TL;DR
A recessed light IC rating marks a can or wafer fixture as safe for direct contact with attic insulation, with an internal thermal cutoff that prevents overheating when buried. Non-IC housings instead require 3 inches of clearance, leaving an uninsulated chimney that leaks heated air into the attic.
What it means
A recessed light IC rating marks a can or wafer fixture as safe for direct contact with attic insulation, with an internal thermal cutoff that prevents overheating when buried. Non-IC housings instead require 3 inches of clearance, leaving an uninsulated chimney that leaks heated air into the attic. Energy-conscious work pairs the IC label with an airtight (ICAT) rating so the fixture can be covered and sealed, a combination most LED wafer lights now carry by default.
Where it sits in the glossary
Recessed light IC rating is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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