Electrical question

Tringa

Tringa

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I've bought two new ceiling lights that need to have an earth but the wiring to the existing lights is only two core.

Getting access to the wiring from the loft is easy so do I just need to attach a wire to the earth terminal on the new lights, take it back into the loft and attach the other end to a copper water pipe with a earth clamp?

Or is it more complicated than that and I need to get an electrician?

Thanks

Dave
 
Tringa said:
Or is it more complicated than that and I need to get an electrician?
Click to expand...
The answer is yes; if you are thinking of selling your house...

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... or no if you don't. if in doubt, I'd ask a qualified electrical engineer.
 
Tringa said:
I've bought two new ceiling lights that need to have an earth but the wiring to the existing lights is only two core.

Getting access to the wiring from the loft is easy so do I just need to attach a wire to the earth terminal on the new lights, take it back into the loft and attach the other end to a copper water pipe with a earth clamp?

Or is it more complicated than that and I need to get an electrician?

Thanks

Dave
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Get the electrician and paperwork.
 
i suspect the earth is there to mainly protect any person from a shock hazard, do the lights have a metal body?
 
Tringa said:
I've bought two new ceiling lights that need to have an earth but the wiring to the existing lights is only two core.

Getting access to the wiring from the loft is easy so do I just need to attach a wire to the earth terminal on the new lights, take it back into the loft and attach the other end to a copper water pipe with a earth clamp?

Or is it more complicated than that and I need to get an electrician?

Thanks

Dave
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Do you mean the tail from the ceiling rose to the lamp holder is 2 core or that the ceiling rose only has 2 core running to it? If there's an earth in the rose, no problem but if you need to add an earth, I'd be getting a certified electrician to do the job.
 
If your new lights need an earth they probably have a metal casing, so the simplest answer is to return them and buy some with plastic casing that (in most cases) won't need an earth.

If you must use the one's that need an earth, you will need to pull a new cable (twin & earth) through from the consumer unit.

As others have already suggested; if in doubt call an electrician.
 
Thanks for replies all. We are not selling the house and will be aware of the possible dangers of a live wire touching the metal casing. Think I need to talk to an electrician.

Dave
 
It's a long time since I was an electrician. Plumbing can and possibly should be be "bonded" but a qualified electrician should check continuity as I wouldn't be surprised if plumbing has high resistance or indeed an open circuit depending on what's been done initially and over the years. So no, I wouldn't do this at all if I were you and if I was an electrician doing this job for you I wouldn't either, I'd decide if the light fitting needed earthing and if it did I'd earth it to a suitable electrical earth.
 
If there is no earth wire on your lighting circuits you need Class 2 (double insulated) lights which do not need an earth. There are metal versions of these available.
If you want to use the lights you have already bought then an electrician will have to rewire all the way back to the distribution board.
 
If the light units have an earth terminal they must be connected to an earth. You risk getting a shock off any metal parts if the wiring is connected incorrectly or goes faulty and there’s no earth fitted. You can’t rely on connecting to pipework for your electrical earth as there could be plastic parts in the pipework, so don’t do this. This also wouldn’t comply with the electrical regs.

The safest and simplest way to do the job is to find a lighting junction box in the loft that has earth wires inside, and run a separate earth wire from your light units to that.

The junction box needs to be isolated before you open it up and do any work inside. Your new earth needs to be the correct type of wire, eg a suitable size and insulated in green/yellow sleeving. Its a fairly simple job if you know what you’re doing but if you’re in any doubt, don’t touch it and get a professional in.
 
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Suvv said:
If there is no earth wire on your lighting circuits you need Class 2 (double insulated) lights which do not need an earth. There are metal versions of these available.
If you want to use the lights you have already bought then an electrician will have to rewire all the way back to the distribution board.
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....and possibly beyond. If the board doesn't meet modern standards (and the NICEIC seem to change them every 15 mins) then possibly an electrician will be unable to fit to the existing board and you'll need a new one.

Honestly, if you don't have an earth near your ceiling rose I'd strongly recommend you fit a light that doesn't require one. There are plenty and this one will likely work out way more expensive than you expect.
 
Lighting circuits are generally a ring and wired with twin and earth. It's likely that in the loft you have all three wires but when someone went from an old-fashioned ceiling rose to a modern fitting all the ring wiring was hidden up there, possibly under loft insuation. If you have a look in the loft above the room you may find the earth you need very close to the existing fitting.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies. I have an electrician coming tomorrow so hopefullt he will be able to sort it.

Cheers

Dave
 
onomatopoeia said:
Lighting circuits are generally a ring and wired with twin and earth. It's likely that in the loft you have all three wires but when someone went from an old-fashioned ceiling rose to a modern fitting all the ring wiring was hidden up there, possibly under loft insuation. If you have a look in the loft above the room you may find the earth you need very close to the existing fitting.
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It’s also possible that somebody snipped the bare earth wire back and it’s still present inside the outer cable insulation, just because they didn’t need it. Seen that a few times.
 
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