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rolyberkin

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What are your proven methods for installing garden lighting? I have always gone the low voltage route using swa to feed an led driver housed in a IP65 box then to the light using pond flex.

I have a job where I need to run 6mm swa to a small CU in a shed (Mounted on gravel boards and/wooden batten). I want to pick up some lights along the way, the swa will be on a 32 amp rcd just wondered how others would approach this, probably spike lights?
 
Is the 6mm to supply power to the shed? If so, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable mixing them in the one cable, but if I had to I'd go 4 core route, L-N-CPC feed and a switched line for the lights. With the switched line originating at the same place/circuit as the feed in the cable, fused down to say 3A.

Biggest problem I have with that is all the unnecessary junctions in the supply side.

The one I just did is all SWA, 4 core 1.5mm. 3 switched lines (2 in use and 1 spare), neutral with the armour as the CPC. 2 wiska boxes at the source for popping out of the garage and into a switch in the house and then 10 serving 12 lights, mixture of bollards and GU10 spike lights.

Edit:- I'm going to add I've not done a lot of exterior lighting, so I may get roasted for my design :)
 
how do you propose to switch the lights as the SWA will be a permanent supply.
 
can't see a problem with having perm L and a switched L conductors in same cable. it's normal on a bathroom fan. use 4 core SWA , wiska boxes into flex at each light and fuse down the S/L as per sparkchick's post.could use a FCU as the light switch.
 
can't see a problem with having perm L and a switched L conductors in same cable. it's normal on a bathroom fan. use 4 core SWA , wiska boxes into flex at each light and fuse down the S/L as per sparkchick's post.could use a FCU as the light switch.
It would be the different fuse ratings in each conductor, so in a four core swa is it permissable to have one live core rated at 6amp and one at 32amp from the board, time to get out the BYB?
 
no. each core is rated to it's own csa. the fact that it's fused lower is immaterial. in fact, you only need to fit a reduced rated fuse/breaker to protect the smaller csa flex to each light, as all cores just need to comply with Iz>In>Ib. the OCPD is there to protect the cable. nothing else.
 
Is the 6mm to supply power to the shed? If so, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable mixing them in the one cable, but if I had to I'd go 4 core route, L-N-CPC feed and a switched line for the lights. With the switched line originating at the same place/circuit as the feed in the cable, fused down to say 3A.

Biggest problem I have with that is all the unnecessary junctions in the supply side.

The one I just did is all SWA, 4 core 1.5mm. 3 switched lines (2 in use and 1 spare), neutral with the armour as the CPC. 2 wiska boxes at the source for popping out of the garage and into a switch in the house and then 10 serving 12 lights, mixture of bollards and GU10 spike lights.

Edit:- I'm going to add I've not done a lot of exterior lighting, so I may get roasted for my design :)

Would love the day I could come on here and answer a question like you have here, think I have got a long way to go before that happens.
 
Would love the day I could come on here and answer a question like you have here, think I have got a long way to go before that happens.

Well, I do try... good job you can't see some of the questions I ask the guys in The Arms. You might think differently then :D
 
You can have multiple circuits in one cable, I don’t like the sound of this setup though as in my opinion you’d be creating a borrowed neutral situation.
 
can't see a problem with having perm L and a switched L conductors in same cable. it's normal on a bathroom fan. use 4 core SWA , wiska boxes into flex at each light and fuse down the S/L as per sparkchick's post.could use a FCU as the light switch.

In a bathroom fan they are all part of the same circuit, introducing a fuse into the situation gives you more than one circuit, each should have its own neutral.
So yes you could use 4 core with L&N of the submain and SL&N of the lighting circuit, but is introducing joints into a submain really the best idea?
 
You can have multiple circuits in one cable, I don’t like the sound of this setup though as in my opinion you’d be creating a borrowed neutral situation.
Would use a four core and have two neutrals with sheath as the cpc (Just seen you have written this above)
 
Unless there's a very good reason for doing it otherwise, I'd keep the 6mm as a submain then feed the garden lights from the CU in the shed, maybe bring another feed out from the house depending on the layout.

The way you're proposing might work, it might be easier, even cheaper, but I wouldn't consider it to be a "proven method".
 

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