I've always liked sconces as a way to illuminate a room so that light comes from the sides (mainly for easier reading). This particular one interests me.
http://www.amazon.com/Sconces-Hardwi...=6w+led+sconce

The base, however, appears to be too small for a standard receptacle box. that caused me to wonder; what rules exist for wall sconces? Is there a particular run they need to be on? Must they terminate in a box, or is there some other way for the sconce to mount?

 

They make no mention of a box and the supplied bracket hardly constitutes a box either. An electrical box is roughly 2"x3" so the fixture won't cover the box. I'm stumped.

 

Yeah, that's my first concern.

I have two light fixtures that are similar that have been there since I bought the house. When I bought the house; they were just connected to romex coming from the ceiling. But those are ceiling fixtures (hallway light and a light over a sink) that will probably never be moved. While I'm not a huge fan, I have trouble finding a reason to fix what's already working. But I can easily see myself tiring of sconces and having to come up with something to do about wires sticking out of walls.

 

My guess since they don't mention U.L. listing in the product description and the specs are in millimeters is that this fixtures was not designed for, nor is it approved for use in the USA.

 

The box is required to contain any arc or spark from falling into the wall or ceiling cavity to prevent fires. They also provide a mounting support for the fixture or device.

 

They provide a mounting plate and it looks like the holes in that plate match a standard gem box... but the base of the fixture won't cover the box completely.

 

Found the mounting instructions if you can decipher them...

following the steps:
1.Using a screwdriver to screw out the bolts which connected the mounting base and lamp-chimney.
2.Fixing the mounting base on the wall(Wood metope,using self-tapping screw to fix;Cement metope, using electric drill to drill holes and then installing plastic Gecko,at length using bolt to fix). 3.Connecting the Power cord of the wall lamp to the family circuits(no distinction between the live line and zero line,one for live line and the other for zero line,if the wire were pretty long,please roll into a circle and place in a vacant position in lamp-chimney).
4.Putting the lamp-chimney onto the mounting base,aiming at the bolt hole,then installing the screws.

 

Yeah, I saw those instructions as well, obviously a transliteration from the original Chinese instructions by someone not all that familiar with English. I have no idea of what a "plastic Gecko" might be but I did find metope through a Google search. https://www.google.com/search?q=meto...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Now just how metope applies in the mounting of this fixture I have no idea. At any rate, this seems to be another Chinese-made fixture without the benefit of adhering to any codes recognized in the US. Proceed with caution.

 

And the five star reviews read like they were written by shills. If you already have bought this I'd say return it and tell Amazon they should pull this item from sale.

 

No, never bought it. I think the wiring would be too much of a pain. Maybe in the near future they will make a decent battery version so I don't need to tear into my walls to run wires.

Thanks for the information that these would require a box as well.

Are there any restrictions on which run they would need to be on?

 

Does the optional mounting plate (escutcheon) fully cover a standard (single gang) outlet box?

 

Roughly speaking, lighting can be on any general-purpose circuit that does not also serve a kitchen or bathroom receptacle. You would also want to avoid using circuits dedicated to specific appliances.