Views please......

[polo1]

Ok, so here's the scenario. Customer wants to wall mount two flat screen tvs in her kids bedrooms. Arials no problem (drill down through wall top plate, fast fix boxes, done). However power is an issue. As usual, request for the tvs comes after she has decorated both rooms. Spurs from sockets in both rooms can be done, but involves breaking into plasterboard walls to get past dwangs - she's not at all keen.
Alternative is to take two feeds from the u/stairs lighting circuit into two fused spurs, mark them as TV Only and locate the spurs at high level. Would you regard the use of the lighting circuit in this manner as acceptable??????

Regards.

 

[Fast&Rough]

Sounds a bit rough ,i personally wouldnt do it spur off the sockets and filler the holes up

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Ok, so here's the scenario. Customer wants to wall mount two flat screen tvs in her kids bedrooms. Arials no problem (drill down through wall top plate, fast fix boxes, done). However power is an issue. As usual, request for the tvs comes after she has decorated both rooms. Spurs from sockets in both rooms can be done, but involves breaking into plasterboard walls to get past dwangs - she's not at all keen.
Alternative is to take two feeds from the u/stairs lighting circuit into two fused spurs, mark them as TV Only and locate the spurs at high level. Would you regard the use of the lighting circuit in this manner as acceptable??????

Regards.

Or fit those small 3 pin plugs that are common in pubs etc to plug lights in. No problem with what you intend to do as long as it is all marked up blah blah blah. a lighting circuit is just a radial circuit, like any other, as long as the protective device is adequate then no issues as far as i can see.

Cheers...........Howard

 

[Octopus]

How about telling her that the kids shouldn't have TV's in their rooms! lol

 

[skyesparky]

as above. fuse down to 3 amp and fit 5 amp socket and plug top. label up as tv only. job done.

 

[Rauer]

Why not put them on the water heater radial I would take a guess that it only runs a boiler now ?????? Or a water heater that is seldomly used

 

[Dan23584]

The lighting circuit option would be the one to go for if the customer wants to minimise damage etc.

 

[Adam W]

I hate this idea of putting the upstairs TVs on the lighting circuit. What starts out as an 'emergency' solution because the customer decorated at the wrong time can easily turn into the norm and before we know where we are it'll be being done on new builds. IMO lighting circuits should be exactly that - for lighting, and maybe smoke detectors so you know when they're not being powered. I think starting to put TVs on there increases the chances of the circuit tripping and ending up with no lights. The idea of putting upstairs lighting on a separate RCD to the sockets is so in the event of the lighting RCD tripping you still have light from whatever is plugged into the sockets, which is usually a TV.

 

[skyesparky]

just a thought......could the tv's be connected straight into switch fuse spurs? that way no risk of cust plugging heavier load in.

 

[oldtimer]

Why not put them on the water heater radial I would take a guess that it only runs a boiler now ?????? Or a water heater that is seldomly used

I would not joke about that I found a mirror light in a bathroom spurred of the shower supply with the guy saying what wrong with that then.

Years ago when we got our house I put a socket in the attic and was asked why did you do that 10 years later when TVs were getting put in no probs

 

[Octopus]

just a thought......could the tv's be connected straight into switch fuse spurs? that way no risk of cust plugging heavier load in.

Until DIY Dave changes the FCU for a 2G socket - then the MCB will go pop!

 

[kingeri]

Can you not get the socket circuit into the loft and come down into the bedrooms? I did that in my own house, as a fused spur from the ring. Whilst it may not break the regs to feed a TV off a lighting circuit, it's not something I'd do just from the point of view of my reputation!

 

[polo1]

Thanks guys. I have no desire to use the lighting circuit - it just goes against the grain as well as for the reasons mentioned by others. I couldn't find anything in the regs to say it can't be done (if there had been that would've given me an out). I'll just promise to keep the holes in the walls small when spurring from the sockets

 

[Adam W]

Until DIY Dave changes the FCU for a 2G socket - then the MCB will go pop!

You could say that about lighting sockets as well. Yes you can write 'TV only' on the socket but that soon goes out of the window when it becomes convenient to plug the vacuum cleaner in there. They might even change the label to 'vacuum cleaner only'.

 

[polo1]

Can you not get the socket circuit into the loft and come down into the bedrooms? I did that in my own house, as a fused spur from the ring. Whilst it may not break the regs to feed a TV off a lighting circuit, it's not something I'd do just from the point of view of my reputation!

This my preferred/normal approach......but it involves holes in her newly decorated walls!