How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
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Why does running a power cord behind the wall for a wall-mounted TV violate the electrical code?
Saturday, July 20, 2019
The National Electrical Code (NEC) does not allow a power supply cord to be concealed in the wall, per NEC 400.12(5), which states that power cords shall not be used “where concealed by walls, floors, or ceilings or located above suspended or dropped ceilings.” So running the cord through a face plate, like in the photo above, makes the installation look neat and professional, but it is not code compliant.
Luckily, there are installation kits, like the PowerBridge® shown below, that use NM-cable and a listed connector between the inlet and outlet boxes to make the installation code-approved. The only exception would be if you live in an area that does not allow NM-type cable, such as New York City or Cook County, Illinois.
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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about ELECTRICAL WIRING:
• Which house appliances need a dedicated electrical circuit?
• Can a short circuit cause a high electric bill?
• What is the maximum spacing requirement for securing NM-cable (nonmetallic-sheathed cable)?
• Is it alright to just put wire nuts on the end of unused or abandoned NM-cable or wiring?
• What causes copper wires to turn green or black in an electric panel?
• What are typical aluminum service entrance wire/cable sizes for the electrical service to a house?
• Why is it unsafe to bond neutral and ground wiring at subpanels?
• Should I get a lightning rod system to protect my house?
• Why is a strain relief clamp necessary for the cord connection to some electric appliances?
• Does a wire nut connection need to be wrapped with electrical tape?
• What is the minimum clearance of overhead electric service drop wires above a house roof?
• What are the requirements for NM-cables entering an electric panel box?
• What is the color code for NM cable (Romex®) sheathing?
• Why is undersize electric wiring in a house dangerous?
• What causes flickering or blinking lights in a house?
• Why are old electrical components not always "grandfathered" as acceptable by home inspectors?
• How can I find out the size of the electric service to a house?
• What could cause an extremely high electric bill?
• Can old electrical wiring go bad inside a wall?
• What is an open electrical splice?
• What are the most common electrical defects found in a home inspection?
• What is the life expectancy of electrical wiring in a house?
• What is an "open junction box"?
• How dangerous is old electrical wiring?
• I heard that aluminum wiring is bad. How do you check for aluminum wiring?
• What is "knob and tube" wiring?
Visit our ELECTRICAL page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.
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