.co.

uk
HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters

Introduction
This 'How to' guides you through the process of installing wall lights,
downlighters and low voltage lights. It explains how to run the lighting
circuits for the different types of lighting and offers lots of useful advice
on positioning and connecting the lights.
Remember, if you're at all unsure about working with electrical wiring, use
a professional qualified electrician.
X Please note: safety disclaimer:
All diagrams relating to electrical wiring have been created in a colour format. If you are printing this
document in black and white, we advise you to follow these basic safety precautions:
1. Make a careful note of the colour diagrams as seen on your screen. Note the colour and
position of each wire in the diagram.
2. Follow all safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of the equipment you are using.
3. If in doubt, contact a qualified electrician.

What you’ll need

Materials Tools & equipment
Abrasive paper – coarse and fine (for installing wiring) Joist detector
Conductor sleeving – red, green and yellow Ball point pen – for writing on masking tape Junior hacksaw
Connector block 5 amp and 10 amp Block Surform Pair of compasses or dividers
Fuse spur Bradawl Plasterboard saw, utility saw or padsaw
Insulation tape – black, red, green and yellow Brick laying bolster chisel – 100mm Pliers 150mm – insulated
Junction box 20 amp, 4 terminal Cable/pipe finder Power tracer
Light fittings Claw hammer Safety goggles
Light switch Club hammer Screwdrivers:
1mm Lighting cable twin and earth Cold chisel – 25mm • 4 x 100mm insulated
Lighting flex – 2 core for plastic, 3 core for Combination try square • 5 x 190mm insulated
metal fittings Craft knife • 8 x 150mm
Masking tape Dust-mask • No.2 Pozidriv insulated
Metal wall box for switches and light fittings Dust sheets Small file – 150mm flat tapered
One coat plaster Electric drill with hammer facility Stepladder
Oval plastic conduit for switch cable Electrician's draw tape (mole) or 4m x 1.5m Tape measure
2.5mm Power cable twin and earth for single core cable. Torch or portable light
connecting ring main into fused spur Fibre pens – black, red, green, blue and brown Wire cutters – insulated
Round plastic conduit for switch cable Floorboard saw Wire strippers – insulated
Round plastic wall boxes Flooring or electrician's bolster chisel – 60mm Work gloves – leather
Screws – 18mm x No. 8 woodchip : Hand held circular saw Tools & equipment (for plaster
45mm x No.8 woodchip countersunk HSS drill bits, countersunk bit, masonry
repairs)
bits and flat bits See How to: Repair plaster walls & ceilings.

Hints
Figure 1 contains safety and information symbols for lighting and lighting
packaging. Knowledge of these symbols should help you choose the most
suitable fitting.

Carefully unwrap your light fittings and read the manufacturer's instructions.
Pay special attention to minimum space areas in ceiling cavities.

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 HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters
Before you begin

fig. 2

fig. 1

fig. 3

fig. 4

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 HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters
Before you begin

Are downlighters right for you?

Downlighters are not permitted in some multi-occupied dwellings, such
as flats and maisonettes, because of the heat they produce.

Isolate the circuit

Turn on all the house lights. At the consumer unit (fuse box), isolate
each lighting circuit one at a time. Make a simple diagram showing
which fuse operates the lights on each circuit. The lights will go out
when that circuit is isolated. fig. 5

Find the cable runs

See How to: Install a ceiling light.

fig. 6

About lighting circuits

For a description of loop-in and junction box systems, and guidance
on identifying the connections for both types of system, See How to:
Remove a ceiling light. Regulations govern the load a single lighting
circuit may carry. These regulations allow up to 12 x 100 watt bulbs on
a 5 amp re-wireable fuse or cartridge-fused circuit. A 6 amp Miniature
Circuit Breaker (MCB) may have up to 14 x 100 watt bulbs. As you may
use some bulbs with a higher wattage, it's good practice to restrict the
circuit to 8 fittings.

Wall lights fig. 7

Lighting circuits for wall lights may run as follows:
• As a spur from an existing ceiling pendant light on a loop-in circuit
(figs. 2 and 3)
• From a junction box connected into a junction box circuit (fig. 4)
• From a junction box replacing a ceiling rose. This system would use the
old switch cable (fig. 5)
• From a fused spur off a 30 amp ring main (fig. 6 and 20). Note how
it's switched in a separate box to the ceiling light.

fig. 8
Safety tip
It's dangerous and against electrical regulations to have different circuits feeding
into the same switch box.

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 HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters
About lighting circuits (cont.)

Downlighters and low voltage lighting

Downlighters may be run:
• Off part of a circuit previously used by a pendant light (fig. 7)
• In conjunction with a pendant light (fig. 8)
• Entirely independently of a ceiling light but, provided they're run off the same
circuit, sharing the same switch box (fig. 9).
Install low voltage lights in the same way as downlighters, except that you'll need to
incorporate a 220/240 volt – 12 volt transformer into the power supply to the lights fig. 9
(fig. 10). See later sections on positioning and wiring a transformer.

Safety tip
Double-check you have adequate space in the ceiling space before installing
downlighters or low voltage lighting.
Always check the manufacturer's instructions.

Cutting holes for downlighters

1. Mark position
Use a joist/stud finder to find and mark the position of the ceiling joists. For more
information, See How to: Fix tongue-and-groove cladding. Downlighters must
be placed 100mm minimum away from joists. Low voltage lights and transformers
should be positioned 75mm away from joists.

Remove any insulation materials from the area of the fittings. fig. 10

Mark the position of the centre of each fitting. Use compasses or dividers to scribe
a circle. The manufacturer's installation instructions will tell you what the diameter
should be (fig.11).

Use a cable/pipe/power finder to check that there are no dangerous obstructions.

Hint
Always read the manufacturer's instructions on positioning lights
and transformers.

2. Cut out hole

With the power and lighting circuits turned off at the consumer board, drill a 9mm
hole just inside and touching the circle.

Wearing goggles and mask, use a plasterboard saw, utility saw or pad saw to cut out
the hole (fig.11). Clean up the edges with coarse abrasive paper.

fig. 11

Hint
Have an assistant catch the dust in a container while you saw. This saves a lot
of mess.

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 HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters
Running cables

For wall lights

In solid walls, run cables in oval or round plastic tubing buried in the wall, terminat-
ing at either a round wall box (fig.12) or an architrave box (fig.13) depending on the
type of light fitting.

It's difficult to terminate more than one lighting cable into an architrave box. Use the
terminations illustrated in figures 3, 4, 5and 13. Use round boxes in the situations
shown in figures 2, 4, 6 and 12.

To get the wiring terminated into some wall lights, you may need to incorporate a
wooden patrice. Patrices may be square, rectangular or round, and are also available
with a built-in pull switch (fig.14). They are hollow at the back to enable wires to be
joined via connector blocks. fig. 12

Patrices are screwed to the wall in such a way that the light fitting conceals the screws.

For guidance on fixing cables in walls and under floors, See How to: Install a
pendant light

For downlighters
If there's no need to run cables through joists, feed cables between ceiling holes and
connect up to an existing or obsolete ceiling rose (figs. 7, 8, 10).

For guidance on lifting and replacing floors, See How to: Install a pendant light

Final wiring connections

The various methods for wiring circuits for different situations are shown in figs. 2–10.
Beside each relevant fitting is a number. This coincides with a Figure illustrating the
wiring connections for that particular use, for example in fig. 3 the switch is wired as
in fig.15, the light fitting as in fig.13 and the ceiling rose as in fig.18.

Earthing is a built-in safety device to reduce the effects of electrical shock. All metal
within a circuit, for example wall boxes and metal light fittings, must be earthed.
At the termination, green and yellow sleeving is placed over the earth conductor.

Some fittings are double insulated, which means they're not connected to the earth
conductor. These fittings have a special symbol attached, which is usually on the
packaging (fig.1). fig. 13

When connecting twin and earth mains cable to a double insulated fitting, don't cut
off the earth conductor. You may need it at a later date for a different fitting.

Place earth sleeving over the conductor, fold it back onto the PVC outer sheath,
and tape it so that the sleeving cannot fall off (fig. 21a).

Some low voltage lights come as a kit with built-in connectors (fig. 21a). Others come
wired into connector blocks (fig. 21b). In this instance, on the low voltage side of the
transformer, you can cut off the earth conductor.

Use the correct transformer for the type and number of lights you're installing. Position
fig. 14
it in an accessible cupboard with sufficient air space around. Only position it elsewhere
if you can still gain easy access, eg through one of the low voltage downlighter holes
or by a floor trap not concealed by a floor covering.

Read the manufacturer's instructions for further guidance on positioning. HB

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 HOW TO: Install wall lights and downlighters
Wiring a transformer (cont.)

fig. 15 fig. 16
see figs 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 see figs 2, 4, and 9

fig. 17

fig. 18
see fig. 3
fig. 20
see fig. 6

fig. 19 fig. 21a fig. 21b

see figs 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10

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