I'll be using battery powered LEDs, the sort that's actually designed to go beneath kitchen cabinets. Touch on/off. To see if they were practical, I put two (3 LED bulbs each) in the main coat closet, and so far the batteries have lasted for 3 years. Look for the type that lets you angle the direction of light. I've also noticed that they are now available with timers, which might be more practical.

I'm using single incandescent fixtures in my small closets.

A recessed fixture with a glass cover meets the requirements easily.

Can light or square, just make sure the bulb is covered.

I didn't want bare bulbs (they aren't allowed in my town, and the inspector really discourages any incandescent light in the non walk-in closets), so I went with an idea an electrician told me about. Fluorescent strips were installed above the doors facing into the closet (rather than on the ceiling). I like that you don't see them, plus I don't worry about them being left on. I figure it's just a closet, I don't care if the quality/color of the light isn't perfect. I have to say, it's pretty good. Truthfully, until I built this house I never had a reach-in closet with a light.

We have the same as sue36 and they work great. They are mounted above the doors so you would have to stick your head in and look up to see them. They light well and are inexpensive.

"I didn't want bare bulbs (they aren't allowed in my town, and the inspector really discourages any incandescent light in the non walk-in closets)"

They are not bare bulbs if they have a listed glass cover.

Energy saving incandescents on manual switches. At the most, you're only wasting 4 watts.

I like the idea of probably an undercounter fixture mounted on the wall above the door.

I have no idea if this is kosher from an inspection point of view, but here's what I did with one closet. I put in a switch/outlet combo inside the closet at about 48" up. A rope light is plugged into the outlet (wired from the switch) and is tacked up around the door trim inside the closet. This is a single-wide closet with shelves, and the rope light provides good light for all of them.

Brickeye,
I'm trying to remember (it's been a few years) but I think the code in our town says no incandescent bulbs within a certain number of inches of where flammables (clothes) could be. Since we only have 8' ceilings in the bedrooms there was pretty much no way the building inspector would allow them since clothes can be stacked on the top shelf. I don't think a glass cover would matter. Of course, I didn't challenge him on it because I didn't really care, I wanted fluorescent anyway.

We had the same setup as Sue and Holly described for a very wide, deep closet that was in a lower level toyroom. The light was left on CONSTANTLY and I never had to change a bulb in over 5 years. I am generally not a fan of florescent, but it certainly has it's place and compared to how frequently I was replacing the overhead flood lights in that playroom I am now a believer. The switch was on the wall on the outside of the closet.

Sue/Brickeye - We did have an issue w/ our covered incandescent fixtures being too close to closet shelving in a few walk-in closets and had to either move the fixtures or swap them out with florescent. For us, they needed to be at least 12" from where clothes could be stored. The closet system shelving changes were not communicated to the electricians.

I think we might go with something like this, it has a motion detector that turns the light off and on.

Here is a link that might be useful: LED lighting

cynandjon -- THAT is NEAT!

picture me banging head... closets are perfect for motion detectors, and I never thought of it!

HAHA!! Yeah cause knowing me,they would be on all the time cause I would forget to turn them off.

cynandjon: those are interesting, but i wonder how long the batteries last? and being that we're doing a new build i don't mind wiring... i wonder if there's something like that which could be wired? (i never replace batteries!)

too lazy. :^P

Brickeye,
"Boneheaded" doesn't even begin to cover it. The building code varies from town to town here, dramatically sometimes. I admit I didn't challenge the inspector on the light thing (especially since the electrician said, "yup" when I asked if it was true). It didn't matter to me and I had other things I needed to fight him about (like handrail height, which code required be 36" but he "wanted" 42").

Hmmm Ill have to do a search. ITs true batteries are a pain. I know the under the counter LED lights can be wired directly, I bet they make some for the closet that can be wired direct too.

We are doing fluorescent strips. Ours are mounted on the ceiling. Doesn't bother met. In our closet, we used three mushroom lights. They are a little prettier. Nothing fancy, though.

Our experience with FLs and CFLs has been less than stellar. We have had several CFLs burn out. We have replaced numerous tube type FLs in our closets and kitchen.

I installed a CFL in the light fixture on our stairwell ceiling fan precisely because it is so hard to get to, hoping it would last as long as we were in this house. It died the other day. The incandescent in the companion fixture which was installed at some unknown time in the past by the prior owners hasn't failed yet. They are on the same switch.

I think FLs and CFLs are highly overrated for the home. For one thing, they are rated in starts as much as hours. The worst thing you can have for a closet is a fluorescent light on a switch. We have a bunch of them. All have had to be replaced since we've been in this house, some more than once. They cost a lot more than an incandescent. Considering the paltry energy savings from their minimal "on" time, they are a net money waster, not a money saver.

As far as I am concerned, super bright LED clusters should be the real replacement for incandescents. They have very minimal energy requirements and are long lived, if the required electronics components are of decent quality. Unfortunately, that's a big if with today's manufacturing quality and third world sourcing.

thanks everyone. i think i'll investigate the LEDs. fluorescents of any kind make me cringe a little ...ok, a LOT. the color in both types (bulbs and strips) give off (to me) a not so pleasant light. not to mention i photograph my children ...many times in the house (usually with a DSLR) BUT sometimes with film. the color comes out green. i know they're just closets, but i am so dead set against them for any purpose. and all those CFLs contain mercury. while only trace amounts, it will all add up one day. yes, i'm a lighting snob. i admit. no beatings please. i'm pms'ing... thanks very much for your very thoughtful responses. i will re read once i get some sleep!

An incandescent fixture in any closet must be completely enclosed and cannot be on a pendant.

A surface mounted enclosed incandescent light on the wall above the door or on the ceiling must have a minimum clearance of 12 in. between the fixture and the nearest point of storage.
A recessed enclosed incandescent fixture needs a clearance of 6 in.
A surface mounted or recessed fluorescent fixture needs a clearance of 6 in.

A storage surface is defined as 24 inches from the side and back walls to a height of 6 ft. or the highest clothing rod and the space above that that is 12 in. from the side and back walls.

For a surface mounted incandescent fixture to be allowed in a shallow closet, the overall depth would need to be 24 in. plus the width or depth of the fixture which would make the closet about 30 in. deep.

A recessed enclosed incandescent fixture would need to be small and might take up about 6 in. in width if the housing will allow it so the closet might be able to be a normal 24" inside depth but I would never rely on an electrician to keep me out of trouble.

I have used 1" thick Xenon under cabinet lights flat against the wall above the door and made the interior closet dimension 26 in. deep to be safe. I have installed recessed "stair lights" in the wall above the door but they don't give off much light. For 24" deep closets I have also put a recessed wall washer or surface incandescent light at the ceiling just outside the closet and used 8 ft doors.

I don't know how the code would treat LED lighting but they produce so little heat I would assume they would be treated the same as fluorescent fixtures. I wouldn't specify them without asking the electrical inspector first.

It is often necessary to bring the NEC book with you to the site in order to persuade the electrician that an incandescent fixture of any kind is allowed in a closet.