Light switch required bilco door(bulkhead)

[barkett519]

A customer of mine is finishing their basement and I am wiring it. The customer has a bulkhead (hatchway door). Will the inspector require a lighting outlet....I would think not because you can only open the bulkhead from the inside. Correct me if I'm wrong??? Tia.

 

[retirede]

I don’t believe the type of door or how it can or cannot be opened has any bearing on the requirement for a light.

 

[tom baker]

Going from inside to out I would want a light. I will look at the code language later and post

 

[don_resqcapt19]

This will be addressed in the 2023 code. A new exception is being added to 210.70(A)(2). The current language is not completely clear, but it can be read as permitting what the new exception will permit.

Exception to (2): For an outdoor, grade-level, sloped bulkhead door with stairway access to a sub-grade-level basement, the required lighting outlet that provides illumination on the stairway steps shall be permitted to be located in the basement interior within 1.5 m (5 ft) horizontally of the bottommost stairway riser. This interior lighting outlet shall be permitted to be controlled by a listed wall-mounted control device or by a unit switch of the interior luminaire or interior lampholder.

 

[retirede]

This will be addressed in the 2023 code. A new exception is being added to 210.70(A)(2). The current language is not completely clear, but it can be read as permitting what the new exception will permit.

But that doesn’t eliminate the requirement for a light (which was the original question). It just defines an interior allowable location for the required light.

 

[LarryFine]

If there already is an outside light that covers the area, it could be as simple as converting to 3-ways, or wireless.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

But that doesn’t eliminate the requirement for a light (which was the original question). It just defines an interior allowable location for the required light.

And the assumption is that the basement will have an interior light and nothing else is required by the code when you use the new exception.

 

[Mdsparky]

Seems the switch or control of the "light"can be anywhere?

 

[gadfly56]

Beyond what's required, wouldn't it be useful to use a fixture in the stairwell itself designed to put light directly on the treads? Something that can go in the sidewall of the stairs?