DIY - Installing Electrical Sockets

Electrical sockets that are provided right at the time of house construction at various spots are one of the most important electrical products for ease of operating many electrical appliances as well as other electrical needs. However, it so happens that sometimes the number of electrical sockets fall short and we have to use extension cords for plugging in our electrical products. These extension cords are not a very safe alternative to electrical sockets, especially in a home with children and pets. Also, extension cords cannot be used for heavy or power-intensive appliances. So, installing electrical sockets is more convenient as well as safe. People who love DIY electrical projects like to install electrical sockets themselves. This DIY project is, in fact, not very tough. However, all kinds of safety measures should be taken while installing electrical sockets, after all, you are working with electricity! Here are some tips on DIY installing of electrical sockets for your help.

Turn off Power Supply before Installing Electrical Sockets
As working with electricity is a risky affair, you must first of all turn of the main switch. Also ensure that all the lines that you are going to touch have no power at all. If some of the electrical lines of your house are not controlled by the automatic main power switch, get a volt tester to make sure, any of them do not have power. If possible, remove the wounded wires inside the automatic switch to completely make the lines in the house powerless. In short, switch off the power at the consumer unit and switch off the MCB (you may also remove the fuse) that protects the circuit you wish to work on. Double check by plugging in an appliance and switch it on to see if it gets live. Safety is the first and the most important caution you must exercise before installing electrical sockets.

Check the Supply Socket for Installing Electrical Sockets
After totally switching off the power supply, unscrew the faceplate from your selected socket and pull it away from mounting box so that you can see the cable cores connected to terminals on the back of the faceplate. If you see only one cable, it means the socket is already supplied by a spur. If there are 3 cables, it is supplying a spur. In either of the cases, the socket is not suitable for your DIY electrical socket installation project and you should not use it. A socket that has two cables must be used for installing electrical sockets. Check whether it is on a ring main with the help of a continuity tester. When you are done with finding a suitable supply socket, unscrew the terminals and release the cores from the faceplate. Now remove the screws that attach the mounting box to the wall and remove it.

Get the Right Height for Installing Electrical Sockets
Electrical sockets should be well above possible flood levels (that vary from region to region). However, avoid installing electric sockets too high, it would make it inconvenient for using. In fact, switches and sockets in a house must be installed in such a way that persons with limited reach can use them easily. The recommended height for electrical sockets is between 170 mm to 450mm from the floor.

Extend Circuit for Installing Electrical Sockets
After determining the height for installing electrical sockets, prepare the cable route to the location of the new socket. Cables should be made to run along the ceiling void or under the floor to a point directly above or below the switch or appliance outlet and never run diagonally across walls to reach the switch. Feed the new cable f rom the supply socket to the new electrical socket. Thread the ends of the cable through the holes in the mounting boxes at the supply and the new socket after fitting grommets in the holes to protect the cable. Now screw both mounting boxes in position.

Make Connections to Supply Socket for Installing Electrical Sockets
Prepare both ends of the new cable for connection. At the supply socket you will find three cables. Match the cores from all the three cables - Live (L), Neutral (N) and Earth (E), and connect to the corresponding terminals on the faceplate. There are two color-coded insulation- old and new- on the Live and Neutral cores of the existing cables. Old color coded system for cable cores has Red for Live and Black for Neutral. New color coded system for cable cores has Brown for Live and Blue for Neutral. The earth cores on both are covered with yellow-and-green sleeving. Connect the red and brown cores to the terminal marked L. Connect the black and blue cores to the terminal marked N. Connect the yellow-and-green cores to the terminal marked E. Make sure that all the cores are held securely in the terminals and then push the cores into the mounting box and screw the faceplate back.

Now your DIY electrical socket installing project is reaching its end. You have now just to make connections at the new socket in the same way- by matching cores and connecting them to the corresponding terminals. Connect the brown core to the terminal marked L; blue core to the terminal marked N; and yellow-and-green core to the terminal marked E. Push the cores into the mounting box and screw the faceplate to the mounting box. At the consumer unit, replace the fuse or switch on the MCB to supply power to all the electrical sockets in the house.