sockets mounted in base units

[jgharston]

If I need to install a socket outlet inside a floor unit, I mount it on the wall and use a floor unit without a back panel.

JGH

[John Rumm]

I usually stick in a 5A socket for the lights just above the top of the units. That makes the under unit lighting not part of the fixed installation, and also lets you test up to the socket at a much earlier stage.

[John Rumm]

Indeed - although its usually harder to get the plumbing slim enough rather than the electrics.

One area where the "mount on the fabric of the building" argument fails is when you have either an island or a long "return" of worktop. For example we have a return section that has a double corner cupboard, then a set of drawers, and then a built in under worktop fridge. Hence the socket has to be in the adjacent drawer unit at the back since there is now way to easily get back to a real wall.

[ARWadsworth]

Which is odd as you would think that it is part or their job:-)

The IEE really needs to think about the problems that an electrician is faced with when wiring a kitchen. The customer tells you what they want but have no practical idea on how to do it (the same applies to architects). It is all very well saying "feed a single socket from a FCU for the washing machine" and actually finding out that the socket stops the washer being pushed back flush with the worktop. Add to that the number of people who are paying lots of money for splashbacks and do not want FCUs on the wall above the worktop. There cannot be a "standard" as customers want different things and as long as the work is safe I do not see why a socket cannot be in a kitchen cupboard (but not under the washing machine plumbing connectors)