Hello,
New to the group. I have a house that was built in 1951, and updated (by previous owners) in the not too distant past. I had an insulation contractor come out to give me an estimate on adding insulation to the attic (there isn't much and what is there, is unevenly distributed). She said she would, but then noted our recessed lighting housings and said she would not insulate around them as they are not "IC rated". To illustrate, she showed me stamped inside the housing is "IP rated" but nothing that says "IC rated".
The manufacturer (Halo H5RICAT model) says that they are IC rated, and IP means "Inherently Protected", which is also fine for insulation to be touching the housing. I don't get the difference, if any, between IC and IP ratings and whether or not this insulation contractor is being overly neurotic or really protecting me from potentially sending my house up in flames. The UL guidelines are not specific as to the difference, if any. http://www.ul.com/regulators/LuminairesMG_April2006_Final.pdf
Does "thermally protected" mean that the housing itself is insulated and does not get hot so therefore, the insulation touching the outside is safe? And if a housing is not "thermally protected" but the UL says that it just cannot overheat, is that adequate?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
New to the group. I have a house that was built in 1951, and updated (by previous owners) in the not too distant past. I had an insulation contractor come out to give me an estimate on adding insulation to the attic (there isn't much and what is there, is unevenly distributed). She said she would, but then noted our recessed lighting housings and said she would not insulate around them as they are not "IC rated". To illustrate, she showed me stamped inside the housing is "IP rated" but nothing that says "IC rated".
The manufacturer (Halo H5RICAT model) says that they are IC rated, and IP means "Inherently Protected", which is also fine for insulation to be touching the housing. I don't get the difference, if any, between IC and IP ratings and whether or not this insulation contractor is being overly neurotic or really protecting me from potentially sending my house up in flames. The UL guidelines are not specific as to the difference, if any. http://www.ul.com/regulators/LuminairesMG_April2006_Final.pdf
Does "thermally protected" mean that the housing itself is insulated and does not get hot so therefore, the insulation touching the outside is safe? And if a housing is not "thermally protected" but the UL says that it just cannot overheat, is that adequate?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.