Installing new lighting is an important part of home decoration changes and the right light fitting can finish off a home renovation plan perfectly. Many new light fittings have fantastic decorative features that can match other aspects of your room design but do you really need an electrician to install your new light fixture? As your local electrician in Bristol, I am here to assist you with your electrical needs.
How hard can it really be to install a light fixture in your home? There are many DIY videos available on the internet and how to guides and mostly, its just three wires right?
From an electricians’ point of view, there are several important aspects of electrical installation work that need to be followed along with the wiring regulations (BS7671).
Let’s look at the important aspects of swapping a light that may easily be overlooked:
- Earthing
- Ease of installation
- Testing
Earthing
Whilst many electrical accessories will actually function without an earth, in the event of a fault, a lack of correct and continuous earthing can be fatal! Electrical plug sockets, lights, switches, and other equipment can function with just the LINE and NEUTRAL connections but the earth is the most important wire of all.
Without a correct earth, there is no electric shock protection, reduced fault protection and risk of fire. As professional electricians, we know how to check the earthing to make sure that there is not only a wire where needed but that the wire is continuous back to the fuse box, sufficiently sized and of a low enough electrical resistance to ensure the circuit is safe.
Ease of Installation
Many modern light fittings have minimal room inside the ceiling attachment for cabling which is not too much of a struggle in some newer homes. Older homes tend to have more cables in the ceiling that require connection and as such, installing your light fitting yourself may lead to confusion, poor installation, and damaged wiring.
In some cases, an electrical junction has to be made and safely installed above the light fitting to then bring a single cable (LINE, NEUTRAL, CPC) through to the light fitting. Do you know what type of electrical junction is classified as “Maintenance Free” and which type isn’t?
As we carry out this type of work on a regular basis, we are familiar with the wiring regulations requirements for creating electrical junctions and carrying out safe installation practices so you are in good hands with us.
Testing
There may be some further testing requirements when installing a new light fixture. For instance, when swapping light fixtures from plastic to metal its vital that earthing is checked in case the metal work ever becomes live due to trapped wires or a fault with the light fixture.
We can also check to ensure that any electrical shock protection devices you have (RCDs) are working as they should be. If there is no electric shock protection device then you may wish to consider having your fuse box upgraded to provide better protection against shocks and other electrical hazards.
What about DIY on other small electrical jobs?
Considering swapping plug sockets for new ones or something more decorative?
There are electrical testing requirements that need to be fulfilled when carrying out minor works such as this. Before an electrician begins to change the sockets over, they must carry out some safety checks.
In the case of many UK homes there are RING MAIN (RING FINAL) circuits that supply the sockets. This is basically a continuous loop of cable starting and ending at the fuse box or consumer unit and looping into each socket on the way.
This HAS to be unbroken and continuous along its length with suitably low resistance (the impedance to electrical current flowing). Where there is a break or a high resistance, danger exists. This can only be checked by an electrician with the correct knowledge, test equipment and expertise to carry out the task.
This and other tests, should be carried out prior to working on the plug socket circuit to ensure that there are no problems to begin with. Once the plug sockets have been swapped over, the tests should be repeated to ensure that no cables have slipped out of terminals during installation.
Local Electrician in Bristol
As your local electrician in Bristol, I understand the requirements of the safety wiring regulations and always carry out safe, compliant works. Don’t risk invalidating your home insurance, fire, injury, and electric shock. I am here to help with your electrical tasks and will ensure that you have peace of mind.
Contact me today.
