House Lighting

How to fit various types of light fittings:

Types of light fitting
Types of ceiling
Fixing and providing access to a ceiling rose
Connecting fluorescent lights
Fittings with Exposed Terminal connection blocks
Installing recessed fittings
Track lighting
Wall lights

Tools
Pliers, side cutters, blade knife, wire strippers, screwdrivers, tenon saw, electric drill, hole cutter.

Materials
Plaster depth mounting box, pvc insulation tape, light fitting. 4mm fixing screws, woodscrews and plastic plugs.

Safety first
Never work on any part of the electrical installation without first switching off the supply at the consumer unit and, where possible, removing the circuit fuse. Always unplug any electrical appliance before doing any work on it. Check all connections are secure and all covers have been replaced before you turn the electricity on again.

Seeking professional help or advice
If you don’t feel competent to do a particular job, always seek the advice of a professional electrician. Make sure that any person you hire is fully qualified. A person registered with the Electrical Contractors Association/ NICEIC, will be approved for undertaking this type of work and will be well versed in all the wiring regulations for electrical installations in buildings.

Types of Light Fitting
Although there is a considerable diversity of available light fittings, certain features tend to be quite common in a particular range of these fittings. Accordingly, it is feasible to group all the various types into just a few basic categories.

Types of ceiling
In modern houses, the ceiling will be plasterboard nail to the joist. Older houses have ceilings of a lath and plaster construction or, where they have been renovated, a suspended or false ceiling may be installed. The false ceiling may be a lightweight metal skeleton carrying ceiling tiles and suspended on wire. Such systems cannot bear the weight of luminaires.

Fixing and providing access to a ceiling rose
A weakness of the loop-in method of wiring lighting circuits is accessibility to the back of the ceiling rose. Traps fitted over the ceiling rose during the construction stage would make it easier for future alterations. The ceiling rose is fixed to a 20mm board positioned above the plasterboard and secured to woodblocks screwed to the sides of the joists.

Connecting fluorescent lights
Fluorescent lights are close fitting with the ceiling. Depending on which way the joists run, either, secure direct to the ceiling joists, or screw to boards positioned above the plaster board, a similar manner to that used for fixing the ceiling rose. The lamp should be secured at two separate points. Cables can be fed directly into the fitting, a 3-way terminal block takes the neutral, earth protective conductor and switch wire connections.

Fittings with exposed terminal connection blocks
All unsheathed wires and cable terminations must be enclosed in a non-combustible housing. Unfortunately, many light fittings are only supplied with an exposed terminal block as the means of providing the electrical connections. Fixing a back-entry, plastic or metal, conduit (besa) box in the ceiling void provides the necessary housing as well as supporting the weight of the fitting.

Installing recessed fittings
Recessed, downlighter fittings can provide an extra ambience to the room. The fitting will pass into the ceiling void; make sure it is clear of any combustible material and not close to any thermal insulation. With false ceilings recessed luminaires are preferred. Suspend the fitting from its own adjustable support and set it level with the ceiling. Then cut the ceiling tiles to fit the luminaire.

Track lighting
Track lighting is surface mounted to the ceiling. Depending on which way the joists run, either secure directly to the ceiling joists or screw to boards positioned above the plasterboard. The track will require several fixing points. Cables feed directly to the track and terminate in a 3-way terminal block. Do not overload the track with an excessive number of lights.

Wall lights
Most wall lights are supplied with an exposed terminal connection block. A single, plaster depth, metal box will need to be installed at the required position to provide a housing for the cable terminations. The box will need a cover plate, since it is unlikely that the fitting fixing holes will line up with those on the box. Drill a hole in the cover and fit rubber grommet for the fitting cables to pass through.

Making modifications to house lighting:

The modern loop-in wiring system
Connections made to the loop-in ceiling rose
Connections for a single-pole light switch
Replacing a single-pole switch with 2-way switches 7 Fitting a dimmer switch
Standard outside lighting
Security lighting and low voltage lighting

Tools
Pliers, side cutters, lump hammer, small hammer, electric drill, masonry drills, blade knife, wire strippers, screwdrivers, bolster chisel, flat chisel, small builders’ trowel, junior hacksaw, multimeter.

Materials
Plaster depth metal mounting boxes, single pole and 2-way light switches, dimmer light switch, loop-in ceiling roses, 1mm 2 twin and earth cable and cable clips, earth pvc sleeving, woodscrews and plastic fixing plugs.

Safety first
Never work on any part of the electrical installation without first switching off the supply at the consumer unit and, where possible, removing the circuit fuse. Always unplug any electrical appliance before doing any work on it. Check all connections are secure and all covers have been replaced before you turn the electricity on again.

The modern loop-in wiring system
The circuit has a radial form, spreading out from the consumer unit on one floor level in the house. The cables loop in and out of the various ceiling roses. The circuits are usually wired in 1mm 2 p.v.c. insulated and sheathed, twin-core-and-earth, cable. Protection is provided by a 5A fuse or a 5A type-2, miniature circuit breaker.

Connections made to the loop-in ceiling rose
The loop-in ceiling rose has three terminal blocks arrange in a row. The live (red) feed conductors connect to the central block. The neutral (black) conductors connect to the side neutral block. The earth conductors (green and yellow) run to the common earth terminal. The switch wire (red sleeve) connects to the remaining terminal block.

Connections for a single-pole light switch
Re-plaster before making any connections to the switch. Do not cut the cable end off too short, allow a reasonable loop. Remove the outer sheath to leave just 1.5 cm of the sheathed portion protruding into the box. Connect as shown, fit the necessary coloured sleeving.

Replacing a single pole switch with 2-way switches
You can convert lights that are controlled by one switch to ones controlled from two positions, for example in a hallway. A length of 1mm twin and earth cable and an extra single core (red) 1mm cable is required. Run these cables from the original switch to the new switch as indicated.

Fitting a dimmer switch
Fitting Dimmer switches is easy. Simply unscrew the original single pole switch and connect the various conductors to their appropriate terminals.

Standard outside lighting
Normal practice is to run the cables through short lengths of p.v.c. conduit in exposed outside situations. For a porch light, the wiring will be similar to that for any indoor lighting circuit. Fit only light fittings that are designed for outdoor use, since these are designed to withstand the climatic conditions.

Security lighting and low voltage lighting
For passive infra-red security lighting, or extra-low-voltage garden lighting kits, the circuits will be run as spurs from the 13A ring main circuit. A 2.5mm 2 twin-and-earth cable is run to a fused spur unit mounted in an accessible position. Install a 3A fuse if the loading is less than 720W. Connection to the infra-red light fitting or step-down transformer is normal by double insulated flexible conductor.