Electrical Standards for wall light fittings (if any)

[Andrew]

Power sockets adhere to industry-wide standards and have done for decades. No matter what make of socket you buy, provided the back box has the correct depth, then the socket will fit. (spacing between closely adjacent back boxes is sometimes a problem for some 'designer' sockets/switches).

Does any such standard exist for wall lights though ?.

There are such things as Besa boxes, and across the channel I believe they have round back boxes that look like besa boxes.

How do sparkies fit wall lights to new houses now ?.

My 1976 house has wall lights where some 16mm oval conduit is just chased into the wall and just ends where the wall light was screwed into the wall.

[alan_m]

A house at one time rented by friends had the wiring running diagonally down the wall and then held in place with lining paper. This seemed to have passed the "landlords safety check".

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Andrew explained on 10/12/2021 :

I think the fixing screw would fit a besa box, but the besa box screws hole on most are at 45 deg to the horizontal. cable would need to run vertically up to the light from another fitting, or vertically down.

When I fitted our wall lights 40 years ago, I was unable to buy any wooden pattresses. The light bracket just screwed to the walls look unfinished to my eyes, so I turned some up, sanded and polished some for the job.

[ARW]

No, as there is no standard spacing or indeed alingment for wall light brackets.

Just the same today, however I have been know to fetch the cable out of an architrave box. Not for fastening the light to but to give some play on the cable

[nothanks]

I've always used architrave boxes too. Some (all?) of the modern wall lights have very little space so I can't imagine how else they can be connected on solid walls, unless a wooden pattress is used.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

For many years we had wall lights with the two core double insulated cable chased into the plaster, skimmed then papered. It did have a small fuse box down on the skirting board with a 5a fuse in it, ahem... Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

I have a couple of spare wall mounting spot fittings that just hang on two screws with those keyhole type oles in the back plate, bot have individual pull switches and one assumes the chock block inside means you simply dangle it on an emerging wire with enough slack to allow you to wedge it all back on the wall. Brian