How do ya'll run power for shelf lights?

[jkmonroe]

I am planning on putting those under shelf halogens on my back wall shelf thing. Do you guys generally run the power up the wall and place an outlet there, or run the power cord down the interior of the wall and out a little plate, then plug them in. I would like the ability to have them X-10'd with a module.

This is retro-fit, and I am not quite sure how to handle this. It will be a fun weekend project though. :-D

[ellisr63]

You can run them to an X10 outlet or plugin module.... or you could strip the wires and hardwire it to an X10 unit that gets put in a box... not sure on code requirements.

[jkmonroe]

I guess more or less what I was asking was if its safe to run the power cable in-wall. Since a lot of folks talk about building their homes I figured theyd know how its done.

Run the cable in-wall, put an outlet where the cable needs to plug in, hard-wire it somehow. I suppose I will call an electrician tomorrow and see what the codes are exactly.

[ellisr63]

I guess more or less what I was asking was if its safe to run the power cable in-wall. Since a lot of folks talk about building their homes I figured theyd know how its done.

Run the cable in-wall, put an outlet where the cable needs to plug in, hard-wire it somehow. I suppose I will call an electrician tomorrow and see what the codes are exactly.
I had an electrician hard wire a water feature to a switch for me... we cut the plug off and ran it thru the wall to the switch. I am assuming it is safe.. we have had it for almost 2 years like this.

[robertmee]

If it's standard lamp cord, then you cannot run it in the wall. That's a definite code violation.

Since the water feature is made for outdoor use, it may have had a different type of insulation (rated for outdoor/in wall) that allowed your electrician to run it in the wall, otherwise he definitely violated code by doing so.

The underneath cabinet lights you cannot run the standard cord in the wall. Open up the housing, remove the standard cord, and replace with romex. The other alternative is put an outlet in the wall inside the cabinet and run the regular cord up through the bottom of the cabinet into the outlet.

The reason for the code is two fold and comes down to the type of insulation used on the wire. You want inwall rated stuff as in a fire, you don't want A) the insulation to act as a medium for fire to travel up walls, and B) the insulation giving off toxic fumes.

[jkmonroe]

Thats what I figured. At least I have some knowledge of whats going on before I actually do it. Hardware store, here I come! Well, in a couple hours. :-D

[jdmontague]

Also, if your cabinet is not permanently attached to the wall, you will need to have a plugin.

[Dean Roddey]

B) the insulation giving off toxic fumes

Hey, I have a bunch of old power cords. I could probably stop spending all that money on glue.

[zaccari]

Hey, I have a bunch of old power cords. I could probably stop spending all that money on glue.
They are toxic as in dead, not toxic as in high :roll:

[zaccari]

This is retro-fit, and I am not quite sure how to handle this. It will be a fun weekend project though. :-D

Oh, I'd bet big bucks that they electrician who cut the end off a cable and ran it through any wall violated code and I don't really need to know which area he did this in. I'm sure you can't run wire in and out of a wall. If you're set on X10, I'd suggest having an X10 switch controlling an outlet which you plug your lights into. I'd put the outlet (and the switch) above the top of the shelves so they're out of sight.

I recently put some bookcases in my office. On the ends of the bookcases, there are cabinets with doors with glass doors. My intent was low intensity lighting at some point. I won't dream of it until I come to a conclusion for lighting control though.

[jkmonroe]

Well, I didnt make it to the hardware store today. And after that almost 4 hour marathon conference, I think its bedtime. :)

I may just pay an electrician to do it. Maybe have him run a dedicated circuit for the HI gear anyways since when the vacuum turns on fuses tend to blow. Thanks for the advice.

:)