Home Inspection Tips
Here Exclusive Buyer Realty, Inc. gives you a valuable Home Inspection Tip to help you navigate the home inspection arena. To view past home inspection tips, please use the links along the left side under “Home Inspection Tips”
Closet Light Clearance
Porcelain base “Lamp-holders” are inexpensive devices, and,
if in closets, should be replaced with approved “light fixtures.”
Lights placed in closets are a real convenience, especially when looking for something in the dark. However, blankets, clothes, and other combustible materials piled high on a closet shelf can ignite, if located too close to the closet light. For that reason, early editions of the National Electric Code (NEC) required that incandescent lights be mounted in a location that was unobstructed vertically to the floor and that had a minimum horizontal clearance of 18″ to storage areas above the front edge of shelves. However closet fires persisted. In 1990, the NEC completely rewrote this article and banned incandescent bulbs from closets (hot filament wires could fall and ignite flammables if the bulb breaks) unless fully enclosed. Fully-enclosed incandescent fixtures were permitted to be surface mounted provided if they were at least 12″ from the nearest point of the “storage area”. Fluorescent, and fully-enclosed recessed incandescent fixtures were permitted as near as 6″ to the nearest point of the storage area.
Improperly installed closet lights usually indicate amateur electrician work. If an amateur was working on this part of the circuitry, there may be other really foolish electrical work in less-visible locations. A licensed electrician should thoroughly inspect and correct all amateur work and should move lights that do not conform to current code requirements, and install fixtures that are approved for reduced clearance to shelves.
If you have an electrical concern and need some help solving it call Chet Riley at 585-293-2278 or 585-738-2931. Chet Riley is the Owner/Proprietor of CENTENNIAL Home Inspections. E-mail him at criley1@rochester.rr.com. Further information can be obtained at http://www.centennialhomeinspections.com/. Chet is a New York State Licensed Home Inspector and is an ASHI® Certified Member.