Arotake downlight clearance
IC, CA90, Non‑IC rānei: ka pā te insulation ki te rama?
Reads AS/NZS 3000:2018. Tables checked 1 Oct 2026.
Whakamātau mahi 4
Ka whakakī ia mahi i ngā uara tauira. Whakakapia ērā ki ō uara.
- Check a CA90 downlight against insulationA CA90 light with insulation against its sides, and its clearances.
- Read an old IC-F downlightAn IC-F marking read as IC-4 under insulation.
- Check a CA135 downlight in AustraliaA CA135 light in an Australian home.
- Check a Non‑IC light in a shopA 50 W Non‑IC downlight with insulation kept clear.
Ngā whakauru
He tauira mahi me ngā whakauru taunoa.
- Whenua
- Aotearoa
- Whakaurunga
- Whare noho
- Tohu i runga i te rama
- IC-4
- Ine rama
- 10 W
- Whakamarumaru tāpapa tuanui
- Whakamaherehanga ki runga
- I te wāhi tuanui e taea ana te uru
- Āe
Tēnei rama i konei
Whakaaetia
- Ka taea te whakakoretanga te piri ki tēnei
- Āe
- Ka taea te whakakoretanga te hipoki i tēnei
- Āe
- Te rohe o te taha me te mata runga
- 90°C
- Tohu whakatūpato wāhi tuanui
- Kāore e hiahiatia
He āwhina hoahoa tēnei hua. Manatokohia ki te paerewa o nāianei.
Ngā hīkoi tātaitanga
- KaraeheIC-4
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 4.3
- Whakaaetia i tēnei whakaurungaĀe
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 4.5.2.3.5(b)(i)
- Ka taea te whakakoretanga te piri ki tēneiĀe
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 4.3
- Ka taea te whakakoretanga te hipoki i tēneiĀe
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 4.3
- Te rohe o te taha me te mata runga90°C
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Table 4.3
- Tohu whakatūpato wāhi taupoki tuanuiKāore e hiahiatia
AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 4.5.2.3.2
Mō tēnei tātaitai
How this is calculated
A recessed luminaire, usually a downlight, sits in the ceiling with its body in the roof space. Its heat has to go somewhere, so AS/NZS 3000 sets which classes may go where and how close insulation may come. The class is the symbol on the luminaire or its box.
The tool first reads the marking. A luminaire marked to the 2001 standard is read as its current class: an IC-F as IC-4, a CA 80 as CA90. Then it checks the class against the list for your country and installation. A New Zealand home may take CA90, CA135, IC and IC-4. An Australian home may take Do-not-cover, CA90, IC and IC-4. Other buildings add Non‑IC and Do-not-cover, and New Zealand adds CA135.
Next it checks the insulation you plan against the class. IC and IC-4 may be covered. CA90 and CA135 may have insulation against their sides but not over the top. Do-not-cover may be near insulation but not touch it. Non‑IC is not tested with insulation, so the tool warns when insulation is present even kept clear.
Where insulation is kept clear and the maker gives no distance, the tool gives the default clearances of the standard for a lamp up to 100 W, for the dimensions its drawing shows for the class. Above 100 W there are no defaults: use the maker's distances or a luminaire certified for the condition. Last, it says whether the roof space needs the warning sign.
| Step | Table or clause | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| A 2001 marking | Cl 4.5.2.3.5 Exception | The class an old marking is read as |
| The class for this installation | Cl 4.5.2.3.5 | Whether the class may go in this home or building |
| Insulation against or over the luminaire | Table 4.3 | Whether insulation may abut or cover the class |
| Default clearances | Figure 4.9 | The distances where the clearance method is used |
| A lamp over 100 W | Cl 4.5.2.3.3(a)(viii) | Which methods remain |
| The roof space sign | Cl 4.5.2.3.2 | Whether the warning sign is needed |
Worked examples
- A CA90 downlight with insulation against its sides. The luminaire is Permitted in a New Zealand home. Insulation may abut it but not cover it, the space above stays clear, and the roof space needs the sign.
- An old IC-F downlight under insulation. The marking reads as IC-4, so the luminaire is Permitted and may be covered. No sign is needed if every downlight in the space is IC or IC-4.
- A CA135 downlight in an Australian home. The luminaire is Not permitted and fails: CA135 is not on the Australian list for any installation.
- A 50 W Non‑IC downlight in a shop. The luminaire is Permitted in a non‑residential building. Insulation must stay clear by the default clearances, with a fixed guard where it is loose.
- A downlight with no marking. The luminaire is Not permitted and fails: with no class and no stated clearances, it should not be installed.
Limits
The tool reads the class and the clauses. It does not test a luminaire or check the maker's instructions, which take the place of the defaults. It does not size the lighting circuit or check its cable in the insulation; use the correction factors tool for a cable run in insulation. Spotlights that heat the surface they light follow Table 4.2, which the tool does not check.
See also: Downlights and insulation: IC-4, CA90 and Non‑IC, Downlights in an insulated ceiling and Lighting lumen method.
Pātai
He āwhina hoahoa te hua. Manatokohia ki te paerewa o nāianei.
Ka taea e te insulation te hipoki i tētahi downlight?
Ko te IC me te IC-4 downlight anake. Kua whakamātauria ēnei hei hipoki e te insulation o te whare. Ka taea he insulation ki ngā taha o tētahi CA90 me CA135, engari kāore ki runga. Me pupuri mārama te insulation mō ētahi atu karaehe.
He aha te tawhiti e hiahiatia ana e tētahi downlight mai i te insulation?
Ina kore te kaihanga e hoatu, ka whakatakoto a AS/NZS 3000 Figure 4.9 i ngā taunoa mō tētahi rama tae atu ki te 100 W: 100 mm ki te insulation, 100 mm ki ngā huanga whare, 100 mm i runga ake, me te 50 mm ki te control gear. Ko ēhea e pā ana, ka whakawhirinaki ki te karaehe.
Ko ēhea ngā downlight ka taea te whakatakoto i tētahi kāinga NZ?
CA90, CA135, IC me IC-4. Kāore e taea te whakauru i te Non‑IC me te Do-not-cover ki tētahi whakaurunga noho Aotearoa. I Ahitereiria, ka taea e ngā whare te whakauru i te Do-not-cover, CA90, IC me IC-4, engari kāore CA135.
He IC-F tā tōku downlight. He aha tērā?
He tohu nō te paerewa 2001. Ka whakaaetia e AS/NZS 3000 kia tukuna te IC-F downlight hei IC-4, me te CA 80 hei CA90. Ka pānui te taputapu i te tohu tawhito mā tēnei tikanga.
Āhea me whai tohu whakatūpato te wāhi tuanui?
Ina kei roto ngā recessed luminaire i tētahi wāhi tuanui e taea ana te uru, engari mēnā he IC, he IC-4 ngā mea katoa. Ka tū te tohu i te wāhi uru, ka kitea e te tangata ka uru mai.
Ngā tauira mahi
Kōrero o muri
Ngā Clause me ngā Table e pānuitia ana e tēnei taputapu
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 4.5.2.3.2Roof space warning sign
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 4.5.2.3.5Recessed luminaire classes by installation
- AS/NZS 3000:2018 Cl 4.5.2.3, Figure 4.9 and Table 4.3Recessed luminaire classes, where each may go, and the default clearances
Ia Clause me Table, me te pēhea i manatokotia ai ia tētahi
Ngā tūtohi i arotakehia whakamutunga i te 1 Oct 2026.
Ngā taputapu hononga
- Tātaitai correction factorRead each correction factor and the rating a cable needs.AS/NZS 3008.1.2AS/NZS 3008.1.1AS/NZS 3000
- Tātaitai lumen method mō te ramaLuminaire count and grid for a room by the lumen method.AS/NZS 1680.1AS/NZS 1158.1.2
- Tātaitai rahi tauraFind the smallest cable size that passes each check.AS/NZS 3008.1.2AS/NZS 3008.1.1AS/NZS 3000
He whai hua tēnei?
He pātai, he uara rānei e kitea ana he hē? Whakapā mai.