Article 605

Office Furnishings

1. Scope. This article covers electrical equipment, lighting accessories, and wiring systems used to connect, contained within, or installed on office furnishings.
2. Definition.Office Furnishing. Cubicle panels, partitions, study carrels, workstations, desks, shelving systems, and storage units that may be mechanically and electrically interconnected to form an office furnishing system.
3. General. Wiring systems shall be identified as suitable for providing power for lighting accessories and utilization equipment used within office furnishings. A wired partition shall not extend from floor to ceiling.Exception: Where permitted by the authority having jurisdiction, these relocatable wired partitions shall be permitted to extend to, but shall not penetrate, the ceiling.
   1. Use. These assemblies shall be installed and used only as provided for by this article.
   2. Hazardous (Classified) Locations. Where used in hazard‐ ous (classified) locations, these assemblies shall comply with Articles 500 through 517 in addition to this article.
4. Wireways. All conductors and connections shall be contained within wiring channels of metal or other material identified as suitable for the conditions of use. Wiring channels shall be free of projections or other conditions that might damage conductor insulation.
5. Office Furnishing Interconnections. The electrical connection between office furnishings shall be a flexible assem‐ bly identified for use with office furnishings or shall be permit‐ ted to be installed using flexible cord, provided that all the following conditions are met:
   1. The cord is extra-hard usage type with 12 AWG or larger conductors, with an insulated equipment grounding conductor.
   2. The office furnishings are mechanically contiguous.
   3. The cord is not longer than necessary for maximum posi‐ tioning of the office furnishing but is in no case to exceed 600 mm (2 ft).
   4. The cord is terminated at an attachment plug-and-cord connector with strain relief.
6. Lighting Accessories. Lighting equipment shall be listed, labeled, and identified for use with office furnishings and shall comply with 605.6(A), (B), and (C).
   1. Support. A means for secure attachment or support shall be provided.
   2. Connection. Where cord and plug connection is provi‐ ded, it shall comply with all of the following:
      1. The cord length shall be suitable for the intended appli‐ cation but shall not exceed 2.7 m (9 ft) in length.
      2. The cord shall not be smaller than 18 AWG.
      3. The cord shall contain an equipment grounding conduc‐ tor, except as specified in 605.6(B)(4).
      4. Cords on the load side of a listed Class 2 power source shall not be required to contain an equipment grounding conductor.
      5. The cord shall be of the hard usage type, except as speci‐ fied in 605.6(B)(6).
      6. A cord provided on a listed Class 2 power source shall be of the type provided with the listed luminaire assembly or of the type specified in 725.130 and 725.127.
      7. Connection by other means shall be identified as suitable for the conditions of use.
   3. Receptacle Outlet. Receptacles shall not be permitted in lighting accessories.
7. Fixed-Type Office Furnishings. Office furnishings that are fixed (secured to building surfaces) shall be permanently connected to the building electrical system by one of the wiring methods of Chapter 3.
8. Freestanding-Type Office Furnishings. Office furnish‐ ings of the freestanding type (not fixed) shall be permitted to be connected to the building electrical system by one of the wiring methods of Chapter 3.
9. Freestanding-Type Office Furnishings, Cord- and Plug- Connected. Individual office furnishings of the freestanding type, or groups of individual office furnishings that are electri‐ cally connected, are mechanically contiguous, and do not exceed 9.0 m (30 ft) when assembled, shall be permitted to be connected to the building electrical system by a single flexible cord and plug, provided that all of the conditions of 605.9(A) through (D) are met.

1. Flexible Power-Supply Cord. The flexible power supply cord shall be extra-hard usage type with 12 AWG or larger conductors, with an insulated equipment grounding conduc‐ tor, and shall not exceed 600 mm (2 ft) in length.
2. Receptacle Supplying Power. The receptacle(s) supplying power shall be on a separate circuit serving only the office furnishing and no other loads and shall be located not more than 300 mm (12 in.) from the office furnishing that is connec‐ ted to it.
3. Receptacle, Maximum. An individual office furnishing or groups of interconnected individual office furnishings shall not contain more than 13 15-ampere, 125-volt receptacles. For purposes of this requirement, a receptacle is considered (1) up to two (simplex) receptacles provided within a single enclosure and that are within 0.3 m (1 ft) of each other or (2) one duplex receptacle.
4. Multiwire Circuits, Not Permitted. An individual office furnishing or groups of interconnected office furnishings shall not contain multiwire circuits.

Informational Note: See 210.4 for circuits supplying office furnishings in 605.7 and 605.8.