Plenty of people think that electrical installations are a glorified version of the old kid’s building toy Meccano – just screwing stuff together and hoping that it holds fast when the covers are put back even though the screws had an inexplicable penchant for unscrewing themselves. Don’t be an idiot with electricity. The key to understanding the risks is to realise that without proper installation, inspection and testing when fault conditions arise they can be lethal. Fault conditions arise in a variety of circumstances, some of which are less predictable than others. Perhaps you have accidentally put a screw through a live wire but didn’t know? Perhaps something came loose inside your washing machine and you didn’t know? Perhaps you were using a cheap plug you bought on Ebay without thinking about the risks of using it? The list goes on and on. If in any doubt whatsoever, use a registered electrician to carry out your electrical work. If you’re hell bent on doing it yourself, here’s some safety advice which you must know:
Got that? Downlighters are all the blooming rage ain’t they? What’s wrong with a good old fashioned ceiling rose and pendant, I ask? If I had my way all these poncy looking lighting systems would banned. They’d be banned and the designers of them shunned for introducing more complexity into an electrician’s workload. Alas, for some reason the British Standards Institution just doesn’t call me up to ask for advice. Just think of all the effort I’d save!