Lighting Circuit Cable

The reason why the wiring of a lighting circuit is more complex than a power circuit is that each outlet or light fitting needs to be controlled by a separate switch.

Lighting circuit cable. Unlike the ring power circuit the lighting circuit does not form a loop returning to the consumer unit. New colour 3 core and earth lighting circuit cable if the wiring in your house is older than the 31st march 2004 and you have had some work done e g. The second system in popular use is the junction box circuit or system. Electrical cable is in any building requiring electricity for the lighting and power.

Hello chaps did a visual safety check at a house today. For example if you check the manufacturers current rating for 1 5 twin and earth cable suitable for most lighting circuits in a domestic environment it will state that it is around 20 amps but this value would only apply if the cable was in free air as it can cool easily. This is the most common method. Line brown to the l1 terminal and blue with the brown slewing to the l2 terminal.

An extension or partial rewire you may have a combination of the old and the new harmonised colours shown above. A cable is run from the junction box to the light usually via a ceiling rose. Connect the switch to the cable coming from the light. The consumer unit is normally connected to the first lamp which in turn is connected to the second lamp and so on.

All seems ok except for the lighting circuit. The radial lighting circuit has 3 common wiring options which may be mixed at will. The cable used is a 1sq mm pvc twin core and earth rated for up to 12 amps. Type one lighting circuit.

Power is taken from the consumer unit to the first junction box. One way of providing for this is to install a four terminal junction box in which the cable from a light and the cable from its switch can be connected to the circuit cable. Who ever installed re wired the system has used 2 5mm cable to me it seems a bit overkill but could this be used to try and cover an issue that its previously had. The circuit is fed to each lamp fitting in turn and a separate cable connects from the fitting to the switch.

There are many types of cable used to keep a building running choosing the right type and size of cable for the job is critical. Loop in as per diagram above.