UK outside lights and sockets

[paulhis777]

plans on garden

 

[Baddegg]

Lovely ?

 

[DPG]

Is that consumer unit inside or outside the house? How is if being fed? What RCD protection is in place?

 

[James]

are you looking for a quote or advice on how to do it?

 

[westward10]

See also this thread.

outside lights and sockets

i have completed a wall and patio for my sister i was going to progress with the electrical work myself but been told NOT TO so taken heed to wise words i have now contracted 9 local electricians for a price not one reply as yet so my are plans are installing 8 outside lights and 5 outside...

www.electriciansforums.net

 

[Markyd]

And? come on we are all waiting

 

[pc1966]

Hmm. I can't reply on the DIY forum but I guess the points are much the same here:

• What are the sockets for (specifically what sort of a loads)?
• How powerful are the lights going to be?

For England and Wales new circuits and/or a CU would be notifiable work so unless you have an electrician agreeing to sort it out from the start you should not begin it yourself.

What you could do without notification is to put them on 13A plugs (not the actual SWA cable, that would be impressive/foolish in the extreme, but flexible cable via a junction box) and you would not need notification.

But you still need to do it safely.

That aspect cannot be overemphasised and unless you have a pretty good idea of what you are doing and some ability to test things then again it is not a smart idea to start. Specifically, even with the "super extension lead" approach you must ensure the socket(s) you are using to feed your outdoor lights & sockets are RCD protected.

And that you test the RCD, at the very least by using the self-test button!

In terms of the sockets you have a bit of a challenge in terms of layout and voltage drop even in that garden. With 2.5mm cable you are limited to around 45m at 16A, which is easily hit with a double socket depending on what you are planning to do, if run as a single radial. Making it in to a ring final circuit would be better electrically, but you have more cable run, digging, and testing to do in return for a better arrangement. Making it as two radialls is an alternative, but again you need to have a detailed specification and plan.

 

[paulhis777]

thank you all for your reply's
main CU is at front of house which will have to be renewed !i shall post photos
the new garage CU is going at rear of house inside around 4M away told to use 16mm cable to the garage unit which will be inside of house as my sis wants the switches close by to operate lights the 8 lights may use low energy ones 10W or lower
then she has a 100W ! led flood light for play area facing away from house as the back garden has waste ground !
the sockets just for Xmas decorations ect, she does not want all those big boxes around the garden
as i say i was going to all the work myself but no more as new reg have come into force but i`m bored hanging around so i would be more than happy to do all the work needed then happily wait for a electrician to call fit new CU and garage CU then hopefully test (

(i`m more than competent to fit sockets and the lights )

but i understand that this electrician would need to access my work most important
the ground tee`s to join all the lights
as i said cant get anyone in to advise me just need the advice
how best to go about it
as for the garage CU best to buy a unit which has RCBO`S or keep to the RCD`S ?
just want to buy these items fit to wall then plod on to the other jobs at hand
can you recommend waterproof tee`s as i`ll daisy chain the lights ?
the sockets can i install these on a solid fence which is there or install post ?
thank you all for your reply's
Paul
PS sister is no longer using the token meter but is still connected
also don`t know if you can post video so i`ll give it a go ! short one

 

[DPG]

I would speak to the electrician who will be doing the work and see what he is happy for you to do. It's no good running cables and then not finding an electrician who is willing to continue the work, or one that disagrees with the cable size that someone has told you to put in.

What RCD protection do you currently have?

 

[westward10]

Who told you to use 16swa that seems somewhat over the top.

 

[davesparks]

the new garage CU is going at rear of house inside around 4M away told to use 16mm cable to the garage unit which will be inside of house

as i say i was going to all the work myself but no more as new reg have come into force but i`m bored hanging around so i would be more than happy to do all the work needed then happily wait for a electrician to call fit new CU and garage CU then hopefully test (

(i`m more than competent to fit sockets and the lights )

but i understand that this electrician would need to access my work most important
the ground tee`s to join all the lights

as for the garage CU best to buy a unit which has RCBO`S or keep to the RCD`S ?
just want to buy these items fit to wall then plod on to the other jobs at hand
can you recommend waterproof tee`s as i`ll daisy chain the lights ?

PS sister is no longer using the token meter but is still connected

You've mentioned a new CU in a garage a few times but where is the garage on your plan? Is it attached to the house or is the building labelled shed on the plan what you mean when you say garage?
But then you say the garage unit will be inside the house? This just doesn't make sense, is it in the garage or in the house?

Who told you to install 16mm SWA? Did they provide a copy of their calculations when they told you this?

Most electrician's won't get involved with just fitting a CU and connecting your work, it's far too risky for us to do this.

You say you are more than competent to fit sockets and lights, this is good and once you have shown your proof of this competence to the electrician who will be signing it off they may be a bit happier with this arrangement. (of course if you don't have any way of proving your competence, or your only frame of reference for your competence is your own opinion and not an established standard then this may not help at all)

If the CU in the garage only has a couple of circuits and the issues associated with multiple circuits on a single RCD are not a problem in this particular scenario then a single RCD would be fine.

It's hard to recommend a 'waterproof tee' without a bit more information, what type of cable are you connecting? Will all three cables in the tee be the same size and type? What degree of waterproofing does it need, will it be installed such that it only needs to be rain proof or does it need to survive being fully submerged? Does it need to be suitable for direct burial or will it be installed above ground?

What token meter? I can't see what you mean by this from the pictures.

 

[pc1966]

If you are installing sockets then having ones that take two cable entry point for the SWA in/out would avoid the need for T-joints and make your life (and that of anyone inspecting it) a whole lot easier. If it means using double sockets then just go that way, it won't make much cost difference overall.

And try to make sure the cable entry is on the bottom, just one less leak to worry about...

 

[Markyd]

100w led flood is about the same as a 1000w halogen,,,is it a garden or a runway

 

[Grant1987]

100w led flood is about the same as a 1000w halogen,,,is it a garden or a runway

Just had quick look at your uploaded photos seems like you got 16mm meter tails going to consumer unit with 100A BS 1361 type 2 fuse?
[automerge]1595377769[/automerge]

Just had quick look at your uploaded photos seems like you got 16mm meter tails going to consumer unit with 100A BS 1361 type 2 fuse?

And don’t get me started on that consumer unit ?‍?

 

[Markyd]

Its all being changed

 

[paulhis777]

hello all

so sorry as it must be very confusing
the old CU in photo i want changed

i mean running a 16mm twin & earth from main CU to garage CU at rear of house (no garage involved !)

I have no intentions of connecting this cable but just want to incase in trucking from the main CU and run to rear CU unit

its just what the smaller CU are called the GARAGE CU

is going to be installed at rear of house indoors look at photo and video

3rd week now not one electrician interested ! When will they be back could be waiting weeks months would photos of the garden help in maters? Oh perhaps a video?

just thought that i could do all the donkey work now with some help from this forum very glad of your reply's i normally get all my stuff from screwfix

what about this item for the lights connections ? or are they better ones out there YOU ALL KNOW BEST

if I buy the resin ones or gel ? are they able to be tested after fitting

Teebox IP67 Mini T-Junction with Terminal Strip - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/teebox-ip67-mini-t-junction-with-terminal-strip/72715?_requestid=824560



these sockets good ?

best to attach to posts

LAP IP66 13A 2-Gang DP Weatherproof Outdoor Switched Socket - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/lap-ip66-13a-2-gang-dp-weatherproof-outdoor-switched-socket/30139



I would assume these glands are for the swa 1.5mm 3 core light cable

Would these glands need to fitted at every exit of the swa cable

And at light fitting ? would these tee`s all ready have them built in to the tee units ?

Tauras External Brass 20S Gland Kit with Earthing Nut 2 Pack - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/tauras-external-brass-20s-gland-kit-with-earthing-nut-2-pack/82136



and these for the swa 2.5mm 3 core socket cable

Tauras External Brass 20 Gland Kit with Earthing Nut 2 Pack - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/tauras-external-brass-20-gland-kit-with-earthing-nut-2-pack/82167

when these electricians get back to work they are all going to inundated with work !

more advice would be grateful Paul

 

[westward10]

Those tee boxes are not suitable for swa cable.

 

[Markyd]

Really dont like any of the LAP stuff....

 

[paulhis777]

have any one got any recommendations what are the best ones to buy
i have a TLC CLOSE TO ME AND CEF
thanks paul

 

[telectrix]

would help if we knew which part of wales. one of us may be close to you and be prepared to take on the job.