SWA cable between light fittings

[NICheshire]

Hi All. I am having my house rendered soon, before that I want to put cabling in for around 6 wall lights around the outside of the house (something like those GU10 up and down lights you see so often), obviously I want the cable hidden beneath the render however the cable won't go in horizontal lines between the lights (as it needs to go up above windows and back down). I was thinking of running 1.5mm 3core swa however will I have issues terminating this in the back of the light fittings (never much space in them), also would I need to earth the steel armour? Any other suggestions, bearing in mind it doesn't want to be visible once rendered. Many thanks

 

[westward10]

The armour of the cables must be earthed and unless the light fittings can be mounted on something like this you have little chance of connecting them correctly. Ideally the cables should be run internally as opposed to burying them below render. The new fittings would also require additional rcd protection. I would recommend you consult an electrician to ensure this is carried out in a safe and compliant manner.

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[DPG]

And make sure the finished surface is good - those up/downlighters don't half show faults up!

 

[NICheshire]

The armour of the cables must be earthed and unless the light fittings can be mounted on something like this you have little chance of connecting them correctly. Ideally the cables should be run internally as opposed to burying them below render. The new fittings would also require additional rcd protection. I would recommend you consult an electrician to ensure this is carried out in a safe and compliant manner.

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Thanks for that, definitely can't run any cables internally as all decorated, wandered if there are any decent options in 12 or 24V?

 

[Marvo]

As per Westward, terminating SWA cabling into light fittings is going to be very tricky if not impossible. There has to be a better way to do this and I'd also suggest you get a sparky to at least give you some advice.