LEDs in bathroom help needed

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Parker21

Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
Occupation
General contractor
I’m a general contractor without a lot of experience in this matter and I’m trying to figure out the best way forward for a permitted project in Charlotte. It is a commercial project due to the nature of the building. Please pardon me for asking dumb questions.

The lighting in question is an LED lit shower niche was sold to me as a package that included IP67 led light channels, the niche itself, an integrated switch/driver combo and the low voltage wire. These are all made for showers.

The shower and tub area are separate. There are a few issues but the main ones are the inspector deeming the stud bay (opposite the plumbing wall)where the wire is run through to be a wet area. I honestly don’t see how that’s the case. The second is that the wiring for tub area accent wall runs through a drop ceiling which they are calling a plenum.

I’m trying to find a suitable low voltage cable that is wet rated that I can also run through a plenum….orrrr…figure out how to transition from a wet rated cable to a plenum cable as somewhat of a workaround. My electrician is a little stumped too.

How would you go about this? What cables should I be looking at?
 
You should be talking to the inspector again and if he doesn't change his position about a stud bay being a wet area you should be talking to his boss and on up the food chain until you find someone with a clue. Not sure the drop ceiling is a plenum based on your description. I know for sure a stud bay is not a wet area.
 
From CoPilot: ...In simpler terms, if a device has an IP67 rating, it means it's fully protected against dust and can withstand being submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for a short period. This is a common rating for rugged smartphones, outdoor equipment, and other devices that need to be tough and reliable in harsh conditions.

Back to a UL or other listing.
 
Is the lighting fixture listed?

Since it has an IP rating there is a good chance it is nbe used anyway, wet area or not
ptonsparky said:
From CoPilot: ...In simpler terms, if a device has an IP67 rating, it means it's fully protected against dust and can withstand being submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for a short period. This is a common rating for rugged smartphones, outdoor equipment, and other devices that need to be tough and reliable in harsh conditions.

Back to a UL or other listing.
Click to expand...
IP67 is not a rating UL uses for US equipment.
 
Parker21 said:
How would you go about this?
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Contact the Chief Electrical inspector, they have always been good to work with.

Ben Wesley
Chief State Electrical Code Consultant & State Electrical Inspector
919-532-4175
ben.wesley@ncdoi.gov
Interprets the State Electrical Code for North Carolina, provides educational resources to the webpage and at meetings
 
ActionDave said:
You should be talking to the inspector again and if he doesn't change his position about a stud bay being a wet area you should be talking to his boss and on up the food chain until you find someone with a clue. Not sure the drop ceiling is a plenum based on your description. I know for sure a stud bay is not a wet area.
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I still haven’t figured out how to determine if it is a plenum or not. I just didn’t want to fight them without knowing more. It has duct work and I don’t really understand why and how the plenum rules apply.
 
petersonra said:
Is the lighting fixture listed?

Since it has an IP rating there is a good chance it is not and thus cannot be used anyway, wet area or not.
Click to expand...
They are listed. The owner of the company sent me the ul certificate. I would post it but I can’t figure out how to. I haven’t quite figured out how to pull this info together in a cohesive way due to my lack of experience. This is really the first time I have gotten this in depth with this process
 
Give your EC the contact number I posted, let them take it from there.
 
Parker21 said:
I still haven’t figured out how to determine if it is a plenum or not. I just didn’t want to fight them without knowing more. It has duct work and I don’t really understand why and how the plenum rules apply.
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Could be different for your building, but in our data centers if we use the space above the drop ceiling as a hot air return for the CRACs/CRAHs, it counts as plenum. If there's no air exchange, it doesn't. The area under the raised floor is always plenum since that's where the cold air goes.
 
ModbusMan said:
Could be different for your building, but in our data centers if we use the space above the drop ceiling as a hot air return for the CRACs/CRAHs, it counts as plenum. If there's no air exchange, it doesn't. The area under the raised floor is always plenum since that's where the cold air goes.
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Yeah I think this is kinda beyond my knowledge. I had to google what a plenum even was. In my case the return is in the ceiling about 5 feet away from the hvac unit…it runs directly into that unit and out through the duct work. I don’t see how this space is used for air distribution other than housing the duct work. If the air isn’t circulating through the space, I don’t understand how it is a plenum/. Mind you, I’m not very smart so I could be so wrong
 
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