UK Spike ground lights

byzar9 · Feb 4, 2021

Hi there, I'm looking for advice!

I will makeover my front garden and I want to install spike ground lights! Why I want to do this, I have a little bit of knowledge and always I want to do the safest way! I've contacted several electricians and they quote me around £400-500 for the job!

I will use ho7 cable for the spike ground lights, see picture attached, I want to buy the set of lights, because they are gu10 bulb and I want to wired them inside of the house with a smart socket.

I will use those waterproof conector, any advice is welcome! Thanks

mattg4321 · Feb 4, 2021

Those lights are almost certainly poor quality and will let moisture in and fail.

I don't fit spike lights/any lighting in contact with the ground unless ELV anymore. Too many call backs.

Look at Collingwood for good quality gear.

Deleted account · Feb 4, 2021

To be honest £500 for this job is a pretty good price. May be worth getting the sparkie to do it For peace of mind.

DefyG · Feb 4, 2021

byzar9 said:
I will use ho7 cable for the spike

The lights probably already come with a h07 cable so what will you use between fittings?

At £34 for 4 the price doesn't speak 'quality' and 'reliability' to me, I would expect to pay at least that for one quality fitting, probably more.

pc1966 · Feb 4, 2021

Get stuff from a reputable supplier. They are less likely to sell poor quality gear and you have some come-back if it proves to be rubbish.

Do you really want ground mounted lights? What sort of illumination are you wanting to achieve?

If you are plugging it all in to a 13A socket in is feasible to put in adequate outdoor cable like 1.5mm 3-core H07RN-F and some waterproof junction boxes, but please get good quality stuff and take care to terminate the cables properly.

Also make sure your sockets are RCD protected, and make a habit of checking the RCD via the test button at least twice per year.