fan controlled by lights -commercial

[r.bartlett]

Hi guy's

had a wee slight disagreement with a sparks today as we were discussing the wiring up of a extract fan to a lighting circuit. I suggested that as it was a separate component it should have it's own means of isolation.

He said lights don't and it's powered off the lights. Besides he said what isolator can do a fuse, live and switched live and neutral all in one?

I stopped the job whilst I got clarification

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Richard

 

[RF Lighting]

It is normal practice to fit a fan isolator switch so you are not left in the dark while servicing the fan, as they need regular maintanence, whereas lights generally do not.

Also if the fan has a timer overrun, then it isolates two lives which may not be expected by the untrained....

 

[Lectrician]

And funnilyu enough, swithes are manufactured for the purpose - 3 pole ones!

When you say commercial.....what exactly or where exactly?

 

[jj4091]

It is normal practice to fit a fan isolator switch so you are not left in the dark while servicing the fan, as they need regular maintanence, whereas lights generally do not

Have you actually been asked to maintain a fan? Thats amazing, every time I have been called to one you need a hammer & chisel to get the c**p out & invariably they are past saving

 

[Steve]

We have fans at work in the bogs. They are PIR activated, and I always assumed they were on the lighting circuit, but one morning I went in early and the timed circuits hadn't switched on yet. The fan was dead. It seems they put the fans on the water heater circuit

And I've never known an extractor fan need "maintenance"

 

[ColJack]

we service ours regularly.. it gets all this nasty black fluff over the blades and needs cleaning..
the bathroom it's in has no windows and we have to isolate the fan to clean it..

 

[fantronix]

Any commercial piece of electrical equipment should have its own isolator according to 17th Edition IEE Regs.

 

[Spark123]

Is there a reg specific to commercial?
This topic is also over a year old so would more than likely have been talking about the 16th edition.

 

[skenk]

If the fan needs fusing down, the FCU must be on the feed to the light that the fan is fed from. (To fuse down both the live and switched live to the fan) This can then be used to isolate the fan (but will also isolate the light). Or you can add a fan isolator as well to isolate the fan only. Maybe someone needs to start making a double-fuse 3-pole fan switch?

 

[Spark123]

Think very carefully about what you wrote in the last sentance