PLEASE READ what size of earth wire do i buy?

[juliasn]

I want to change my plastic light switch faceplates with metal ones, what size of earth wire do I buy to connect to the faceplate? and is it measured by the voltage it carries or the thickness of the copper wire?

 

[Marvo]

There are formulas for working out the size earth wiring must be but they can be a bit complicated. As a general rule if you use the same sized earth wire as the other wires in the same circuit it should be fine. What sized fuse or circuit breaker is your light circuit on in the CU?

 

[Octopus]

Do you have an earth (cpc) on the cables at the switches?

 

[onions1066]

Omg for real

 

[telectrix]

diy forum please, marvo.

 

[Octopus]

diy forum please, marvo.

this is in the DIY area!

 

[Darkwood]

You will need to ensure the existing earth wire to the backbox is doing its job ...IE it is fully connected all the way through back to the consumer unit and the resistance of it is low enough to carry any fault and trip the fuse within a specified time.

This can only be done with knowledge of the permitted Earth loop impedance values and a tester to suit... if you assume any existing earth wire is ok and it turns out it is not you put yourself and your family at risk from injury or death should you have a fault on your circuit... DIY is fine in some instances but when your exchanging your switches to conductive ones its requires a lot more than what size earth is required.

 

[telectrix]

soz. can't read that as it's over written with electricians forum is a trading something or other.