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Installations & upgrades

Lighting installations and LED upgrades

Changing a light looks simple from the room. Whether the result is safe depends mostly on what you cannot see from below: the circuit the light is on, whether that circuit has an earth and RCD protection, and what is above the plasterboard. It also depends on the fitting being made for the place it goes. We install new lighting and upgrade old lighting in homes and workplaces, indoors and out, then test the work and certify it.

Request a quote 020 3883 1321
Fittings
Checked for where they go: bathroom zones, outside walls, fire-rated ceilings
Quoting
Like-for-like swaps can often be priced from photos; new circuits usually need a visit
Paperwork
A Minor Works certificate, or an Electrical Installation Certificate for a new circuit

  1. The cable to the switch runs straight up from it to the ceiling, inside the zone where hidden cables are expected, so later fixings into the wall can avoid it.

  2. The LED driver and the junction box sit beside the opening, where they can be reached later. Connections hidden in a void must stay accessible for inspection unless they are a maintenance-free type.

  3. Where a ceiling is part of the fire protection between floors or homes, a fire-rated downlight, fitted as its maker specifies, is designed to keep the hole cut for it from weakening that protection.

  4. Insulation is kept back from a downlight by the distance its maker specifies, unless the fitting is designed to be covered.

  5. Outside, the fitting needs an IP rating that suits how exposed it is. The cable passes through the wall in a sleeve that falls slightly outwards, and enters the fitting through a sealed entry.

Fig. 1 — Section through a ceiling with a floor above, and an outdoor light on the external wall (Illustration)

Sound familiar?

What usually prompts a lighting job

The same few details matter whether you are refitting a kitchen, replacing halogen downlights in a rented flat or moving a shop over to LED. The drawing shows where they sit in a ceiling with a floor above it, and on an outside wall.

If water is coming through a light fitting, or a ceiling rose, lampholder or switch is scorched or smells of burning, do not use the switch or touch the fitting. Keep people away and call us; if there is smoke or fire, call 999. What to do while you wait: Urgent electrical problems.

  • Halogen downlights or fluorescent tubes you want to replace with LED fittings
  • LED lamps that flicker, buzz or will not dim smoothly on an existing dimmer
  • A kitchen refit that needs downlights, pendants over an island or lights under the wall cupboards
  • A bathroom refit, where each light near the bath or shower has to suit the zone it is in
  • A dark front door, side passage, path or garden
  • Stairs, a landing or a long room that can only be switched from one end
  • An inspection report that lists a lighting point, such as a fitting that needs an earth on a circuit without one
  • Fluorescent fittings in a shop, office or store room that keep failing

Who this helps

  • Homeowners

    New downlights or under-cupboard lighting in a kitchen refit, lighting for a new bathroom, dated fittings replaced, or a light by the front or back door.

  • Landlords and managing agents

    Failed or dated fittings replaced between tenancies, lighting items raised on an inspection report, and communal stair and landing lights.

  • Shops, offices and workplaces

    Fluorescent fittings replaced with LED, lighting moved after a change of layout, and switching or sensors so lights are not left on in empty rooms.

  • Anyone refurbishing a room

    Lighting planned alongside the rest of the electrics, so cables are in place before ceilings are boarded and walls are plastered.

The stages

How a lighting project comes together

Most of a lighting job is decided before a fitting goes up. Each stage settles something the next one relies on.

  1. Positions and circuits

    Where each light and switch goes, which lights share a switch or dimmer, and whether the existing circuit can supply them or a new circuit is needed.

  2. Fittings for each place

    Bathroom zones, outside walls, fire-rated ceilings and insulated voids each limit what can go there. Every fitting is checked against its location, including any you buy.

  3. Installation

    In a refurbishment, cables go in before ceilings are boarded and walls plastered. Fittings are fixed and connected once the surfaces are finished, with drivers, and any joints that must stay accessible, left where they can be reached.

  4. Testing and certificate

    The completed work is inspected and tested, and the certificate records what was installed and the results.

Step by step

How the work is done

Before we quote

Start with a description of what you want lit and some photos: the existing fittings, the ceiling or wall they are on, and your consumer unit with its cover in place. A like-for-like swap can often be priced from that. New circuits, new downlight positions, outdoor lighting and commercial upgrades usually need a visit, because the cable routes and the way the ceiling is built decide how the job is done.

On a visit we look at the consumer unit and the lighting circuits, including whether they have RCD protection and whether the existing lights have an earth. We also find out what is above each ceiling (a loft, another room of your home or another flat) and how a cable can reach each new position.

Some things only show once a ceiling is opened, such as older wiring that needs attention or a joist where a light was planned. If that changes the work or the price, you are asked before anything extra is done.

  1. Agree positions and fittings

    Light and switch positions, fittings and controls are confirmed with you before anything is cut, along with dates and access.

  2. Check the supplying circuit

    Before anything is added, the circuit that will supply the lighting is checked: its protective device, RCD protection, earthing and general condition.

  3. Isolate, then install

    The circuit is isolated and proved dead before work on it starts. Cables are run, fittings fixed and connected, and insulation put back around them as each fitting allows.

  4. Inspect and test

    The new work and the circuit it joins are inspected and tested, including the protective device and RCD, and the results are recorded.

  5. Set up the controls

    Dimmers, sensors and timers are set and shown to you, and you are told which lamps suit any fitting that takes replaceable ones.

  6. Certificate

    You receive a Minor Works certificate where an existing circuit was added to or altered, or an Electrical Installation Certificate where a new circuit was installed.

Before the light goes up

Safe depends on what you cannot see.

Whether a new light is safe depends mostly on the circuit it is on, whether that circuit has an earth and RCD protection, and what is above the plasterboard. We check those first, then test the work and certify it.

Scope

What is included

Included

  • A check of the circuit that will supply the new lighting before anything is added to it
  • A check that every fitting suits its position, including any you have bought yourself
  • Switches, dimmers, sensors and timers fitted and set up
  • Inspection and testing of the new work, with the results recorded on your certificate

Depends on what we find

  • In a home, whether the lighting circuit already has RCD protection; if it does not, it may need adding before the circuit is extended
  • Whether there is an earth at each light position, which decides whether fittings that need one (Class I) can go there
  • What is above the ceiling: another floor or home, loft insulation, or joists and pipes where a light was planned
  • Whether the existing circuit can take the new lights or a new circuit is needed, which changes the certificate and whether the work is notifiable
  • In a workplace, whether any fittings being replaced are also emergency lights, which affects how they are replaced and the emergency lighting records

Afterwards

  • Keep the certificate with the makers’ instructions for the new fittings, so whoever works on the lighting next can see what was installed and the test results
  • Use only lamps the fitting is rated for, and dimmable LED lamps on a dimmer
  • Integrated LED fittings have no separate lamp: when one fails, the driver or the whole fitting needs replacing by an electrician

Not covered by this service: Emergency lighting, which has its own standard, testing and records; Plastering and redecorating around new or moved positions, unless your quote includes it; Lighting for an extension or loft conversion, which is planned with the rest of the build.

The paperwork you may receive

  • Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

    Small additions and alterations that do not add a new circuit, such as an extra socket on an existing circuit.

    • A description of the work
    • Test results for the circuit that was altered
    • The signature of the person responsible

  • Electrical Installation Certificate

    New installations, rewires and new circuits.

    • What was installed and the design details
    • A schedule of test results for each circuit
    • Signatures for design, installation and inspection

Simplified outline, not a real certificate (Illustration)

Standards and regulations

We are a NICEIC Approved Contractor, registration number 619998000, and fully insured. How to check our registration and insurance.

  • REFInstallation to the current edition of BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, including its particular requirements for locations containing a bath or shower (Section 701) and for outdoor lighting installations such as garden and path lighting (Section 714)
  • REFIn England, electrical work in homes must meet Part P of the Building Regulations. Some of it must be notified to building control, including installing a new circuit, and adding to or altering a circuit in the space around a bath or shower
  • REFWhere a ceiling is part of the fire separation between floors or between homes, fittings set into it should not reduce its fire resistance (Building Regulations, Approved Document B)

Questions

Questions about lighting

Can you fit light fittings I have bought myself?

In most cases. Send the product details before you buy if you can, or before the visit if you already have them. We check each fitting against the position it is going in and against the dimmer or control it will be used with. If one is not suitable where you want it, we tell you why before it goes up.

Do I need fire-rated downlights?

Not in every ceiling. They matter where the ceiling is part of the building’s fire protection, which is often the case where there is another floor or another flat above. Below a loft, the bigger question is usually insulation: whether the fitting can be covered or the insulation has to be kept clear of it. We check what is above each ceiling before recommending a fitting.

Will LED lighting lower my electricity bills?

LED fittings usually draw less power than halogen or older fluorescent fittings giving a similar amount of light. How much difference that makes depends on how many fittings you change, their wattage before and after, and how many hours a day they are on. We do not put a figure on savings; ask us for the wattage of the fittings we propose so you can compare them with what you have.

Why do my new LED lamps flicker or buzz?

Often because the dimmer was made for older filament or halogen lamps and does not control LED lamps smoothly, or because the lamps are not dimmable. Check the packaging says dimmable. If it does and the problem continues, the dimmer may need replacing with one suited to LED lamps. Flickering where there is no dimmer is worth having looked at, because it can point to a loose connection.

Can you put new lights in a bathroom?

Yes. The space around a bath or shower is divided into zones, and each zone sets the minimum protection against water that a fitting must have, shown by its IP rating. Under the current wiring regulations, circuits serving a bathroom also need RCD protection. In England, adding to or altering a circuit in the space around a bath or shower is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations.

Can I have lights outside the house or in the garden?

Yes. A light on the house wall is usually fed from a circuit indoors, through the wall behind it. Lights further away, on a path or in a border, need a cable route that is protected from damage, whether buried or fixed along a wall. Either way, each fitting needs an IP rating that suits how exposed it is. How far the lights are from the house, and what the cable has to cross, such as a lawn or a patio, decide most of the work.

Do I need a certificate, or building control, to change a light?

Replacing a fitting with a similar one is not usually notifiable to building control. Installing a new circuit is, and so is adding to or altering a circuit in the space around a bath or shower. As for the certificate, lights added to an existing circuit are recorded on a Minor Works certificate, and a new circuit on an Electrical Installation Certificate. If your job is notifiable, ask us before it starts how it will be notified.

Will I be without power while you work?

The lights on the circuit being worked on are off while we work on it, and the whole supply may be off briefly if a new circuit is connected at the consumer unit. Other circuits normally stay on. If a freezer, an alarm or a home office has to keep its power, say so when you book.

Often needed alongside

Next step

Send us photos and a description

Photos of the fittings, the ceiling and the consumer unit, plus a note of whether there is a loft or another floor overhead, tell us whether the job can be priced from photos or needs a visit.

What to send us

  • The property type and postcode, and which rooms or outside areas are involved
  • Photos of the existing lights and switches, and of the consumer unit with its cover on
  • What is above each ceiling: a loft, another floor of your home, or another flat
  • Product details of any fittings you have chosen or already bought
  • For outdoor lights, where you want them and roughly how far that is from the house
  • For a business, your opening hours and when the lighting can be off

An enquiry is not a booking: we contact you first, and you see a written quote before anything goes ahead.

We list towns in London and surrounding areas, Kent, Essex, East Sussex and West Sussex. Check your postcode.

Call or email us for a free quote

Tell us the postcode and a little about the job. We will contact you to discuss it, and you get a written quote before any work starts. Quotes are free. Some survey or diagnostic visits may be charged: ask when you book.

Call 020 3883 1321 Email us

Our email address: support@dualcurrent.co.uk

Helpful to include

  • The postcode of the property
  • What the job is, or what is going wrong
  • Photos, if you have them, taken without removing any covers
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