Garden lighting

Now it really feels like Easter...to resurrect some old posts!

 

Tnx for the links, but the second link does not work. Unfortunately I do not have any wiring knowledges to install a LED lamp. Looking for something without fix the wires. How about Solar powered lamps?

 

I'm a bit late to this topic, but after Alan Titchmarsh's show on ITV last night regarding garden lighting where he stated "You may need an electrician", I thought it may be relevant to mention that the regulations have changed again and are set to be fully implemented in January 2012.

Apologies in advance for boring you all, as I am taking the following info direct from legislation and the electrician's guide to the building regulations. I'll add a bit of back ground info where I can. Please don't take this as a lecture, I am simply adding this post as electricity is a dangerous thing and can kill. A mate of mine lost his friend to electric shock when installing a pond pump.

As most of the members here in England and Wales will probably have heard of the Building Regulations, it would probably be helpful to explain them a little.

The Reg's are split into 14 schedules Part A - Part P (there is no part I or O so they are not mistaken for a 1 or 0). They concern the provision of services and use of domestic dwellings.

1.3.2 The relevant schedule to garden lighting is Part P.

The requirements of this part apply only to installations that are intended to run at low or extra low voltage and are:

(d) in a garden or in land associated with a building where the electricity is from a source within or shared with a dwelling.

Part P also applies to parts of the above electrical installation including:

v) fixed lighting and pond pumps in gardens.
vi) in outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and greenhouses.


1.3.3 Compliance with Part P

To comply with Part P the following achievements for domestic dwellings must be met:

- designed and installed to afford appropriate protection against mechanical and thermal damage, and so that they do not present electric shock and fire hazards to people;
- suitably inspected and tested to verify that they meet the relevant equipment installation standards.

What if I do not comply? Building Control have the power to issue enforcement notices to any work which does not comply with Part P. This enforcement notice basically means that you must make the work to the required standard or they will aim to take you to court. A court can punish you with a fine of £5000 and £50 per day from the issue of the notice to the day the matter reaches court. For example, a three month delay in proceedings could ost you just shy of £10000. If this happens, they may also bar you from having the work permitted at all.

Many people ask how building control find out, but often neighbourly disputes can see one side tipping off Building Control, who will turn up and see what has been carried out. This is why paddling pools are now covered by Part P as a dispute between two neighbours over a swimming pool, ended up with a neighbour who had built a shallow swimming pool ending up in court as his work did not meet the standards required for a swimming pool. He argued that as the pool was too shallow for him to swim in, it was in fact a paddling pool and therefore not covered. Hence the reg's were changed and now paddling pools are covered. Anyway I digress, back to the boring stuff....

Notification to Building Control.
It is not necessary to notify Building Control before work commences for an electrical installation if it is carried out by a registered competent enterprise (= an electrician who has paid a fee to join a scheme) or
The work is non-notifiable.

In the case of garden lighting, a garden is classified as a special installation and therefore is notifiable work. A DIYer is required to notify building control, whereas the registered competent enterprise isn't.

Guidance from Approved Document P:

g) Outdoor lighting.
Outdoor lighting and power installations are special installations. Any new work in for example the garden or that involves crossing the garden is notifiable.

j) The installation of a socket-outlet on an external wall is notifiable since the socket outlet is an outdoor connector that could be connected to cables that cross the garden and requires RCD protection.

k) Modular systems. The installation of prefabricated modular systems is non-notifiable provided that the items are CE marked.


In relation to installing cables in the garden, it is necessary to comply with BS 7671: 2008 Wiring Regulations. The must be followed:

- Armoured (SWA) cable must be used to offer mechanical protection.
- the cable must be laid on top of a bed of sand in a trench 500mm deep. On a patch which is likely to experience double digging, for example a veg patch, the trench must be 600 mm in depth.
- the trench is required to have a warning route marker tape at a depth of 150mm.
- The route of cable must be marked on plans for future reference.

When using socket-outlets installed outdoors, they must be of waterproof construction (to a minimum rating of IP54) and must be protected by a 30mA RCD.


Hope that hasn't sent everyone to sleep. I'm planning my new installation and I have actually worked out that it is almost certainly cheaper to have a registered electrician perform the work as it could cost up to £600 alone in fees to building control, that's before I've even purchased any materials.

 

So what are the rules if we use 12v DC from a transformer in the house
12v lamps, 12v pond pump etc ?

Interested

Jack McHammocklashing

 

The problem with part P is that it depends where you live as to how much it will cost. Each council sets its own charges, so in effect both of you (John78 and JWK) are right.

______________________________________________________________________________

Jack McHammocklashing, no worries since as John78 pointed out

"k) Modular systems. The installation of prefabricated modular systems is non-notifiable provided that the items are CE marked"

 

I always though the little solar lamps that line my beds did the trick! :D

 

Not really. Try 12v lights and then compare the two.

 

Should I put one or more lights im my garden, I would pick a street-lamp like this:



Just to reproduce the same atmosphere of the London Royal Gardens as in the picture below:

 

one of the homes I work at has been landscaped by a professional landscaper which includes hard and soft landscaping in a Japanese theme

it has been very cleverly designed and has been built to a very high standard

the garden is small, and has some decking leading off the dining room ... there is a winding path made of inlaid brick

there are lights that have been installed flush with the paving and decking and a few spotlights pointed at the water feature and maples etc

these all work on electricity (not solar lights) and look stunning at night ... so if you can afford to put proper lighting in your garden, it could be a wise investment

I also like the old fashioned style streetlights along a path if the garden is large

 

We put this up it was a gift from my parents...talk about delusions of grandeur but couldn't resist...

 

very nice ... I like those street lights

now, add one of the old red telephone booths in a corner ... at auctions, they sell for pretty cheap and attract a lot of interest ... i have seen them sell for under £150





and ... one of these vintage post boxes (but place it inside the yard, or else you have the whole village thinking it's a royal mail postbox

 

One says vegi corner...my little veg patch..Cluckingham Palace my chicken run and myosotis lodge my summerhouse/shed:D