Urgent little bit of advice needed

[Coulterm]

I have a lighting circuit which consists of 4 12V LED "starlights" and 4 5Amp sockets. My electrician says the sockets will only work with 12V lamps. The people who designed the plighting plan say a regular 240V table lamp should work fine in the circuit (with the correct plug)

Circuit is connected to a dimmer switch. The starlights work and dim fine.

I have tried a 240V table lamp and it doesn't currently work at all. Is my electrician correct or is there another problem?

Please can anyone advise as I am not very confident in my electrician but seem to have hit stalemate.

 

[Coulterm]

Great - thanks SO much. This has been very, very helpful

 

[johnboy6083]

the spark should of tested this though before energising? wirinmg something and not checking it is poor in my opinion.

 

[Coulterm]

Unfortunately the electrician has been suggesting that it is both acceptable and unsurprising that only 12V lamps with work in the 5A sockets. He just shrugs and says "Its a 12V circuit. A 240V lamp wont work, only 12V"

The advice on here has been really helpful and hopefully I will be able to get him to change it.

 

[Des 56]

The sockets will have contact ratings suitable for 230 volt 5 amp
The may not be suitable to use as part of a 12 volt circuit with possible higher current use

 

[Engineer54]

Not only that, but also the rating of the TX supplying these outlets would need to be quite high, and the length of the circuit would also need to be suitable, very easy to lose a few volts on a 12 volt system if the cable is too small. Without looking, i think there were 5 X 5A sockets in the drawing 2 at the front of room, 2 at the back near the sofa and i think one other. So 5 X 35W or 50W lamps, say minimum (at 12volt) = 14.6A, (21A at 50W) he'd need at least a 2.5mm cable in my opinion to overcome losses on a radial circuit...

But this is just academic, those 5A socket outlets should have a 230V supply and are there just for table or stand lights.

 

[Coulterm]

The sockets will have contact ratings suitable for 230 volt 5 amp
The may not be suitable to use as part of a 12 volt circuit with possible higher current use

Does this mean that even if I left the circuit as it was and managed to find a 12V lamp that it still wouldn't work as 5Amp sockets are designed to be part of a 230V circuit?

Ie what the electrician has does TRULY leaves me with 4 completely useless sockets...

 

[ipf]

If I have read the previous posts correctly,this is an obvious case of bad design. 5amp sockets are desgned to be installed in 230v systems. I cannot comprehend how a competent and suitably qualified electrician could contemplate such an installation. Besides, how many 12v appliances come equipped with 5amp plugs. Waste of a circuit ?

 

[Engineer54]

Does this mean that even if I left the circuit as it was and managed to find a 12V lamp that it still wouldn't work as 5Amp sockets are designed to be part of a 230V circuit?

Ie what the electrician has does TRULY leaves me with 4 completely useless sockets...

These 5A sockets were according to mine and others here, always meant to be for 230V table lamps or stand lights. I don't know if you have any normal 13A outlets in this room, but if you have, these 5A outlets are there to distinguish between normal 13A power outlets and the wall switched outlets that are purely for lighting!! These 5A outlets will probably be protected by a 6A protective device in your consumer unit, ...ie fed from a lighting circuit!! Whereas the normal 13A power circuits will have anything from 16A/20A/32A protective device!!

Simply put, they are 5A outlet faces, to STOP larger load appliances being plugged into them with a 13A plug top!! Only the light fittings that have the 5A plug tops fitted to them can therefore use these 5A outlets....

i've gone a bit round the houses here, but i think you can understand what i'm saying, ...hopefully!! lol!!!