IC vs none IC recessed light

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minimii

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What is the difference between IC and none IC? Does the IC has insulation build in to prevent the case get hot? Can I just simply wrap some silicon or heat insulation sheet around an none IC recessed light house and be able to put insulation right around?

I already have insulation in the ceiling, it is hard to clear around the light house to have insulation not in contact with the light house. Also, by doing so, I might lose sound insulation through the light.
 
I know what IC means. My question is what make an IC light insulation contactable? What special treatment do IC kit typically get? Do IC have better air circulation to prevent it get hot?
 
They are built with a metal box around them to give the amount of gap between light and insulation so they don't overheat.
 
I wonder if I use LED or CFL bulb, would I be able to have insulator contact with the non IC light? I assume LED and CFL will generate much less heat.
 
I wonder if I use LED or CFL bulb, would I be able to have insulator contact with the non IC light? I assume LED and CFL will generate much less heat.

With CFLs and LEDs your wattage and hot spot temperature should be way less. And if you use a muffin fan you can get even smaller temperatures.

In my case, a 200W max flush mount ceiling fixture required 90C wire so I labeled it for 100W max which I figured would give me a 60C max wire temp, based on the thermal resistance path from bulb to box wiring.
I brought up this issue with UL. They knew what I was getting at but refused to bless it and objected on the basis of the label not being permanent or falling off.
But, practically, I think people every day exceed the fixture rating. The 60C wire insulation just gets brittle faster than the 90C wire would.

Sort of related: IKEA was selling a 13W residential fluorescent bathroom fixture with 105C wire [I opened the package to check for this] and so I called UL to ask how such a small fixture would need wire with such a high temp. rating.
And it was wall mount so the heat went up, instead of horizontally into the junction box.
They told me that 105C wire is only for commercial applications and I should go back to IKEA and "investigate" this. Sure, if they would write me a check. :cool: I'd also like to have a badge!

If you don't own an independent testing lab you may be taking a risk. And even if you have a fire for other reasons the insurance company may want to hang the root cause on this DIY job. Who's to stop them?
 
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