Low voltage + high voltage in one box?
#1
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Low voltage + high voltage in one box?
Hello,
My house was built in the 60s. I have a mix of high and low voltage lighting.
I rewired the entire bathroom and I have one low voltage wire (black, white) which is not going to be used anymore. Since I can't track it all the way back to the source I was going to cap it off and tuck away in a regular, blue box.
I have two regular romex wires capped off in the same box.
My question is:
Do I need to have two separate boxes for low voltage wire and high voltage?
Thanks!
My house was built in the 60s. I have a mix of high and low voltage lighting.
I rewired the entire bathroom and I have one low voltage wire (black, white) which is not going to be used anymore. Since I can't track it all the way back to the source I was going to cap it off and tuck away in a regular, blue box.
I have two regular romex wires capped off in the same box.
My question is:
Do I need to have two separate boxes for low voltage wire and high voltage?
Thanks!
#2
Generally speaking low- and high-voltage wiring needs to be kept separate. There are boxes you can buy with removable dividers to isolate each side of the box. They're commonly used to put power and telephone on the same faceplate, but there's no reason you couldn't use it for low-voltage lighting.
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One more question. I noticed that all low voltage light switches do not have boxes behind them. Just wires and wire nuts. Can I do the same with my spare wire and tie them together? I mean, put wire caps on my spare wire and wrap around the low voltage wires going up to the light switch?
I simply want to avoid yet another blank cover on the wall....
I simply want to avoid yet another blank cover on the wall....
#4
It's a bit of a gray area on just how much electrical code requirements apply to low voltage lighting. By the letter of the code you should follow the same practices for low and high voltage. However, it is rarely practiced or enforced in the field.
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Agreed. This is what confuses me.
On one hand - I was going to treat them in the same way as I do high voltage wires.
I just googled a "low voltage box" and most of them are open (no back wall) therefore I'm assuming it will be ok to just leave them with other low voltage wires. Other than easier handing, I see no purpose for a box like that: 1-Gang Non-Metallic Low-Voltage Old-Work Bracket (Case of 12)-SC100RR - The Home Depot
On one hand - I was going to treat them in the same way as I do high voltage wires.
I just googled a "low voltage box" and most of them are open (no back wall) therefore I'm assuming it will be ok to just leave them with other low voltage wires. Other than easier handing, I see no purpose for a box like that: 1-Gang Non-Metallic Low-Voltage Old-Work Bracket (Case of 12)-SC100RR - The Home Depot
#6
Also a confusing area in marketing materials -- they really should call those boxes telecom boxes instead of low-voltage. They are intended for phone, cable, Ethernet, and not really for low-voltage, high-power applications like accent lighting. Per code splices in the LV lighting circuits really ought to be inside enclosed boxes, although as you've seen that is rarely practiced.