Is this bad practice?

You could I suppose fit an RCD spur to all or part of a lighting circuit as an easy way to add RCD protection.
 
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You could I suppose fit an RCD spur to all or part of a lighting circuit as an easy way to add RCD protection.
One could - but, as has been said, it's probably usually simpler, and possibly cheaper, to RCD protect the whole circuit.

Kind Regards, John
 
14 quid for RCD spur and patt, or around 23 for RCD module and encl.

I have seen RCD spurs protecting the whole circuit.
 
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This has turned into an academic discussion .

I've been told it doesn't need rcd or any further protection and others indicate it does.

In layman's terms does it require rcd and mechanical protection according to regs or is it acceptible to leave it as is.

Regards
 
I've been told it doesn't need rcd or any further protection and others indicate it does. ... In layman's terms does it require rcd and mechanical protection according to regs or is it acceptible to leave it as is.
If it is a new light (one which was not there previously) then the light itself does need RCD protection to be compliant with current regulations, regardless of issues related to the cable.

The regulations relating to buried cables (including the requirement that they be RCD protected) apply only to 'walls and partitions', not ceilings - so, although not ideal (albeit quite common) the situation 'as is' does not appear to contravene any regulations.

Kind Regards, John
 
Your new work requires RCD protection and mechanical protection, per the regs i quoted. Unfortunately RCD spurs and sockets are not currently recognised by the regs (@securespark). JohnW2 please read 522.6.201-204 mechanical protection IS required for floors and ceilings.
 
Your new work requires RCD protection and mechanical protection, per the regs i quoted. JohnW2 please read 522.6.201-204 mechanical protection IS required for floors and ceilings.
Hmmm. 522.6.202 and 522.6.203 relate explicitly only to 'walls and partitions', and 552.6.204 is only relevant (to ceilings) if the cable passes through a joist, per 522.6.201(ii) - so none of those are relevant to the OP. For ceilings, that only leaves just the first sentence of 522.6.201, since the rest of that reg relates to cables passing through joists, which is not the OP's situation. That first sentence reads:
522.6.201 of BS7671:2018 said:
A cable installed under a floor or above a ceiling shall be run in such a position that it is not liable to be damaged by contact with the floor or ceiling or their fixings.
So, the only reg (that one sentence of 522.6.201) relevant to cables in ceilings (which do not pass through joists) contains no explicit requirements (for mechanical protection, or anything else), only requiring that the cable is "not liable to be damaged by contact with the floor or ceiling or their fixings". I'm not really sure what that is meant to mean, but I certainly don't read it go mean that there is a definite requirement for 'mechanical protection', do you?
Unfortunately RCD spurs and sockets are not curretly recognised by the regs
Could you explain what you mean by that? The regs require sockets, luminaires and some cables to be RCD protected, but I can't think of any restrictions as to how that RCD protection is achieved.

Kind Regards, John
 
So passing under (or over) a joist doesn't count as passing through? Don't know why I bother with safeplates, simply notch the underside of the floorboard and it's good to go eh?

Re RCD's - 531.3.4, 531.3.6 - the BS no for RCD spurs (can't recall the BS no off the top of my head) is not listed.
 
So passing under (or over) a joist doesn't count as passing through? Don't know why I bother with safeplates,
I think that is a different matter to what is being discussed.

simply notch the underside of the floorboard and it's good to go eh?
No. Notching the underside is not allowed.
 
So passing under (or over) a joist doesn't count as passing through?
Presumably not, at least in terms of my understanding of the words "through", "under" and "over". Don't forget that we are talking about 'the word of the regulations' (with which one is meant to comply), not common sense.

In the situation described by the OP, I'm not sure that much would actually be gained by installing, say, 'safeplates' where the cable crossed under joists. Unlike the situation with floorboards, there is no indication of the location of joists above a plastered ceiling, so it's just as likely (actually, more likely) that someone would drill into a ceiling (and through a cable) between joists as over them - after all, one of the most common reasons for drilling into a ceiling is to locate joists, and the first few attempts almost always 'miss' :)
Re RCD's - 531.3.4, 531.3.6 - the BS no for RCD spurs (can't recall the BS no off the top of my head) is not listed.
Fair enough - I'd forgotten that. We've discussed that before and suspect that it was just an oversight, rather than a deliberate intention to omit them from the list. After all, there would be little point in having BSs for devices which were not permitted under UK Wiring Regs.

Kind Regards, John
 

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