luminaires " to mean the 50% limit doesn't apply to those (since they are fixed in place also) ... it only applies to fixed equipment.

Someone suggested that the 50% fixed equipment limit with just luminares was intended to prevent motor starts from diming lights with the trend towards a series of luminaires in kitchens. I might buy that.

Looks like they are missing the term " either " to go along with the " or both ", and it looks like they just forgot to change " lighting unit " to " luminaire " ... doesn't seem to read right otherwise.

P.S. I understand the term "luminaire" is intended to make the NEC more internationally accepted ... sounds like a French thing ... blah ... :roll: ... but I guess it works.

Rob