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I've been redoing all the electric in my house (because I'm pretty sure it's asbestos-wrapped aluminum cable everywhere, and I don't trust it at all), bringing it up to the 2023 NEC (which my jurisdiction, Ohio, is adopting 01-MAR-2024).

I've come to this closet. It's almost 3' wide and 2' deep, with a bit under 2' of vertical space above the shelf. Per my reading of 410.16, I can't actually put a light anywhere in here - recessed or otherwise. Is my understanding correct? If I remove the front part of the shelf, I could maybe get a recessed light in (though it'd need to be covered).

Picture of closet

Just looking for help/pointers on getting a switched light in here. Am I basically stuck using some LV pucks or the like? I have easy attic access (directly above this closet) and space for a recessed can, but whatever I use, I ultimately want it controlled by a traditional light switch.

isherwood
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2 Answers2

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You can't put a lampholder in there (like you have right now) - not nearly enough clearance. But you can put in an LED. From 410.16:

150 mm (6 in.) for recessed incandescent or LED luminaires with a completely enclosed light source installed in the wall or the ceiling.

The catch is this is clearance from "storage space" and not simply from walls. See 410.16 details for details of how that is defined.

I would not do that with incandescent, even though it seems to be allowed. LED will generate a very small fraction of the heat of an equivalent incandescent. The key is that you can't have a lampholder. Why? Because (a) someone could easily swap a 7W LED for a 100W incandescent (which would be way too much) and (b) a regular bulb would stick down as well. So the rule is a really, really good one. Stick to it and you'll be safe and code-compliant.

And looking a little further, apparently the area above the shelf above the rod is also storage space that you can't go into. So that means either replacing with a smaller shelf (but keep it at 12" - any smaller and you still have to block 12") with the light above the non-shelf area. Or a light designed specifically for closet use (not sure how that is defined) and then you get 0" clearance - put in anywhere!

You can definitely install this with a switch. Since you are redoing the actual wiring anyway, that should not be hard to do. But keep in mind that switch boxes now require neutral, so if you wire panel->light fixture->switch then that last segment has to be /3 instead of /2 cable so that it has black hot/red switched hot/white neutral rather than white (marked with black tape) hot/black switched hot. You have to do that even if you have no intention of adding a smart switch.

manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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You might have missed 410.16(D) exception [ formerly 410.16(C)(5) ]

Surface-mounted fluorescent or LED luminaires shall be permitted to be installed within the clothes closet storage space where identified for such use

(Emphasis added)

Ecnerwal
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