Illegal to take a feed for a ceiling light from ring main?

[Jake G]

Is it illegal to take a feed for a ceiling light in a small extension from the ring main?

Thanks,

Jake

[woodglass]

Yes

[meow2222]

not if you put an FCU in the way

NT

[John Rumm]

Not illegal no - although not best practice.

You will need to fuse down so the lighter weight wiring for the lighting circuit is adequately protected.

[David Hansen]

On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:27:13 +0100 someone who may be Jake G wrote this:-

No, provided that it is done properly.

Whether it is desirable is another discussion.

[dcbwhaley]

Even if it is breach of BS7671 it is not illegal as this British Standard is advisory not mandatory.

[Andy Wade]

But Part P ("adequate provision") is a legal requirement in dwellings in England & Wales. If the ring circuit in question is RCD protected and the light is the only or main light in the room then I'd suggest that the proposed arrangement isn't legal. For additional lighting - e.g. wall lights - it's quite acceptable.

[woodglass]

Of what ???

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ah..there you have an interesting quandary. Part P IIRC merely says the wiring has been passed. Not that its fit for purpose ;-)

Like all modern tests, its designed to get you back in school doing paperwork, not anythig useful #

[David Hansen]

On 21 Sep 2006 13:49:08 -0700 someone who may be "dcbwhaley" wrote this:-

You are out of date.

In Scotland compliance has been a legal requirement for a very long time, via the Building Regulations. Very sensible and very sensibly implemented.

In England and Wales they gold plated this (entirely sensible) approach and Mr Prescott came up with the nonsense which is called Part P there.

No idea what the situation is in Northern Ireland.

[Phil L]

The main drawback is a few years down the line when someone needs to work on the light fitting and turns off the lighting circuit at the board, only to find that it's still live, or worse still, someone finds him a while later, not alive.

[meow2222]

in the way of the electrickery getting from the ring to the light.

NT

[Jake G]

This is mainly what I was thinking. The problem is that it is quite awkward to wire this light into the lighting cirquit of the rest of the house.

A slightly easier option would be to feed the light from its own single fuse on the main fuse box. That would be easier to do. Would it be more acceptable?

Thanks to all, for the replies.

Jake

[Stephen Dawson]

I am sorry but I do not see that as a problem because you MUST prove dead at the point of work before starting work, remebering to check your test gear on a known live source before and after the test.

Steve Dawson

[Andy Wade]

Yes, providing an additional lighting circuit is perfectly acceptable - desirable even. With a split-load consumer unit it must be on the non-RCD side of course (except for TT installations, where it should be on the 100 mA RCD side).

[Jake G]

Thanks. Are there such things as tiny single-fuse FCUs, designed to fuse just one appliance or light? I'd need something small and unoubtrusive that could be recessed into the chipboard ceiling where the light is situated. Then, if a future owner wants to stick his fingers in the light socket, it will hopefully be clear to him that he should flip the isolating switch on the little FCU next to the light first.

This would be by far the easiest way to complete the wiring of this light, if the concensus is that it's acceptable. What do you think?

Jake

[Jake G]

Thanks... an even easier method would be to put a tiny FCU (if there are such things) between the ring main and the light (sited next to the light, to make it obvious). What do you think of that idea?

Cheers, Jake

[Ed Sirett]

Agreed. Since labelling of electrical is in fact part of the regs - but is often half ignored on domestic installations. The only requirement is that the FCU says "Light" or "Cupboard Lights" or whatever.

Most of us have probably seen very many installations with no labelling whatsoever. Have spent (wasted) time finding out what unlabelled switches do.

[Owain]

Yes, they're FCUs :-)

You don't need a switch. The requirement is to fuse down to the lower rating of cable and accessory (6A lighting vs 32A ring circuit). Only motors and heaters require adjacent isolation. Isolation for other things is provided by the Big Main Switch.

Owain

[Owain]

Is this the main fuse box from where the lighting circuit originates?

In which case, it is acceptable to tee off the lighting circuit direct from the lighitng MCB and neutral bar (provided the terminals are adequate for multiple wires; they should be).

Owain