Whether your dining area is lit using only candlelight or your office uses large LED ceiling lights, lighting has a significant impact on the ambience of a space. So, although it’s important to consider whether your ceiling lights of choice are going to match the interiors of your home, it’s also important to think about what atmosphere you want them to provide.
In our From the Anvil collection we have a wide selection of pendant ceiling light fixtures, suitable for any style of home, including our black Harborne pendant ceiling light, hammered copper Hockley pendant ceiling light and blue Brindley pendant ceiling light.
Materials:
- Light fixture(s) of choice
- Voltage tester
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Four-terminal junction box (for those with junction wiring).
- Green/yellow wire and brown wire sleeving (for those with junction wiring).
- Spur cable (for those with loop-in wiring).
At Ironmongery Experts, we recommend that you seek assistance from a professional to complete any electrical work. Please read our disclaimer at the end of this article.
Instructions:
- Switch off the mains
Before you do anything else, you need to locate your consumer unit (or fuse box if you’ve yet to upgrade) and switch off the mains power. We recommend, for extra precaution, that you stick a piece of electrical tape over the switch you’re working on, just in case someone was to try and turn it back on.
As well as this, you need to test whether it’s safe to work on your circuits by using a voltage tester to ensure they’re definitely dead. It’s also ideal to use the voltage tester on a circuit you know is live to make sure that the tester is definitely working – e.g. you might be working on a light downstairs and have your upstairs bathroom light on.
Note that pendants are unable to support heavy lightbulbs and shades, so if you’ve chosen a ceiling light fitting that exceeds 2kg it’s ideal that it's supported by a chain. Also, keep in mind that any fixtures that contain metal parts need to be earthed via a three-core flex unless they’re marked as double insulated.
- Identify your circuit type
You can have either of two circuit types: junction box or loop-in. So, it’s important to establish which one you have before beginning any electrical work. Again, with your power switched off, take the ceiling rose cover off of your ceiling.
Count the number of cables that enter the ceiling rose and if there’s one cable then you have a junction-box circuit. Whereas if there are two or three, you’ll find that you have a loop-in system.
- Installing your light fixture when you have junction-box wiring
Step 1
Ensure that your circuit is definitely dead, before cutting the main circuit cable and installing a four-terminal junction box – this will allow you to enclose and protect the connection of the wires of your pendant light.
Get the live cores of the split circuit cable and attach them to one terminal before connecting the neutral cores to another and the earth cores to the third. Make sure to add green/yellow sleeves.
Step 2
Run a 1mm2 two-core-and-earth cable to the new light, with another to the switch. Attach the brown switch core to the circuit lives, then the earth cable to the circuit earths and the blue core to the fourth and final terminal. Now add a length of brown electrical sleeving to the blue core to indicate it can be live.
Step 3
Join the brown core from the light cable to the blue core of the switch drop before attaching the blue core to the circuit neutrals. Then connect the earth with the earth terminal.
- Installing your light fixture when you have loop-in wiring
Step 1
Just to be safe, check that the power is off and that your circuit is dead before running a spur cable from the rose you already have on your circuit. This should join the brown core to the main circuit lives, the blue core to the main circuit neutrals and its earth with the earth terminal.
Step 2
Now attach the brown core to the central terminal bank (which may be marked as ‘loop’) and the blue core to the neutral terminal, before attaching the earth with the earth terminal – make sure to encase it in green/yellow sleeving.
Step 3
At your new rose, run the switch drop cable so its brown core is connected to the spur’s brown. You’ll also need to connect the blue core (marked as brown) to the live terminal and the earth to the earth terminal.
- Use your voltage tester once more
Remember to check all of your completed electrical work with a voltage tester before you begin to use them. If all is in order, your new ceiling light fixture is ready to illuminate your space.
Disclaimer
At Ironmongery Experts we strongly advise that you always use safety precautions when undertaking a DIY project and ensure that you read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using any building materials, products or tools for your projects.
We try our best to provide clear and correct instructions within our articles, however, please note that this information should only be used as a general guide and some information within the text may not be entirely accurate.
When using our articles for information and advice, please note that it is your SOLE RESPONSIBILITY to determine whether you have the competence and knowledge to undertake the task that you want to complete.
Before starting a DIY task, it is essential that you are aware of any existing building, gas, water and electrical works regulations. If you have any reservations, we recommend that you complete additional research or contact the appropriate professional body.
We also strongly recommend that a qualified tradesperson completes relevant safety checks on any DIY work you have completed.
