Source
r/DIY•
StrNotSize

Hardwiring LEDs on a drywall ceiling.

home improvement

I'm hardwiring some 4ft LED shop lights into my drywalled garage ceiling. I have access to the level about the drywall. The lights I got are cheap, linkable LEDs the come with both receptacle plugs and hard wiring plugs. Problem is that the output comes off the side of the light, not the top. How do I transition through the drywall with a cord adhering to US electrical code so I can tie into the NM-B? I don't want to put plugin receptacles up there because local code states everything in the garage needs to be GFCI... and GFCI needs to be accessible so I'd need to add another plug reciprocal to the circuit on the wall somewhere near by ground level. I don't want to do that if I can avoid it. What do?

Drill a hole through the drywall and run the cord straight through like a savage?

Some kind of cable outlet style box cover?

Put a j box on the ceiling and run the plug into it through a romex cable clamp?

Pretty much every installation I can find either there is no drywall or the output for the lights comes out the top of the light.

ref images: https://imgur.com/a/0XNwKNd

Posted Aug 3, 2019, 1:02 AM UTC

39
Marauder_Pilot•

What you're going to want to do for the cleanest solution is use rework boxes in the ceiling, then buy blank plates and use a step bit or electrician's ultracutter (Ultracutter will do a better job, but step bits are much more easy to find and cheaper) to put 1/2" fitting holes in them, then use a strain relief conductor like this to connect the factory cord into the box. Cut off the cord end and splice the wires of the cord to the wires inside the junction box. Feed this whole circuit with a GFCI breaker or cut in a blank-face GFCI before the lights to protect the circuit.

You can't just poke equipment wire through an unsecured hole, and you can't use the clamping entry points in a junction box since they're only rated for loomex/romex/ect, not equipment wire. You need to use some sort of cabtire or strain relief connector.

2
perlon•

Find 12 volt less and don't look at code, wire as you want after receptical

1
StrNotSizeOP•

It's a large job. It's getting inspected. So code's not really negotiable. I'm not really following you on the "find 12 volt less." I'm trying to hardwire to the 110V line on a 15A circuit.

1
the_original_kermit•

I believe that what he means is that going to 12v would make it low voltage wire and the low voltage code is much looser

2
RITMECE•

I think "LED" auto-corrected to "less". And I think he meant just wire a normal outlet to code, then buy one of the led strips that plug into the outlet. Since none of that would have any relationship to code, it's just something plugged in

1
greenskycity•

cut an old work box into the ceiling, run the romex to it and run the splice through the supplied faceplate with the hole in it and then splice the short pigtail into the romex and that will give you a legit splice and a means of disconnect because the short pigtail would be outside the box.

1
StrNotSizeOP•

That face plate's kosher? That's just like a cable box plate for r59 coax cable. Those didn't come with the kit, they're just the only way I can think of running a cable out of an electrical box into 'living space'.

1
Adraxis89•

It's kosher with a strain relief as others have suggested.

1
greenskycity•

in regards to inspection? I'm no code wizard so I couldn't say. You're best bet for the code part may be to install keyless fixtures everywhere you were gonna install an outlet for your shop lights, get your inspection and do what you want afterwards.

In my garage i've got 4 keyless fixtures and I am either gonna go with the trilight edison based led lights in each fixture or I am gonna go with a surface mount 2x2 that will wire directly into the box in the ceiling and cover it. might be an option for you?

0