Crawl Space lighting and GFCI protection in the 2017 NEC.

As home inspectors in Washington state one of our SOP requirements is to report missing GFCI protection where required.

Washington State Standards of Practice-


(WAC) 308-408C-110 Electrical system.

(e) Verify

(iii) Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection and arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) protection where required.

(f) Report the location of any inoperative or missing GFCI and/or AFCI devices when they are recommended by industry standards.

(g) Advise clients that homes without ground fault protection should have GFCI devices installed where recommended by industry standards.

GFCI and AFCI protection is always evolving and as Home Inspectors we need to be aware of new requirements. With the planned adoption of the 2017 NEC on July 1st, 2017 a new GFCI requirement will now be in place for lighting in crawlspaces. Below is the rule requirement from the 2017 NEC.

From the 2017 NEC-

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-interrupter Protection for Personnel.
Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall he prodded as required in 210.8(A) through (E). The ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.

New section added.
(E) Crawl Space Lighting Outlets.
GFCI protection shall he provided for lighting outlets not exceeding 120 volts installed in crawl spaces.

So after July first we should now be reporting any missing GFCI protection of lighting outlets in the crawlspace area.

“Electricity is really just organized lightning”

George Carlin

If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…  

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection-  Bellingham Technical College

WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board

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