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What is the best way to wire ceiling lights?

Arran Cameron
The ceiling rose junction box with its loop-in wiring is now really showing its age and is no longer a practical (or even safe) installation for most residents who wish to install fancy light fittings. It is still, however, the most common arrangement for new build houses and rewires, probably as the result of the electrician's training and how they consider it to be the norm or they cannot think of (potentially better) alternatives.


So, what is the best way to wire ceiling lights? Should neutral wires be taken to the switches or not?
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    Sparkingchip:

    Faulting by halves is the standard approach to fault finding an electrical circuit.


    Guess where the middle is, separate the two halves of the circuit, identify the fault half and repeat the process on that half, then keep repeating until you get to the fault.


    It is not unknown to half to chop a cable into sections with cutters to break it down for testing, then to have to join it back together again removing the fault as you do so.


    If you can simply disconnect the cable ends at switches or light fittings this can be done quite quickly and efficiently.


    If you have to start lifting carpets, laminate flooring, tiles, the sub-floor and floor deck itself to find the junction boxes then separate the cables, you really are not going to be popular with customers if you installed the junction boxes or for that matter even if you are the person trying to sort the problems out.


    Andy Betteridge




    What are the commonest faults found on lighting circuits?


    Is a loop-in topology with ceiling rose junction boxes more or less reliable than a radial topology with ceiling rose junction boxes? Which of the two topologies is easier to fault find?


    Are installations where just one cable emerges from the ceiling for each ceiling rose or light fitting generally more reliable than installations where 3 cables emerge from a hole in the ceiling for each ceiling rose or light fitting?


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  • 0

    Sparkingchip:

    Faulting by halves is the standard approach to fault finding an electrical circuit.


    Guess where the middle is, separate the two halves of the circuit, identify the fault half and repeat the process on that half, then keep repeating until you get to the fault.


    It is not unknown to half to chop a cable into sections with cutters to break it down for testing, then to have to join it back together again removing the fault as you do so.


    If you can simply disconnect the cable ends at switches or light fittings this can be done quite quickly and efficiently.


    If you have to start lifting carpets, laminate flooring, tiles, the sub-floor and floor deck itself to find the junction boxes then separate the cables, you really are not going to be popular with customers if you installed the junction boxes or for that matter even if you are the person trying to sort the problems out.


    Andy Betteridge




    What are the commonest faults found on lighting circuits?


    Is a loop-in topology with ceiling rose junction boxes more or less reliable than a radial topology with ceiling rose junction boxes? Which of the two topologies is easier to fault find?


    Are installations where just one cable emerges from the ceiling for each ceiling rose or light fitting generally more reliable than installations where 3 cables emerge from a hole in the ceiling for each ceiling rose or light fitting?


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