Outside electricity/Lighting low voltage/mains

[andemz]

Hi all.... Have just spent 1 hour and more looking through recent posts on outdoors electricity/lighting.

I need some very basic questions answered, if at all possible.

I've got my digger and have dug a trench ready for the SWA cable to go in. This will be RCD protected from my house new MK consumer unit into a consumer unit into the garage/living accomodation.

I will be having brick wall lights and other lights around the garden, a water feature requiring a pump and some of the low voltage rock lights.

I noticed in one of the posts a number of people ecspecially breezer states that using low voltage lighting is less of an hassle.

Can anybody inform me on key points that i need to consider when looking at electricity outside. Lights - low voltage/mains and also plugs.

My idea is to be able to turn the water feature on from my house and also to be able to turn the lights on and off from my house.

thanks for your time and troubles.

 

[plugwash]

ideally transformers for low voltage lighting should be indoors but this may raise volt drop issues if there is any significant power or distance involved

if you want to site transformers outside i would use a big waterproof adaptable box with the swa properly terminated with a CW gland banjo and earth tail then just stick a terminal block inside it and wire the transformer to that

take transformer output wires out of adaptable box following a route away from the mains cables and seal the hole they exit through

i would use a 5 core 4mm armoured
1 core for earth
1 core for neutral
1 core for live to any garden sockets
1 core for live to any garden lights
1 core for live to the water feature

i would use a 4 way metalclad grid plus box for the switches fed off a 20A radial from the CU

wiring in this box
the neutral and earth (remember to earth the armour as well) would go to the incoming neutral and earth
the sockets live in the armoured would come directly off the incoming live
the lights and water feature earths would be fed through apporpriate fuses and switches in the grid box

 

[breezer]

the reason i mention low voltage lighting is less hassle is because ........it is

you may want to see this