National Electrical Installation Standards

Standards as High as Your Own

 
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Thursday, July 21, 2022

Question:

Good Day CQD Personnel.

My Wife and I went into a new Ice Cream shop and the lighting was run in copper plumbing pipe. While it looked very decorative it's not U.L listed for electrical work. How would they pass the inspection if the material is not used for what it's made for?

Greg Fielder

A

Answer:

Hello Greg,

Not sure why or how the installation you described received an approval. Here are some thoughts. Section 410.6 requires all luminaires, lamp holders, and retrofit kits to be listed. This equipment is required to be installed in accordance with the installation instructions included. The authority having jurisdiction is required to approve installations as indicated in 110.2. They usually base their approvals on the use and installation of listed equipment, especially when the Code specifically requires the listing of equipment. So this could have been evaluated and approved by the local AHJ or there could have been a field evaluation performed by a qualified electrical testing laboratory that the AHJ used as a basis for the approval. The local approving jurisdiction would likely have the accurate answer to your question. 

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