Electrical sockets on lighting circuit??

[dcarr]

Was flabbergasted when tenant reported that the power points in the leanto extension out back are wired into the single lighting circuit!

There's already 2 power circuits in the board which I thought ought to be enough for a 3x1 house even with the extra living area. There is also a safety switch installed.

My guess is that one of the former outdoor lights was the easiest cable to reach when wiring up the extension.

But my question is - is this illegal, dodgy, or not that bad? Has anyone seen this before?

 

[GreatPig]

I'm not an electrician, but I think it's legal. There are a number of rules relating to how many lights & power points can be on any one circuit, but I don't think mixing them is a problem provided the limits are not exceeded. Hopefully an electrician here can clarify.

It can be inconvenient though. Overload a power point and the lights go out as well.

GP

 

[Rixter]

From a electricians perspective here in WA you can not mix power points and lights on the same circuit from within the house. You need to have power points and lights on separate circuits back to the main switchboard. You also can only have "x" number of lights and "x" number of power points per circuit.

The exception to this rule is if you are wiring up a shed or garage (with one or two power points and lights) thats external and away from the house.

In this case the electrician would run one cable out to the shed/garage from the house main switchboard with its own circuit breaker/fuse protecting the circuit, and then wire the power point and light onto the circuit.

This is called a 'Mixed Circuit" and must be labelled so under the circuit breaker/fuse on the switch board.

Hope this clarifies it for you.

 

[dcarr]

From a electricians perspective here in WA you can not mix power points and lights on the same circuit from within the house.

Thanks for that information, I don't imagine it would be too different in SA. All loads are within the house, and the breakers are clearly labelled as POWER, POWER, LIGHTING, except the latter has some power sockets on it!!

If it does turn out to be illegal and the remedy cost high, what are my chances of recovery of cost from the original owner (purchased 2 years ago). Has anyone tried this?

 

[Rixter]

I would be looking to find out who the electrician was who carried out the work and pursue them if that was the route you were wanting to go.

 

[pulse]

Is the wiring to the powerpoints 1mm2 or 2.5mm2. The bigger stuff is the smallest allowed for use with powerpoints.

Cheers
Pulse

 

[Rixter]

Is the wiring to the powerpoints 1mm2 or 2.5mm2. The bigger stuff is the smallest allowed for use with powerpoints.

Cheers
Pulse

Power Cable (2.5mm2) 1/1.78 single stranded or 7/067 multi stranded

Light Cable (1mm2) 1/1.13 single stranded or 7/050 multi stranded.

 

[Ausprop]

I would be looking to find out who the electrician was who carried out the work and pursue them if that was the route you were wanting to go.

my guess is there was no electrician. not sure what the implications of that would be?

 

[AlmostBob]

Legal or not, I think its dodgy,
Get in a sparky to bring a line from the board to the lean to and separate the light and power circuits.
just in case
light circuits, not on residual current breakers.