How to Wire Emergency Lights
The law requires emergency lights to be installed in many public and private buildings. Laws, as well as the National Electrical Code and the local electric codes, require that emergency lights be placed on their own branch circuits with no other loads on the circuit. The most difficult part of wiring emergency lights is running the branch circuit cable back to the circuit breaker panel. Because new wiring is involved, you will need to get a wiring permit before starting this project. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Wiring Permit
- 12/2 with ground Romex cable
- Romex cable connectors
- Electronic stud finder
- "Old Work" lighting outlet box
- 3/8-inch drill/driver
- Spade bit set
- Portable electric jigsaw
- Screwdrivers
- Cable cutters
- Utility/razor knife
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Lineman's pliers
- Wire nuts
- 20-Ampere, single-pole circuit breaker
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Instructions
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Get a wiring permit from the local department of building permits and post it on the job site as instructed by the issuing agency.
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Mount the emergency light, lighting outlet box 6 and ½ feet above the finished floor. Turn the electronic stud finder on and slide it across the wall surface to locate the wall studs. The electronic stud finder will beep when it crosses the edge of a stud. Mount the box in a wall space between two studs.
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Using the lighting outlet box as a guide, outline the cutout to be made in the wall. Drill a ½ inch hole in the piece to be removed and then use the portable jigsaw to remove the cutout.
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Run a length of Romex cable from the cutout for the lighting outlet box to the circuit breaker panel. The easiest way to do that is to run it up into the attic and then over and down to the circuit breaker panel. An alternative way of running the cable is to run it down into the basement and then over and up to the breaker panel. Cut the cable, so it extends in the room 12 inches.
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Slip the end of the cable into the lighting outlet box through one of the cable openings. Using the razor knife, remove the cable's outer jacket, leaving 3/8 inches of it intact where it enters the box. Push the box into the wall cutout and secure in place by turning the mounting screws in a clockwise direction.
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Secure the emergency light over the outlet box. Remove ½ insulation from the ends of the black and the white cable wires with the wire strippers. Hold the stripped ends of the black cable wire and the black fixture wires side by side and twist them together in a clockwise direction with the Lineman's pliers. Complete the splice by screwing on a wire nut.
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Splice the white wires and the bare, ground wires together in like fashion.
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Turn off the main circuit breaker and remove the covers to the breaker panel. Remove a knockout from the side of the panel box and install a Romex cable connector. Slide the cable through the connector and tighten the clamping screws to secure it in place.
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Install the new circuit breaker. Depending on the type of panel you have, the breaker may simply snap in place or it may be secured to the Buss bar with a screw.
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Remove the outer jacket of the cable. Connect the white wire to the panels neutral bar by slipping its stripped end in any empty opening, in the bar, and tightening the compression screw down on it. Connect the bare, ground wire to the panels ground bar in a like manner. Connect the black circuit wire to the screw terminal on the circuit breaker.
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Replace the circuit breaker panel's cover and turn on the main circuit breaker.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not forget to have the required inspections performed on your work as instructed by the Authority Having Jurisdiction at the time you received your permit.
