Hopefully a quicky for you. I have a semi-converted garage which is used as an office. I replaced the CU in there as the old one was knackered. I have 2 MCBs one for the mains and one for the light. The mains sockets are all fine and working but I am a bit confused about the lights. I have 1 switch and 1 light. Can I feed both lives in to the live on the MCB and both neutrals and earths in to the busbar on the CU?
Garage lights
- Thread starter phenian
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I think you need to take a look at the wiki at the top of the forum. The switch doesn't have a live and a neutral, it has a live and a switch live. If you are doing what I think you are you will put a dead short across the supply. //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:single-way-lighting.
Please note that this work will be notifiable to your LABC under part p of the building regs as it is adding new circuits.
Please note that this work will be notifiable to your LABC under part p of the building regs as it is adding new circuits.
phenian said:
If you don't want the switch to control the light then go for it, otherwise:
Take a length of t&e from the consumer unit to the switch, and another from the switch to the light. Join the neutrals at the switch with a terminal block.
Connect the live from consumer unit into the common terminal, and the switched live to the light into the L1 terminal.
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Thanks!!
To paraphrase, in terms of my wires, I have two T&E cables.
On the one from the switch
The live wire goes into the live on the CU
The earth goes into the earth busbar on the CU
The neutral goes into one part of the terminal block
On the one to the light
The live goes into the live on the CU
The earth goes into the earth busbar on the CU
The neutral goes into the other part of the terminal block
Is that correct?
To paraphrase, in terms of my wires, I have two T&E cables.
On the one from the switch
The live wire goes into the live on the CU
The earth goes into the earth busbar on the CU
The neutral goes into one part of the terminal block
On the one to the light
The live goes into the live on the CU
The earth goes into the earth busbar on the CU
The neutral goes into the other part of the terminal block
Is that correct?
NO!
You havent been listening! Wheres the neutral supplied in that explanation you just rattled off?
Here's how: We wont tell you again.
You have ONE wire from the consumer unit. Take this to a switch. In the switch connect the brown live to COM, and the blue neutral to a bit of temrinal block.
You then have another wire from the switch to the light. In the switch connect its brown to L1 and its blue to the same bit of terminal block.
You DO NOT have a cable between the light and the CU.
You havent been listening! Wheres the neutral supplied in that explanation you just rattled off?
Here's how: We wont tell you again.
You have ONE wire from the consumer unit. Take this to a switch. In the switch connect the brown live to COM, and the blue neutral to a bit of temrinal block.
You then have another wire from the switch to the light. In the switch connect its brown to L1 and its blue to the same bit of terminal block.
You DO NOT have a cable between the light and the CU.
Think of like this:
The current has to flow out from the live in the CU and back to the neutral.
(I know, I know, it's AC - but let's keep it simple!)
The current has to flow through the lamp for it to light
The Switch is to the current as a tap is to water
The lamp has a property called resistance than limits the rate that current can flow (think of water flowing through a very narrow pipe).
The wires carry current as a pipe carries water
If you have too little resistance between live and neutral in the CU the fuse/breaker will trip.
Now get yourself a sheet of paper and a pencil and work out how to wire up a simple lighting circuit, and you will have gained some understanding.
(NB: This was a third year (14yrs old) physics experiment when I was at school - don't they teach people anything that's actually useful these days?)
The current has to flow out from the live in the CU and back to the neutral.
(I know, I know, it's AC - but let's keep it simple!)
The current has to flow through the lamp for it to light
The Switch is to the current as a tap is to water
The lamp has a property called resistance than limits the rate that current can flow (think of water flowing through a very narrow pipe).
The wires carry current as a pipe carries water
If you have too little resistance between live and neutral in the CU the fuse/breaker will trip.
Now get yourself a sheet of paper and a pencil and work out how to wire up a simple lighting circuit, and you will have gained some understanding.
(NB: This was a third year (14yrs old) physics experiment when I was at school - don't they teach people anything that's actually useful these days?)
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