Lighting electrician in Liverpool

1) I need a new light installed in my Liverpool property, what do I need to consider?

Is the existing light going to leave a hole in the ceiling?

Is the new light going to require an earth connection?

How do we check that earthing is safe and continuous?

Will my electrician carry out the safety testing for me?

When we change an existing light fitting for a new one these are all things that we consider as well as other issues. As electricians we are thinking about many more things than our customers actually realise. The primary part of our job is YOUR SAFETY and how we achieve that first and foremost. Then we consider how the job will look, what your preferences are for the aesthetics and how we will achieve this all whilst working within the ever growing 590 pages of wiring regulations.

2) Is the existing light going to leave a hole in the ceiling?

One of the reasons for changing light fittings is moving into a new home. The home may not be new to you and may be many decades old. You may or may not have had an electrical inspection carried out before purchasing the property and there may well be repairs that need to be carried out before you can settle in comfortably. 

It is quite common to find large circular light fittings have been installed where big holes needed to be covered up for whatever reason. There may have been a decorative stippled artex type finish on the ceiling and the previous owner decided that they could not match the finish whilst installing a new light fitting so opted for a large circular disc fitting to cover it.  Installing a new light fitting where a bulky large fitting previously resided can prove to uncover issues. We are happy to help you solve these issues of course but its just something to be aware of 😊

3) Is the new light going to require an earth connection?

One of the considerations we don’t think about when buying new lights is if they need an earth connection or not. Now, most homes do actually have earthing in the electrical light cables but some still do not! There was a period in time where no earth was installed for lighting circuits. This means that many modern lights cannot be safely installed in these homes. 

In this case we would require a light fitting that has no need for an earth. The manufacturer decides this at the point of manufacture and will let us know in their instructions. It is important to know what you can and can’t use in your home when having a NEW LIGHT INSTALLED and to contact us if you are unsure. We can often advise from some photographs without the need for a site visit. 

4) How do we check that earthing is safe and continuous?

So, the wiring appears to have an earth there. The little green and yellow covered wire, right? But, is it actually connected safely and continuously back to the consumer unit in your home? Who knows? Looks like it is.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way to tell if this VITAL safety feature of your electrical installation is correctly connected and with a sufficiently low resistance UNLESS your electrician performs some testing to ensure that it is! 
That’s right. Our test equipment is the ONLY way to know for sure if your earthing is ok. In the event of an electrical fault earthing is ABSOLUTELY VITAL to ensure that electric shock risk is minimised and to ensure that the circuit turns off when it should. Without earthing there would be a whole world of trouble when an electrical fault develops. 

5) Will my electrician carry out the safety testing for me?

We carry out electrical testing whenever we carry out ANY electrical work in your home. Even just changing a switch, socket or light. We carry out some safety electrical testing. The more involved the work the more testing and certification is required. 

We are duty bound to ensure that the electrical installations upon which we perform work are safe to extend and alter. When installing additional lights beyond what is already existing there are other checks that should be carried out to ensure the installation is up to rigorous safety standards. This is for the benefit of everyone using the electrical installation. Beware a very cheap quote for electrical work as it will often mean vital safety checks, testing, certification and other things are missed or avoided in order to cut costs.

6) How quickly can you carry out my new light fitting installation?

Swapping a light fitting is generally a small job and we are normally able to accommodate small jobs within a few days of your booking. If you are asking us to supply and install new down-lights then we will need to check a few things before we do so which will mean a slightly longer wait. 

Down-lights require a cut out in the ceiling and the size of the cut out can vary massively between brand and models. In these cases we will normally give you a quote then once accepted we will visit to check the opening size that we have to work with. We then order the lights and arrange a date to come around and install them for you. We also ensure that our new light fittings offer at least the same degree of safety as your existing ones. In the case of bathrooms we will ensure that the light fittings we supply and install will meet the safety requirements and will be suitable for the special location in which they are being installed. 

7) How much is a light fitting swap?

Typically swapping one customer supplied light fitting would be covered under our minimum charge as shown on our website. There are exceptions to this for instance when a light fitting is very heavy, requires a lot of assembly, requires access equipment in order to safely install the fitting such as in large properties with high landing ceilings and so on. 

8) Lighting electrician in Liverpool

We will always discuss these matters with you before quoting your job.  If you need a NEW LIGHT INSTALLED then give us a call.