Grounding lights in patient care areas

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ncwirenut

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I have a situation where wall mounted lights are mounted with toggle bolts and there is a junction box behind the light. The lights are wired with AC cable and they came out of the jb through a insulated bushing in the back of the light with one green insulated wire to the light. DHSR wants me to install a second green wire or install a screw through the light into the junction box. They use the reasoning that receptacles are grounded with an insulated wire and with the screws that mount it to the box. In my opinion that is a different code requirement than fixed electrical equipment, it only says an insulated wire. 517.13B1. Please confirm that I am wrong so I can rest better. They have always enforced this but I want to understand it in the code.

CT
 
ncwirenut said:
I have a situation where wall mounted lights are mounted with toggle bolts and there is a junction box behind the light. The lights are wired with AC cable and they came out of the jb through a insulated bushing in the back of the light with one green insulated wire to the light. DHSR wants me to install a second green wire or install a screw through the light into the junction box. They use the reasoning that receptacles are grounded with an insulated wire and with the screws that mount it to the box. In my opinion that is a different code requirement than fixed electrical equipment, it only says an insulated wire. 517.13B1. Please confirm that I am wrong so I can rest better. They have always enforced this but I want to understand it in the code.

CT
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Is the AC cable a HCFC type, as in, does it contain an insulated grounding conductor itself?

How high above the floor is the lowest part of the fixture?

Remember that the branch circuit ends at the outlet.
 
It is HCFC and has an insulated ground. The fixtures are wired on a circuit by themselves and are 65" from the floor.

CT
 
ncwirenut said:
I have a situation where wall mounted lights are mounted with toggle bolts and there is a junction box behind the light. The lights are wired with AC cable and they came out of the jb through a insulated bushing in the back of the light with one green insulated wire to the light. DHSR wants me to install a second green wire or install a screw through the light into the junction box. They use the reasoning that receptacles are grounded with an insulated wire and with the screws that mount it to the box. In my opinion that is a different code requirement than fixed electrical equipment, it only says an insulated wire. 517.13B1. Please confirm that I am wrong so I can rest better. They have always enforced this but I want to understand it in the code.

CT
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You still need a redundant ground to the fixture. If the fixtire was atached to the metal box that would be your second ground and since your lights are not above the 7 and 1/2 feet it does not meet exception #2

(B) Insulated Equipment Grounding Conductor.
(1) General. The following shall be directly connected to an insulated copper equipment grounding conductor that is installed with the branch circuit conductors in the wiring methods as provided in 517.13(A).

  1. The grounding terminals of all receptacles.
  2. Metal boxes and enclosures containing receptacles.
  3. All non-current-carrying conductive surfaces of fixed electrical equipment likely to become energized that are subject to personal contact, operating at over 100 volts.
Exception: An insulated equipment bonding jumper that directly connects to the equipment grounding conductor is permitted to connect the box and receptacle(s) to the equipment grounding conductor.
Exception No. 1 to (3): Metal faceplates shall be permitted to be connected to the equipment grounding conductor by means of a metal mounting screw(s) securing the faceplate to a grounded outlet box or grounded wiring device.
Exception No. 2 to (3): Luminaires more than 2.3 m (7? ft) above the floor and switches located outside of the patient care vicinity shall be permitted to be connected to an equipment grounding return path complying with 517.13(A).
 
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