Bedroom light switch

Is there a requirement to have wall light switches in bedrooms?
I inspected a 50 year old house today and all the lights had to be turned on at the fixtures which were in the middle of the room. Not very practical…

NEC 210.70

But I don’t know about 50 years ago.

Can you give us the text ?
Never mind…Light switch where entering a room - Electrical Inspections - InterNACHI®️ Forum

Trying to get it but phone is not cooperating. I’ll keep trying.

Thank you Cam!

Got back to the laptop, here you go. Be sure to consider the exceptions too.

2011 NEC
210.70 Lighting Outlets Required. Lighting outlets shall
be installed where specified in 210.70(A), (B), and (C).
(A) Dwelling Units. In dwelling units, lighting outlets
shall be installed in accordance with 210.70(A)(1), (A)(2),
and (A)(3).
(1) Habitable Rooms. **At least one wall switch-controlled **
lighting outlet shall be installed in every habitable room
and bathroom.
Exception No. I: In other than kitchens and bathrooms,
one or more receptacles controlled by a wall switch shall
be permitted in lieu of lighting outlets.
Exception No. 2: Lighting outlets shall be permitted to be
controlled by occupancy sensors that are (1) in addition to
wall switches or (2) located at a customary wall switch
location and equipped with a manual override that will
allow the sensor to function as a wall switch.

Not sure if that applied 50 years ago either, also the switch does not have to be in the room.

“Wall switch controlled” are adjectives that modify “lighting outlet”. Only the outlet needs to be in the room. A fixture does not need to be installed either.

It probably did not apply to 50 years ago. In this case, there was no switch inside or outside of the room. The only way to turn the lights on was to go to the fixture in the middle of the rooms and pull the light cord.

In Minnesota… acceptable. :wink:

Thanks for the clarifications guys, the devil’s in the details.

Yeah, they are different up there :smiley:
Is it getting any warmer there?

One of the great things about being a home inspector is that we are paid for our opinions.

No controlled light to a room - call it out

No controlled stair light on both ends of a stairway - call it out

No GFCI in the garage - call it out.

I really don’t care when or if it was required.

KISS

I understand, but as Jeff said, it is acceptable in MN, therefore, is it really a deficiency?

I share my opinions, the client gets to decide if it is important to them.

Similar to when I recommend an outdoor vented range hood.

The client often has not even noticed one way or the other.

The codes inform us but we are not bound by them.

Well now we are getting somewhere! I agree with Michael. Some of the last Clients I dealt with still had pull chains everywhere. One was just over the stairs where I am sure anyone that was less than 5 foot 5, would need to stretch to grab the pull chain over the top of the stairs.
I will provide a picture if you can’t visualize it later on.

Okay… who are you, and what did you do with Kevin Wood!!!

That’s twice in one week. First me, and now Mikey.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cr8HLoI1DHk/TwVTPmLtntI/AAAAAAAAWnI/dQcGMR0k_wc/s1600/comingeoizabeth.jpg

You forgot to put me in CAPS Jeffrey.:mrgreen: