Why are lighting outlets required?

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bphgravity

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Why are lighting outlets required in dwelling units by the NEC?

It just doesn't seem to meet the scope of the code. How is having a lighting outlet in a room protecting persons or property from the use of electricity?

I have a 1947 ediion of the NEC and lighting outlets weren't required then. When did this change and why?

I understand requiring other outlets for the purpose of utilizing electrical energy in a safe manner, but not exactly sure why the code covers where lighting should be.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Maybe they caught on that candles were a fire hazard. :D

I might add the fact that our eye balls don't work to well in the dark so we might fall down stairs or over somthing and go boom boom on our head. :p

[ November 18, 2004, 12:51 AM: Message edited by: hurk27 ]
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Operating electrical gadgets in the dark could be dangerous.

Once the camel's nose is in the tent it wont be long before the whole thing's in there. I'm sure there are a lot of things that aren't exactly practicle either.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Originally posted by hurk27:
our eye balls don't work to well in the dark so we might fall down stairs or over something and go boom boom on our head.
Click to expand...
Falling down the stairs is not a hazard arising from the use of electricity. :)

JMO, Bob
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

If the Code is protecting persons and property and it requires a lot of receptacles, isn't it doing its job? Look at the old homes with almost no receptacles in a room and all the extension cords that are used. You end up with overloaded extension cords and fires. Why isn't this protecting persons and property? :D
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

That was my thinking also, Charlie. Extention cords are a fire hazzard and also a trip hazzard. And when you trip over a cord, anything that is plugged in gets jerked across the room, and can become a shock or fire hazzard.

The code also requires switched lighting outlets. How would you switch lights plugged in with an extention cord? By frequently pulling the plug out and plugging it back in. That seems like a lot of wear and tear on the plug, cord and receptacle.

Finally, have you ever tried to plug in a light or appliance in the dark? That would happen a lot more often without required outlets and required switched outlets.

Steve
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Interesting discussion. But to find an answer, we should note that the question ?why does the code require lighting outlets?? is the same as asking why the code requires small appliance circuits, or laundry outlets, or receptacle outlets along a wall or countertop. My answer is that we must give the homeowner enough places to plug in the stuff that most homeowners are likely to want to plug in, so that they don?t have to get ?creative? :roll: in finding ways to get power to their stuff.

Would a home be ?safe,? if there were no laundry circuit? Perhaps. But I would bet the cost of a soda on the statement that many homeowners would run long extension cords from the kitchen or other place, in order to run their clothes washer, rather than pay an electrician to install an outlet in the laundry area.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

I agree with many of the responses to this question, however I still find it odd that the NEC is particularly concerned with lighting placement yet there is no mention of smoke alarm/detector placement in a home.

I would find that to be more of a protection device for persons or property from the use of electricity than a lighting outlet in a particular location.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

But smoke detector placement is covered in NFPA 72. Placing that in the NEC would be redundant. Plus, there is a lot of fine points and details to cover - not something that could be covered in a couple of paragraphs. And in many more complex installations (industrial or commercial), it really takes a professional fire alarm technician. Putting that info in the NEC would be kind of like putting the plumbing code in the NEC.

Steve
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

I don't disagree Bryan, I think it's outside the stated perview too.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

By Steve66
Extention cords are a fire hazzard
Click to expand...
I dunno, maybe. It sounds like you're calling the kettle black before it's been painted. I've had extension cords around me all my life. No fires yet.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Sam, extension cords are indeed safe if used properly. The problem comes when they are overloaded, abused, run under rugs or carpet, under table legs, chewed on by pets, and the list goes on. Under those circumstances and in a bedroom where clothing is likely to be laying on the floor or bed clothes hanging low over them, extension cords are a fire hazard. :D
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

Originally posted by charlie:
Sam, extension cords are indeed safe if used properly.
Click to expand...
And therein lies the problem. Joe-homeowner doesn't know the ampacities of wire or equipment that it's feeding. Those nice brown, 18 AWG or smaller, multi-outlet extension cords get plugged into everything under the sun, including that space heater that draws 12 amps. Note that most cord and plug items have cords that measure 6' long. That goes really well with the code article that says no spot on any wall shall be further than 6' from an outlet. Too many fires have been caused by the mis-use of extension cords. So once again, we must protect those people from hurting themselves.

IMHO, you can never have too many outlets, especially in the shop/garage and kitchen. :D
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

I wonder how hot a 6 ft. 18 gauge cord would get with 20 amps through it.
 
Re: Why are lighting outlets required?

I don't have a way to actually pull 20 amps here or I'd give it a go.
 
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