Taking power to the shed

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Hi there. Ok, following on from my post about the SWA abbreviation, here's the project that gives rise to that question.

In short, I want to connect this

View media item 26911
To this:

View media item 26912 View media item 26913
I am planning on using 6mm 3c SWA.

The demand side of the project will be a few fridges/freezers and the occasional use of electric hand tools.

There will be two lighting circuits with two fluorescent tubes, and six 13 amp double sockets.

The three MCBs on top of the Wylex consumer unit date from another project, and so I am intending to replace them/check that they are applicable for my needs.
 
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Question.

Regarding the SWA, is it necessary to run it inside a conduit, or just leave it as it is? The plan is to fix it to the floor adjacent to the main building on exit, then underground to emerge at the side of the shed.

Thx.
 
questions -

why have you got an RCD upfront unit for the shed when you have no option but to have it protected by an RCD from your current board (if there are spare ways?

Have you got a spare way in your current consumer unit?

What has made you choose 6mm for the sub main, what calculations did you do?

Why have you decided on having two lighting circuits with one light on each?

You consumer unit for the shed only has two usable ways, where will you feed your socket circuit from?

What provisions will you be putting in place to minimise distruption from your shed electrics tripping out an rcd in your house can causing you inconvenience?

If you connect to either one of those RCD's in your main board then you will have trouble, should one trip all of your lighting fails, should the other trip everything else in the house fails!

What type of supply do you have?

What is the shed made from, wood, steel ?

Does the shed have a water supply?

Are there any exposed extraneous conductive parts in the shed?

How much is LABC notification in your area?

Are you aware of Part P ?
 
Question.

Regarding the SWA, is it necessary to run it inside a conduit, or just leave it as it is? The plan is to fix it to the floor adjacent to the main building on exit, then underground to emerge at the side of the shed.

Thx.

SWA has it's own protection so won't need conduit- just as well because there's no way you'd get it inside a conduit anyway.

You shouldn't run any cable at ground level / on the ground, due to potential mechanical damage. Bring it up 300mm or so.
 
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1john";p="1761708 said:
questions -

why have you got an RCD upfront unit for the shed when you have no option but to have it protected by an RCD from your current board (if there are spare ways?
*** Only put there because it was spare from an earlier project, and I didn't want to buy another. I can see now that the one in the photo would be inadequate. Thanks. ***

Have you got a spare way in your current consumer unit?
***Yes.***

What has made you choose 6mm for the sub main, what calculations did you do?
***None. I took advice from a cable supplier based on the demands I expect to have. Is 6mm inadequate in your opinion?***

Why have you decided on having two lighting circuits with one light on each?
***I wanted one inside the the shed and another to power some outside lights on the shed, and I thought it best to have two circuits. Should I maybe just stick to one and run the exterior lights from a socket?***

You consumer unit for the shed only has two usable ways, where will you feed your socket circuit from?
*** See above - I will replace this one***

What provisions will you be putting in place to minimise distruption from your shed electrics tripping out an rcd in your house can causing you inconvenience?
***I don't know***

If you connect to either one of those RCD's in your main board then you will have trouble, should one trip all of your lighting fails, should the other trip everything else in the house fails!
***Noted, thanks***

What type of supply do you have?
***Don't know***

What is the shed made from, wood, steel ?
***Wood***

Does the shed have a water supply?
***Yes. Runs in copper***

Are there any exposed extraneous conductive parts in the shed?
***Yes, see above***

How much is LABC notification in your area?
***Don't know***

Are you aware of Part P ?
***Yes***

Thanks for the reply.
 
And, what provision have you made for when the RCD, either in the shed or the house, trips and leaves you in the dark without lights while power tools are still spinning down?
 
And what provision have you made for rising sea temperatures causing flooding, or possible terrorist attacks, or the yellowstone park supervolcano going off, or the astroid striking the earth. Come on op - own up. You've made no preparation at all :rolleyes:
 
Right, first things first, you either need to ditch the 6mm SWA an run in at least 10mm 3 core, or you are going to have to TT the supply at the shed, which is NOT a DIY job.

Secondly, you need to ditch that consumer unit youve got for the garage end and buy something actually fit for the job. A 5 way metal clad board would be ideal.

You need to install main protective bonding bonding from your water supply and any other extraneous metal work in your shed back to the new MET in your new CU.

Then you need an electrician to split your meter tails and provide you with a non-RCD protected 50A metalclad switchfuse at your mains position to connect the SWA to.

Once this is done, then you can maybe start to think about final circuit design for the shed.
 
And what provision have you made for rising sea temperatures causing flooding, or possible terrorist attacks, or the yellowstone park supervolcano going off, or the astroid striking the earth. Come on op - own up. You've made no preparation at all :rolleyes:
It's not reasonable to make provision against those, particularly the ones that will end civilisation as we know it, and it does distract from the genuinely important things.
 

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