Could a relay switch be causing the havoc in my home?

[Octopus]

Using power line is absolutely no substitute for proper cat5 or cat6 wiring ...... anyone who says otherwise is not speaking from a point of experience.

 

[123]

Powerline adaptors are an after thought at best.

LED Hut products are garbage, better with good branded LED products for downlights either can and lamp or dedicated unit. Chances are it's the LED Hut lamps failing that have killed the dimmers.

 

[shaun1]

If your ariel guy has confirmed bad terminations at the socket, then whoever installed it didnt know what they are doing and there are probably other bad joints that werent uncovered or the cable was damaged during instalation. I would be looking to get the builder back to repair them and make good at his expense.

Re the powerline adaptors, could you try them at a friend/family members house to see how they perform?

 

[The Ghost]

First I am concerned 50% of lamps have gone and 30% of dimmers have failed. When you say "a ton of lights" how many are we talking about. You say 14, is that on one circuit? How many lights do you have in all? I also wonder if it is possible to post the certificate you received for the wiring, there are two particular pages the schedule of circuits and the test results for those circuits which may help. There can be problems with inrush current on a lot of LED lights that can cause failure of switching. Are the switches rated for the loads they are controlling would be the question.
Do you have the V2 powerline adaptors? And the ethernet port the signal is going in to on your computer is it 10/100? as you may be able to upgrade the port on your computer to 1Gbit??? It is just that I was thinking that if you have a 1oo mbps port trying to take in a 200 mbps signal that wont really work too well. And I have read of a PS1 on standby causing enough noise to degrade signals. Maybe you have other things plugged into the same circuit that are causing the noise. A very rudimentary filter would be to use a small extension lead for such equipment. But of course you could try unplugging other equipment to see if that improves signal.

 

[Octopus]

I've read reports that suggest plugged in power chargers for phones etc can affect signals too!


Need more answers from the op

 

[123]

Why have you got an EICR for a new installation?

 

[static zap]

5G Wifi , has a short range , Cat 5 can be quite chewed up under carpets and still be so much better - than power line !
(My sons wired Xbox is the envy of his mates )
Let someone have a look for best place for virgin router , and a cat 5 via
a decoration friendly route.
( not like the days of BT , and no mobiles - washing line hanging along stairs, over door frames all over the house ! )

 

[shaun1]

As 123 has said, that is a condition report for an existing instalation. A new instalation requires an electrical instalation certificate. It is also required by law to notify building control for such works. It appears here that someone unqualified to provide these documents has carried out the work, and got an electrician in to test. This electrician would be unable to issue an electrical instalation certificate for work they didnt do, so will have provided this cert (which does not cover as many tests as are required for a new instalation, and cable in the fabric of the building cannot be inspected)

I imadgine a lot of money changed hands here and it certainly appears from afar that the electrical instalation has not been carried out to the proper standard or tested and inspected in the way it should have been. If the ariel terminations are anything to go by, there could be all sorts of problems. (Obviously these are all assumptions from the information given so far)

With regards to the powerline adaptors, yoi are unlikely to ever get good performance between upstairs and downstairs as they are connected to different RCDs.

 

[Tardigrade]

Thanks all - looks like its best to get someone in at some stage when I can afford. The RCD bit in last post explains what I'm seeing well. Frustrating!

 

[Octopus]

Who specified the downlights and dimmers?

Did the spark who tested and certificated - did he do the installation work?

??????

And where has the post gone with the EICR attached?

I don't think we are being told the whole story ...

 

[Octopus]

OK. As I tried to view the cert on my phone I have a copy ............ I'll upload it later if the OP seems reluctant.

The main earth is undersized .............. C2 / unsatisfactory
The circuit arrangement and the RCD's suggest this install wasn't done by a spark .....................

Next!

 

[Strima]

I've had cheap LED lamps causing interference on DAB radio reception in a property but not on fixed wiring systems.

I would suggest a good spark goes in an checks the full installation. I wouldn't put it past the builder to have not bothered tightening up terminations etc.

Was the builder insured to carry out electrical work?

 

[Squid]

Where in London are you as maybe someone local could take a look?

 

[Tardigrade]

I took down the document as I had the answers I needed thanks to the many helpful responses. It has personal data in it so please do not re-upload.

I'm in Camden (Gospel Oak), but having been made redundant recently simply don't have the cash to do anything about the problem at the moment.

Thanks again all for your help.

 

[Octopus]

So you did the selection and installation of products then ........

 

[MDJ]

Why not just ring your builder and ask him to sort it?

 

[Octopus]

I took down the document as I had the answers I needed thanks to the many helpful responses. It has personal data in it so please do not re-upload..

I could easily redact the necessary information.......

Still think you are not telling us the whole story...

 

[alasdairp]

I agree with almost all of the comments above. In my many years experience of installing wiring and Ethernet (and Powerline PLC adapters), most dimmers are terrible for interfering with Powerline Adapter signalling - even though they are on different circuits. I agree that being on different RCDs will greatly impair the data connection between upstairs and downstairs. Wired CAT5 / CAT6 and screened are all far, far better than PLC or WiFi. I think the relay box is not part of the problem here.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Try to eliminate the dimmers, put normal switch's in place if the interference goes away well and good, if not then move on to the next possible source, the bulbs themselves, I have found that non mains LED's cause more problems than they are worth, especially the transformers, now there's a thought.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Double post?