Electro-Spark installs new plug points, dedicated appliance circuits, LED downlights and outdoor security lighting for homes across Cape Town. Each job starts with a check of the existing circuit and DB board, new work is wired to SANS 10142-1, and outdoor fittings are chosen with an IP rating suited to where they are mounted.
How are plug points added to an existing house?
A new point is usually taken off the nearest plug circuit, run in a chase in the wall or in surface trunking, and protected by the earth leakage on your board. Most requests begin with a room that has a single double plug on the wrong wall and an extension lead supplying the rest.
Before we add to a circuit, we check what is already on it. A new point on a circuit that already trips makes the problem worse, and the correct fix is a new circuit rather than another plug. Plug circuits in a new installation must be protected by an earth leakage unit rated at no more than 30 mA. If your board has no earth leakage, or one that no longer trips when tested, we will advise you before work begins, because on a plug circuit it is the most important protection. See DB board upgrades.
How many plug points can one circuit carry?
The practical limit is set by the load rather than by a count of points. The breaker and the cable determine how much current a circuit can safely carry, and the number of points is a design judgement about what is likely to run at the same time. Practice in the trade varies, so we plan plug circuits around the expected load. A typical house plug circuit is a 20 A breaker on 2.5 mm² cable.
A lounge with lamps, a television and phone chargers can have a number of points on one circuit and remain well within its rating. A kitchen is different. A kettle, a toaster and a heater running together can draw more than 20 A, and the breaker trips. For that reason kitchens, and any appliance with a large heating element, are given circuits of their own.
When does an appliance need its own circuit?
An appliance needs its own circuit when it draws a heavy current for long periods, or when it should not lose power because something else has tripped. A dedicated circuit feeds one point or one appliance from its own breaker on the board.
- Stoves, ovens and hobs rated above 16 A, which the wiring code requires to be on a dedicated circuit
- Geysers, which must have a dedicated circuit
- Air conditioners, pool pumps and borehole pumps
- A deep freeze, alarm or network cabinet you want kept away from nuisance trips
What rating do outdoor lights and plugs need?
An outdoor plug must be rated at least IP44, and for lights on an exposed wall IP65 (dust-tight and protected against water jets) is a sensible minimum. The IP rating on a fitting is two numbers: the first covers protection against dust and solid objects, the second against water. The IP44 rating on a plug has to hold with a plug inserted, which is why a proper outdoor socket has a lid that closes over the plug.
On the Atlantic side, from Melkbosstrand and Bloubergstrand down to Sea Point and Camps Bay, salt air quickly corrodes low-grade fittings and mild steel screws. Stainless or marine-grade fittings and sealed cable glands cost more initially and last considerably longer.
Security lighting is usually controlled in one of two ways. A day/night sensor (a photocell) switches lights on at dusk and off at dawn. A motion sensor (PIR) switches on when something moves within range. The arrangement that suits most properties uses both: low-level lighting on a photocell through the night, and a bright floodlight on a motion sensor over the gate and driveway.
Why do LED downlights flicker on an old dimmer?
An old dimmer was designed for a halogen load of a few hundred watts, and a handful of small LED lamps is too light a load for it to control. The result is flicker, buzzing, or lights that will not dim below half. Replacing halogen downlights with LED is one of the more affordable upgrades in a house, and dimmers account for most of the complaints that follow.
The remedy is a lamp marked dimmable and a dimmer made for LED loads (usually a trailing-edge type), with the total LED wattage between the dimmer's minimum and maximum. If you have 12 V halogen downlights, each has a transformer in the ceiling, and these are usually removed when you move to 230 V LED fittings.
Where can plug points go in a bathroom?
No plug or switch may go inside the bath or shower, or within 0.6 m of its edge up to 2.25 m high. The wiring code divides a bathroom into zones around the bath and shower, and beyond those zones a plug is permitted as long as it has 30 mA earth leakage protection. A separate rule applies to the rest of the house: a plug within 2 m of a tap in the same room also requires earth leakage.
Heated towel rails and extractor fans have their own rules on position and connection. Let us know what you want in the room before the tiler starts, because chasing a wall after tiling adds cost and disruption.