New Build Electrical Planning

[Russdl]

Although I've found lots of useful tidbits amongst the masses of information on these forums, I've searched high and low and can't find a central repository of 'electrical planning' hints, tips, brilliant ideas, pitfalls etc. Is there one on the forum somewhere? If not, can we start it right here?

 

Standing by for an avalanche of brilliance from you BuildHubbers

Edited December 18, 2018 by Russdl

[ProDave]

All rcbo distribution board.

 

2 way switching of hall light as well as landing light (so when you get to the top of the stairs you don't have to go back down to turn the hall light off)  I don't know why this is not standard but I have not seen it in any house that I have not wired.

 

Master switch for all lights by primary entrance door

 

Think about tv / av / network and phone wiring at an early stage

 

If using a service void, it is easy to leave cables in, in places you might want to add a socket later on. (wire horizontally from socket to socket and you only need one socket on that wall to create a safe zone but the cable can run the whole width of the room so you can add extra sockets later if you need to.)

[Russdl]

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If using a service void, it is easy to leave cables in, in places you might want to add a socket later on. (wire horizontally from socket to socket and you only need one socket on that wall to create a safe zone but the cable can run the whole width of the room so you can add extra sockets later if you need to.)

 

I like that one.

[Hecateh]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

2 way switching of hall light as well as landing light (so when you get to the top of the stairs you don't have to go back down to turn the hall light off)  I don't know why this is not standard but I have not seen it in any house that I have not wired.

 

I've got 3 way switching on mine with it being split level; either end of the hall and outside my bedroom (3 storey bungalow LOL).  I also have a pir on it so don't need to use any of the switches.  I also have 2 way switching on one of my lower ground lights to cover the first flight of stairs.  

[Russdl]

12 hours ago, Hecateh said:

I've got 3 way switching on mine

 

@Hecateh I think we’ll do the same, it seems eminently sensible.

 

I’ve read a bit about 5 amp sockets for various side/standard lights and that seems like an excellent idea, are there any drawbacks? I don’t want to overdo it. 

 

 

[Sue B]

We had 5 amp sockets in our lounge and all 4 bedrooms in our last build.  I really loved it.  I much prefer table lights to a central light.  Having the table lamps controlled by a light switch meant the central lights were rarely used.

[Barney12]

9 hours ago, Russdl said:

I’ve read a bit about 5 amp sockets for various side/standard lights and that seems like an excellent idea, are there any drawbacks? I don’t want to overdo it. 

 

Im a big fan of 5amp circuits it provides you so much more flexibility with lighting.

ive also always put double switches by the side of the bed in the master bedroom which switches the bedside lamp and the main lights. 

[Jeremy Harris]

I'm another fan of adding 5 A sockets switched from the wall.  In our bedrooms we have double gang 13 A outlets either side of each bed, plus a single gang 5 A outlet either side, switched from the wall, so that bedside lights can be turned on as you come in the door.  We also have 5 A outlets in the living room for incidental lights, again switched by a wall switch.  We find we rarely use the main lights in either our bedroom or the living room, instead we just switch the incidental/bedside lights on from the wall.  The only thing to remember is to leave the switches on the bedside lights turned on in the morning and turn them off at the wall switch ready for the following evening.

[Dreadnaught]

With a 5A circuit, do the sockets use round pins? Does one need to replace the plugs on side lamps accordingly?

[ProDave]

22 hours ago, Hecateh said:

I've got 3 way switching on mine with it being split level; either end of the hall and outside my bedroom (3 storey bungalow LOL).  I also have a pir on it so don't need to use any of the switches.  I also have 2 way switching on one of my lower ground lights to cover the first flight of stairs.  

Related to that if you have a lot of 3 way switching.  I used the Click Mode light switches, nice and cheap and good quality. But their "party trick" is the switch modules are interchangable, so it is easy for instance to create a 3 gang switch  with say 2 intermediate and 1 two way switch.

[Jeremy Harris]

15 minutes ago, Dreadnaught said:

With a 5A circuit, do the sockets use round pins? Does one need to replace the plugs on side lamps accordingly?

 

Yes, they do, so you need to change the plugs, but that's only a 5 minute job, and dead easy to change back if you ever need to.

[Bitpipe]

We have our xmas tree lights on a 5a lamp socket - makes it easy to turn them off at night.

 

Other random thoughts....

 

Plan external lighting and power, outbuildings etc. plus security camera locations (inside and out), intercom / gate controls if you're having those. Driveway lights, external xmas decoration lights. Power for hot tubs / inflatable pools / garden tools / 

 

We wired our hot return pump and MVHR boost into PIRs in each bathroom and into the light switches also - means that entering a wet room triggers both extraction and ensures timely hot water to the tap.

 

Put data points next to your plant incase you want to run monitoring / control and also in hall cupboards for wifi boosters.

 

If you plan to have wall mounted TVs, put data and power directly behind, plus duct to allow HDMI to media etc. to avoid trailing cables.

 

Static internet devices (printers, TVs, internet radios etc) should have hardwired connections and not rely on WiFi, leaves your wifi network free to support mobile devices, laptops, tablets etc.

 

Think on power and control for blinds if you're having them also powered roof windows in inaccessible locations.

 

Heated / lit bathroom mirrors.

 

Power for wardrobe lighting (we used the Ikea system, works great).

 

Good coverage of floor level sockets for vacuum cleaners, steam mops, irons etc.

 

USB sockets at bedside/ kitchen / study for charging devices

 

Speaker cable in roof for surround sound systems - plan ahead for Atmos etc which are 7.1 - plus control & power for screens & projectors if ever planning home cinema.

 

 

[Russdl]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

On 18/12/2018 at 10:04, Hecateh said:

I've got 3 way switching on mine

 

I think we'll do that as well.

 

I'd read about the 5 amp sockets previously and liked that idea.

 

5 hours ago, JSHarris said:

The only thing to remember is to leave the switches on the bedside lights turned on in the morning

 

I presume switching them individually at the wall and each side of the bed would overcome that little problem?

 

5 hours ago, ProDave said:

But their "party trick" is the switch modules are interchangable, so it is easy for instance to create a 3 gang switch  with say 2 intermediate and 1 two way switch.

 

I'll have to look into that (if I'm honest I don't really understand what you're saying!)

 

2 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

We have our xmas tree lights on a 5a lamp socket

 

Another good suggestion, but I suspect they couldn't be on a timer then - or can you get timers for 5 amp sockets? 

 

@Bitpipe

 

There are some great suggestions there - all of them, and many that wouldn't have occurred to me until it was too late I suspect. (wardrobe lights, exterior Christmas lights etc etc) thanks very much for that great collection of ideas.

 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

26 minutes ago, Russdl said:

I presume switching them individually at the wall and each side of the bed would overcome that little problem?

 

 

Sounds like a good idea, as long as you can be sure that the switches can be reached from the bed.  I wasn't 100% certain exactly where the beds would end up, so we just rely on the switches built-in to the bedside lights to switch them off at night.  It's easy enough to just get into the routine of switching them on in the morning when making the beds.

[Bitpipe]

27 minutes ago, Russdl said:

 

There are some great suggestions there - all of them, and many that wouldn't have occurred to me until it was too late I suspect. (wardrobe lights, exterior Christmas lights etc etc) thanks very much for that great collection of ideas.

 

No problem. Our xmas lights are not on a timer, I just turn them off when going to bed. If you have the type where the transformer is built into the plug, you just put a 5a plug at the end of a standard extension lead and plug them into that.

 

Our 5a bedroom lamps are switched by the side of bed only - in our old house they were also switched at the wall which was nice...

 

[Russdl]

6 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

Sounds like a good idea, as long as you can be sure that the switches can be reached from the bed

 

Pretty sure we know exactly where the bed will go, so that will go in my Electrical Plan ?

 

8 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

you just put a 5a plug at the end of a standard extension lead and plug them into that.

 

Of course! It's not rocket science is it!! (why can't I work this stuff out for myself??)

[Bitpipe]

2 minutes ago, Russdl said:

 

Pretty sure we know exactly where the bed will go, so that will go in my Electrical Plan ?

 

 

Of course! It's not rocket science is it!! (why can't I work this stuff out for myself??)

 

It's not but you have a gazillion things to remember so easy to let them slip.

 

Forgot to add UFH spur and duct for bathroom floors if you're having electric mats (highly recommended). We made a last min decision to do that (walls were boarded but not skimmed) so a hectic weekend of removing and re-fitting PB either side of the electrician...

 

Its very easy and relatively cheap to get your all you electrical needs in during first fix, its expensive and sometimes impossible to retro fit. Once your frame is up, get some decent silver gaff tape and mark out all your potential locations, then walk each room & harea, thinking through furniture positions etc and make sure you have what you need...

[Russdl]

7 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

Forgot to add UFH spur and duct for bathroom floors if you're having electric mats (highly recommended)

 

We do. Another good point ?

[Barney12]

3 hours ago, Russdl said:

I presume switching them individually at the wall and each side of the bed would overcome that little problem?

 

Thats exactly how mine are wired. 

[PeterW]

2 hours ago, Russdl said:

 

We do. Another good point ?

 

Go the whole hog and run a pair of ducts as the mat and the thermostat wire should really be separated. 

 

Also run ducts to wall points for electric towel rails too, and terminate in “dry” areas where a switch can be added if needed. 

[vfrdave]

Don't forget cat5/6 for a decent WiFi access point or points depending on floor layout. I would highly recommend ubiquiti access points.

[Russdl]

2 hours ago, vfrdave said:

I would highly recommend ubiquiti access points.

 

Never heard of that. Many thanks ?

[andy]

+1 for Ubiquiti Unifi stuff, run CAT 6 cables back to a power over ethernet (PoE) switch in comms cabinet (no power cables needed) and you get a nice single WiFi zone which does seamless hand-off when a device roams.  Plus the network management software is excellent (especially if you use Unifi PoE switch too).  This is enterprise-level functionality at really good prices.