DOB failed my electrical because..

I find it amazing how much stuff sold at the big box places—lkea loves depot— in NYC isn’t code compliant. Not saying they shouldn’t be allowed but it does a real disservice to customers. Electrical stuff, plumbing stuff, non UL-listed fixtures, and on and on. I suppose it’s impossible to keep up with the minutiae but there must be a way to filter things to prevent whole categories of items from being stocked.

Lurker

in General Discussion 8 years and 4 months ago

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robyim1 | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Hello.. after a long reno I had my electrical inspection today. To my delight we actually had no issues with outlets, switches or the panels. I have ceiling fixtures throughout my house like everybody else. Some made by Tech Lighting and the other light is called Pablo Circa. So the inspector preceded to have us take apart our ceiling fixtures. He stated he was looking for UL listing which I learned later are product safety standards and that all our fixtures and switches had to say UL Listing USA. I never considered that our fixtures would be an issue but I was pretty confident that we were ok. After all Tech Lighting is based in Illinois. It turns out the lights had a sticker but it showed ETL Listing USA . He then said this is no good and that we needed to replace all our fixtures with UL listed fixtures then he left. I was standing there with my electrician and contractors all dumbfounded. My electrician was telling me usually they accept ETL and that the inspector was tough. But now I’m looking at taking down my new lights, buying more new lights then p aying for the labor to reinstall them.

Anybody else have any experience with this? I’m trying to search nyc code to see if they allow ETL.

daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 4 months ago

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It is an issue. Just install a bunch of cheap UL listed ones from Home Depot. Remove and replace later. I’ve seen this done elsewhere just to get the inspection done before many nicer fixtures are even chosen.

If your electrician believes ETL are acceptable have him find the code.

robyim1 | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Hmm.. guess this is real. Read those sticker labels on your lights people. Lol. Wish I knew. Thanks for the comments.

alicecfoster

in General Discussion 8 years and 4 months ago

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Contact Tech Lighting. They (most likely) have a NY sales rep who should be able to help you through this. I believe ETL is comparable to UL, but the sales rep should be able to steer you to the correct code reference/clarification.

robyim1 | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Yes, I called Tech Lighting. They were very helpful in forwarding me a bunch of information and educating me on ETL vs. UL. All the info they sent me suggests that the inspector should accept ETL. They even found me a ETL representative who was willing to call up the inspector and talk to him about this. I know none of this really matters so I’m still trying to find some nyc code that says this. BUT my electrician and contractors are saying that’s a bad idea to fight this. They said the same thing Dave said to change out to Home Depot lights reschedule and call it a day. Problem is I have to pay for the labor. And it wasn’t as simple as your typical ceiling fixtures that we can change ourselves. There some track lighting and transformers to deal with as well as high ceilings. I’m already dealing with this but just throwing out the info in case someone else goes through this.

workisfun | 8 years and 4 months ago

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We have been careful to pick out only UL fixtures because of homeowners insurance disclaims. Probably being overly cautious., but I just keep thinking of those hoverboards that were blowing up. Who knows how stable some of these fixtures are. If made in USA, probably fine.

nsimbulan | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Absolutely not! You should not need to replace the fixtures, but it may be easier to do so.

The UL Standards for lighting are: UL 153 (Portables), UL 1598 (Hardwired) and UL 8750 (LED which overlaps with the others).

It used to UL only. Both UL and ETL are Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL). NRTLs are in place to provide independent safety and quality certifications on products. It’s a little tricky, because it was UL only, then in 2012 UL went from non-profit to for profit… creating a monopoly on the standard for safety. At that time, Intertek aka ETL was able to test the products according to standards 153, 1598, 8750 etc.

The inspector is a few years behind. Try and educate them, find another inspector, or speak with ETL – they will be an asset in setting things straight.

workisfun | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Is it the inspector who is a few years behind, or the city code?

robyim1 | 8 years and 4 months ago

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So just to update I did call up all the lighting manufacturers and eventually they referred me to an ETL rep that showed me the government website that lists all the NRTL (National Recognized Testing Laboratories). He even said he would call up the inspector and try to talk to him. I have the inspectors name but no email, no number nothing. All I know is he works for the Dept. of Buildings and just try to call them up looking for a specific person is impossible. I think we can file something that says ETL is recognized by by NRTL but not sure. I still don’t know what the code says. I asked my electrician about all this and of course he said just easier to change out the lights. Maybe I’ll take my chances with a new inspector coming next time. Stuff like this is why people hate the city and inspectors. Didn’t do anything wrong and still have to jump through hoops and waste time and money.

chemosphere | 8 years and 4 months ago

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Before I had my inspection, the electrician warned me that Ikea fixtures are not up to NYC code and the inspector could shoot them down if they wanted to. Ikea! Probably the biggest provider of lighting fixtures in the entire city! Not up to code! The inspector didn’t care to look and I passed.