Bathroom GFCI protection, 2017 NEC

[Beniah Naylor]

2017 NEC 210.8(A) - All 125 volt, single phase, 15 and 20 ampere receptacles installed in the locations specified in 210.8(A)(1-10) shall have ground-fault circuit interrupter protection for personnel.

(1) Bathrooms.

Article 100, Receptacle - A contact device installed at the outlet... for the direct connection of utilization equipment designed to mate with a corresponding contact device...

So my question is - are light fixtures that use a lightbulb that screws into a light socket considered "receptacles" per Article 100? Does any light that uses regular 60 watt light bulbs in it need to be GFCI if it's in a bathroom?

And has anyone here ever heard of people enforcing GFCI's on bathroom lights? Was that ever intended by the people who wrote the NEC?

 

[e hilton]

Home depot still sells the adapters that screw into a light socket and provide an outlet, either in place of ir addition to the bulb. If you use one of those, does it change the answer?

 

[ICE]

2017 NEC 210.8(A) - All 125 volt, single phase, 15 and 20 ampere receptacles installed in the locations specified in 210.8(A)(1-10) shall have ground-fault circuit interrupter protection for personnel.

(1) Bathrooms.

Article 100, Receptacle - A contact device installed at the outlet... for the direct connection of utilization equipment designed to mate with a corresponding contact device...

So my question is - are light fixtures that use a lightbulb that screws into a light socket considered "receptacles" per Article 100? Does any light that uses regular 60 watt light bulbs in it need to be GFCI if it's in a bathroom?

And has anyone here ever heard of people enforcing GFCI's on bathroom lights? Was that ever intended by the people who wrote the NEC?

Lights do not require GFCI protection in a bathroom. One of my favored contractors provides GFCI protection for light fixtures that are near shower stalls as a precaution. An outlet can supply a receptacle or a light fixture and it is still an "outlet". If a device with a receptacle is screwed into a light fixture, it becomes an outlet with a receptacle. That requires GFCI protection if it is in a bathroom.

 

[Beniah Naylor]

Lights do not require GFCI protection in a bathroom. One of my favored contractors provides GFCI protection for light fixtures that are near shower stalls as a precaution. An outlet can supply a receptacle or a light fixture and it is still an "outlet". If a device with a receptacle is screwed into a light fixture, it becomes an outlet with a receptacle. That requires GFCI protection if it is in a bathroom.

So would a product like this be considered a "receptacle"? It makes a "direct connection" to the light bulb, and is "designed to mate with a corresponding contact device"... but is a bulb a "contact device"?

 

[steveray]

It's a luminaire....Although the definition does suck if you ask me...

LUMINAIRE. A complete lighting unit consisting of a light
source such as a lamp or lamps together with the parts
designed to position the light source and connect it to the
power supply. A luminaire can include parts to protect the
light source or the ballast or to distribute the light. A lampholder
itself is not a luminaire.

 

[Beniah Naylor]

It's definitely a luminaire once it is installed, no question about that. However, I do not think that being a luminaire prevents it from also being a receptacle.

The definition of receptacle refers to "utilization equipment", the definition of which includes "equipment" used for lighting. The definition of "equipment" includes devices and luminaires, making me think that some luminaires can also be receptacles. Of course, not every luminaire would be a receptacle, neither would every receptacle be a luminaire.

I'm actually not really eager to start enforcing GFCI protection of bathroom lights, I can't really see much of a hazard compared to lighting in other locations. I just saw this in the book the other day and the question kind of got stuck in my head from a theoretical hair-splitting standpoint.

 

[ICE]

And has anyone here ever heard of people enforcing GFCI's on bathroom lights?

Not until today.

 

[steveray]

RECEPTACLE. A receptacle is a contact device installed at
the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug. A single
receptacle is a single contact device with no other contact
device on the same yoke. A multiple receptacle is two or
more contact devices on the same yoke.

 

[ICE]

RECEPTACLE. A receptacle is a contact device installed at
the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug. A single
receptacle is a single contact device with no other contact
device on the same yoke. A multiple receptacle is two or
more contact devices on the same yoke.

I guess the yoke is on him.

 

[Beniah Naylor]

I think this part is new to the 2017 NEC, which is perhaps why no one ever asks this question. I'm new enough that the 2017 NEC is all I have ever played with. In 2014, what steveray quoted is exactly right.

Ice, your comment about never hearing about anyone else enforcing this helps tremendously, I would hate to hear that every other jurisdiction had been enforcing this and ours had never even heard of the requirement.

I'm guessing that this section was never intended to be applied to lighting other than the SQL mounts, and nobody realized that a light bulb and a light socket would meet the second part of the definition.

2014 Code Language:

Receptacle. A receptacle is a contact device installed at the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug. A single receptacle is a single contact device with no other contact device on the same yoke. A multiple receptacle is two or more contact devices on the same yoke.

2017 Code Language:

Receptacle. A contact device installed at the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug, or for the direct connection of electrical utilization equipment designed to mate with the corresponding contact device. A single receptacle is a single contact device with no other contact device on the same yoke. A multiple receptacle is two or more contact devices on the same yoke. (CMP-18)

2020 Code Language:

Article 100.

Receptacle. A contact device installed at the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug, or for the direct connection of electrical utilization equipment designed to mate with the corresponding contact device. A single receptacle is a single contact device with no other contact device on the same yoke or strap. A multiple receptacle is two or more contact devices on the same yoke or strap.

Informational Note: A duplex receptacle is an example of a multiple receptacle that has two receptacles on the same yoke or strap.