Is it acceptable in the uk to put a socket for a cctv camera off of a light switch? The socket would only be a single and would be at approx
7/8 feet high. I know its possible and that the draw is very low but more asking if its against uk regulations. Cctv power is an ac to dc converter with standard uk plug.Thank you
IANAE, but AIUI, you have to use a fused spur. Otherwise someone could come along and plug an electric fire or kettle into it, and fry the lighting circuit, possibly setting fire to the house as a result.
This means that if the CCTV PSU is of the wall-wart variety, it's a no-no - you'll have to take a spur off a r>
Where will you get the neutral from?
Bill
you should use a 2 Amp socket.
Killing the cat, sparking off a nuclear event, accellerating global warming and throwing the western world back into the dark ages.
Most houses have circuit breakers these days you know, before that there were fuses.
Although it may be frowned on to dangle the heating system, shower and grandmas iron lung off the lighting circuit, I still wouldn,t think that the purchase of a fire extinguisher would be a worthwhile enterprise.
I cannot recollect what the regulations say, but bathroom fans are fed from the lighting circuit and the loads ust be similar.
Practically as a minimum I would use a dedicated connector that couldn't be connected to accidentally, or better still wire directly to a fused spur. Mounted outside, the camera should from a practical point of view be on its own circuit with an RCBO protecting it, unless of course you enjoy hunting around for ladders, tools etc in the dark during a thundestorm.
HN
Well it's okay to have wall-switched sockets for table lamps etc. so I don't see why not but you should use a round pin 5amp socket to avoid any possibility of a normal appliance being plugged in.
Tim
He might have to use a a bit of force to get the standard UK plug in.
:-)
HN
You can use a 5amp socket. This precludes the possibilty of anyone plugging anything else into it
Single wire system. Fully tried & tested, it was used by the Daleks for eons and was only superceeded when the stairs encountered on Earth forced them to adopt storage batteries and levitation.
HN
Is the camera wireless or something then?
as if it's a standard wired one, you need to run the signal wire back to the DVR, then get some 'shotgun' cable, which is 2 cables moulded side by side, signal on one, and power on the other,
fit the wall wart next to the DVR, and connect it's output to the power wires in the shotgun cable, pleg other end of cable into camera as normal.
I did similar to this on my cctv setup, but used an 18 way, 15 amp 12 volt psu in a wall mounting box for the power to the camera's,
If the camera is a wireless jobbie, would it not be easier to extend the 12 volt wire from the wall wart and run it to the camera.
The OP asked about a CCTV socket off a light switch, not off a lighting circuit. Admittedly, a bit of ambiguity there. If he means "use a light switch to turn the power socket on and off", then, yes, it's allowable as long as the circuit is /supplied/ from a power circuit and the circuit is protected by a 5A fuse/etc upstream from the switch.
Eg: ring main-->5A Fused Spur---->5A "light" switch--->CCTV socket
I have exactly the same arrangement in my roofspace with "cctv" replaced with "light".
If the OP means "can I take power from a lighting circuit", the answer is a clear "no".
JGH
Its fine to connect it to a lighting circuit using a shuttered 2A or 5A round pin socket, or an FCU, but not a 13A socket.
NT
How do your light bulbs work if they don't consume power?
Tim
Then you need to have the house wiring seen to immediately. Lighting circuits should be protected by a suitable device in the CU to prevent the wiring frying even in event of a dead short.
Would these do?
Powering a low current load from a lighting circuit is acceptable and often done for things like extractor fans etc.
You can install sockets as well, although it is preferable to use one of the small round pin shuttered 2 or 5A ones to prevent someone connecting high current devices to the circuit and tripping it.
However connecting to a light switch as such may be a problem since you usually only have two live wires (one switched) and no neutral.
Unless specified by the manufacturer, there is not usually any requirement for a fused connection unit (aka spur unit) since they circuit will typically be protected with a MCB that has a rating well below the current carrying capacity of the cable.
String some bell wire across from a nearby lamp fitting?
CT100 would be Bill's prefered cable:-)
All the CCTV I fit uses CAT5 cable.
Not even a 13A socket that is labelled CCTV ONLY?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.