14.4 Luminaires, Lampholders, Lighting Track & Low-Voltage Lighting (Articles 410 & 411)
Key Takeaways
No cord-connected, chain-, cable-, or cord-suspended luminaires, lighting track, pendants, or paddle fans may be located within 3 ft horizontally and 8 ft vertically from the top of a bathtub rim or shower threshold (410.10(D)).
Closet luminaires must have completely enclosed light sources; incandescent or LED surface luminaires need 12 in. of clearance from the storage space, and recessed or fluorescent luminaires need 6 in. (410.16).
Thermal insulation may not be installed above a recessed luminaire or within 3 in. of its enclosure, wiring compartment, ballast, or driver unless the luminaire is identified as Type IC (410.116(B)).
Tap conductors from an outlet box to a recessed luminaire must be in a suitable raceway or cable at least 18 in. and not more than 6 ft long (410.117(C)).
Lighting track may not be installed less than 5 ft above the finished floor unless protected from physical damage or operating at not over 30 V RMS open-circuit (410.151(C)).
Why luminaire rules are tested
DLI's knowledge areas include luminaires and lighting. The questions are practical: can a pendant hang over a tub, which luminaire can go in a closet, and how close can insulation be to a can light?
Luminaires in specific locations (410.10)
- Wet and damp locations: luminaires must be marked suitable for wet locations or suitable for damp locations, as applicable, and installed so water cannot enter or accumulate in wiring compartments, lampholders, or other electrical parts.
- Corrosive locations: use luminaires suitable for the location.
- Ducts and hoods: luminaires may be installed in commercial cooking hoods only if identified for that use and meeting specific conditions.
- Bathtub and shower areas (410.10(D)): no part of a cord-connected luminaire, chain-, cable-, or cord-suspended luminaire, lighting track, pendant, or ceiling-suspended paddle fan may be located within a zone 3 ft horizontally and 8 ft vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold, including the space directly over the tub or shower. Luminaires located within the actual outside dimension of the tub or shower up to 8 ft above the rim or threshold must be marked suitable for damp locations, or wet locations where subject to shower spray.
- Indoor sports, mixed-use, and all-purpose facilities: luminaires subject to physical damage need guards or protection.
Clothes closets (410.16)
Permitted: surface-mounted or recessed incandescent or LED luminaires with completely enclosed light sources; surface-mounted or recessed fluorescent luminaires; and surface-mounted fluorescent or LED luminaires identified as suitable for installation within the closet storage space.
Not permitted: incandescent luminaires with open or partially enclosed lamps, and pendant luminaires or lampholders.
| Luminaire type | Minimum clearance from the closet storage space |
|---|---|
| Surface-mounted incandescent or LED, completely enclosed source, on the wall above the door or on the ceiling | 12 in. |
| Surface-mounted fluorescent, on the wall above the door or on the ceiling | 6 in. |
| Recessed incandescent or LED with completely enclosed source, in the wall or ceiling | 6 in. |
| Recessed fluorescent, in the wall or ceiling | 6 in. |
| Surface-mounted fluorescent or LED identified for use in the storage space | Permitted within the storage space |
The storage space is the volume from the floor to 6 ft (or the highest clothes-hanging rod) and 24 in. from the side and back walls (or the width of the shelf, if greater), plus the space above that to the ceiling 12 in. or the shelf width deep.
Supporting luminaires (410.30 to 410.36)
- A luminaire weighing more than 6 lb or exceeding 16 in. in any dimension may not be supported by the screw shell of a lampholder.
- Outlet boxes may support luminaires within the limits of 314.27 (generally up to 50 lb).
- In suspended ceilings, framing members used to support luminaires must be securely fastened to each other and to the building structure, and luminaires must be fastened to the framing by bolts, screws, rivets, or listed clips identified for the ceiling framing.
- Outdoor luminaires may be supported by trees (410.36(G)), although trees may not support overhead conductor spans (225.26).
- Exposed conductive parts of luminaires must be connected to an EGC, and the screw shell of a lampholder must be connected to the grounded conductor.
Cord-connected luminaires and luminaires as raceways
- Cord-connected luminaires (410.62): electric-discharge and LED luminaires may be cord-connected where the luminaire is located directly below its outlet box or busway, the cord is visible for its entire length outside the luminaire, the cord is not subject to strain or physical damage, and the cord ends in a grounding-type attachment plug or busway plug (or is part of a listed assembly with a manufactured wiring system connector). Adjustable luminaires that need aiming may use a hard-usage cord no longer than needed for adjustment.
- Luminaires as raceways (410.64): luminaires may not be used as raceways for circuit conductors unless listed and marked for use as a raceway. Luminaires designed for end-to-end connection to form a continuous assembly, or luminaires connected together by recognized wiring methods, may carry the conductors of one two-wire branch circuit, or one multiwire branch circuit, supplying the connected luminaires, plus one additional two-wire branch circuit that separately supplies one or more of them.
Recessed luminaires (410.110 to 410.117)
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Clearance from combustibles (410.116(A)) | Non-Type IC recessed luminaires: at least ½ in. from combustible materials, except at points of support |
| Thermal insulation (410.116(B)) | Insulation may not be above a recessed luminaire or within 3 in. of its enclosure, wiring compartment, ballast, transformer, LED driver, or power supply, unless the luminaire is identified as Type IC (insulation contact) |
| Temperature of supply conductors (410.117(A)) | Conductors with insulation suitable for the temperature encountered |
| Tap conductors (410.117(C)) | From the outlet box to the luminaire's terminal housing in a suitable raceway or cable at least 18 in. and not more than 6 ft long |
Electric-discharge and LED luminaires
- Luminaires with ballasts, transformers, or LED drivers must have those components listed and protected as required, and auxiliary equipment not part of the luminaire must be enclosed in accessible, permanently installed metal cabinets.
- Disconnecting means (410.130(G)): in indoor locations other than dwellings and their accessory structures, fluorescent luminaires using double-ended lamps with ballasts that can be serviced in place need a disconnecting means, inside or outside each luminaire, accessible to qualified persons before servicing the ballast; on multiwire branch circuits it must open all supply conductors, including the grounded conductor, simultaneously. When a ballast is replaced in an existing luminaire without one, a disconnecting means must be added.
Electric-discharge lighting over 1000 V (Article 410, Part XIII)
Systems with an open-circuit voltage over 1000 V, such as some neon installations, may not be installed in or on dwelling occupancies. Transformers must be listed and enclosed, with limited secondary voltage and current, and each luminaire or group must be controlled by an externally operable switch or circuit breaker that opens all ungrounded primary conductors and is within sight or lockable. Article 600 adds requirements for neon signs.
Lighting track (Article 410, Part XIV)
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Not installed | Where likely to be subjected to physical damage; in wet or damp locations; where subject to corrosive vapors; in storage battery rooms; in hazardous locations; where concealed; through walls or partitions; less than 5 ft above the finished floor unless protected or operating at 30 V RMS or less; within the tub and shower zone of 410.10(D) |
| Support | A single track section 4 ft or shorter needs two supports; each additional section of 4 ft or shorter needs at least one more |
| Load | Track lighting adds 150 VA per 2 ft in nondwelling load calculations (120.43(B)) |
| Connected load | May not exceed the track rating, and the track must be supplied by a branch circuit with a rating not greater than the track |
Low-voltage lighting systems (Article 411)
Lighting systems operating at 30 V AC or less (or 60 V DC or less), such as landscape and cable lighting, must be listed or assembled from listed parts. They:
- must be supplied by an isolating transformer or listed power supply, from a branch circuit rated not more than 25 A;
- may not be concealed or run through a building wall unless installed with a Chapter 3 wiring method or Class 2 wiring; and
- may not be installed within 10 ft horizontally of pools, spas, fountains, or similar bodies of water, unless permitted by Article 680; and
- must have secondary circuits that are not grounded (Article 411).
Worked example: a bathroom remodel
A homeowner wants a pendant over the tub, recessed cans in the ceiling, and a closet light.
- Pendant over the tub: not permitted anywhere within 3 ft horizontally and 8 ft vertically of the tub rim, including directly over it.
- Recessed can over the shower: permitted if marked suitable for wet locations, because it is within the shower's footprint and subject to spray. If the attic above is insulated, use Type IC cans or keep insulation 3 in. away.
- Closet light: a surface LED luminaire with a completely enclosed source on the ceiling must be at least 12 in. from the storage space; a recessed LED needs 6 in.
A homeowner wants a chain-hung pendant directly above a bathtub, 7 ft above the tub rim. What does 410.10(D) require?
It is not permitted in the 3 ft by 8 ft zone over the tub
It is permitted if the pendant is marked suitable for damp locations
It is permitted if GFCI protected
It is permitted if it uses an LED lamp
How far must thermal insulation be kept from a recessed luminaire that is not identified as Type IC?
½ in. on all sides
6 in. on the sides only
12 in. in all directions
3 in., with none above it
What are the minimum and maximum lengths of the tap conductors (fixture whip) between an outlet box and a recessed luminaire under 410.117(C)?
12 in. to 4 ft
18 in. to 6 ft
24 in. to 10 ft
3 ft to 6 ft
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