Low voltage under cabinet lights

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Will Wire

Senior Member
Location
California: NEC 2020
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I was contacted recently to repair a 12 volt kitchen under cabinet lighting system. From the transformer located in the attic, low voltage landscape wire was run through the walls to the puck lights. The landscape wire was spliced to the puck light leads inside a false bottom to the cabinet. Is any of this code compliant? Do I need to scrap the system and install something new? Do splices on low voltages lighting systems 30 volts and less need to be in a box? I have not done very much with low voltage lighting in my career. Thank you for any information.
 
It is not right.

To conceal low voltage lighting conductors requires a chapter 3 wiring method such as NM, MC, pipe and THHN etc.

Landscape wire is a no.

Take a look at article 411, it is short but is full of things you need to know to install low voltage lighting inside.
 
Landscape wire does not have a vertical flame rating and thus is non compliant in a building as the others have stated. LV lights are a nuisance but you can use class 2 wiring concealed, I do believe.
 
LV lights are a nuisance but you can use class 2 wiring concealed, I do believe.

Maybe yes, maybe no.


411.4 Specific Location Requirements.

(A) Walls, Floors, and Ceilings. Conductors concealed or extended through a wall, floor, or ceiling shall be in accordance with (1) or (2):

(1) Installed using any of the wiring methods specified in Chapter 3

(2) Installed using wiring supplied by a listed Class 2 power source and installed in accordance with 725.130

Just because it is 12 volts does not mean it is class 2.
 
Being puck lights I would not be surprised if it is class 2 but for me I don't think I have ever installed a class 2 lighting supply, most of them have been 300 watts.
 
Now that there are more LED pucks available and since I'm doing more LED tape installs, I've used more Class 2 transformers (60W max.). They allow you to have unconcealed splices. Previously the only place I really used them was in some furniture lighting I did where there were 2-3 20W MR11 lamps in miniature recessed housings and the power supply was inside the furniture. It's nice not to have to worry about where the JB will go.
 
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