FCU for under cupboard lights?

[grizla]

Hi,

I have flouro lights under my kitchen wall cabinets that are hard wired direct to a light switch, presumably on the lighting circuit.

I want to change them to LED strips, and the ones I want come supplied with a plug. I'm planning on cutting the plug out and connecting them to the existing wiring, but am worried that by doing that I'll be losing the fuse that would otherwise be in the plug.

So, question is, is there anything wrong with doing that, and should I put an FCU in between the switch and the lights, with the fuse from the plug in it?

Cheers.

 

[diyer56]

You will need to confirm that they are on the lighting circuit. If you turn off the lighting circuit MCB/fuse at the consumer unit do the lights stop working?

I asked a similar question recently and you can see the responses in the forum thread linked below:

//www.diynot.com/forums/electrics/to-fuse-or-not-to-fuse.373656/

 

[JohnW2]

I have flouro lights under my kitchen wall cabinets that are hard wired direct to a light switch, presumably on the lighting circuit.

Never assume/presume! However, that probably doesn't matter very much is terms of your question.

I want to change them to LED strips, and the ones I want come supplied with a plug.

I presume (!) that you are sure that it is simply a plug, and not some sort of power supply or driver?

I'm planning on cutting the plug out and connecting them to the existing wiring, but am worried that by doing that I'll be losing the fuse that would otherwise be in the plug. ... So, question is, is there anything wrong with doing that, and should I put an FCU in between the switch and the lights, with the fuse from the plug in it?

As you are rightly thinking, if you did as you propose, and provided that the plug is just a plug, the situation you created would be electrically identical to that if you plugged the plug into a socket (with the same fuse in the FCU as in the plug) - so I can see nothing wrong with it.

Kind Regards, John[/i][/b]

 

[grizla]

Cheers diyer56, your thread is very useful.

JohnW2, I assumed it was on the lighting circuit because it is switched on a multiple switch with other lights on it. I will check that it is though, thanks!

I don't have the LED lights yet, but as far as I can tell the plug is just a plug, and that any transformer/driver is incorporated in the fitting. This is another thing that I will check out.

Thanks for the reply (and for your replies in diyer56's thread, which were also very helpful.)

 

[JohnW2]

JohnW2, I assumed it was on the lighting circuit because it is switched on a multiple switch with other lights on it. I will check that it is though, thanks!

As I implied in what I said, I don't think it would really (in terms of electrical common sense) make much difference if it were not a lighting circuit (although there might be some technical non-compliances with regulations if it was not a lighting circuit). Indeed, if it was actually powered by a sockets circuit, then (by including the FCU) what you are proposing would be appreciably safer than the situation you currently have. If (as is likely) it is a lighting circuit then (depending on the instructions of the LED manufacturer) it may theoretically not be necessary to have an FCU, but you certainly won't reduce safety by having one.

I don't have the LED lights yet, but as far as I can tell the plug is just a plug, and that any transformer/driver is incorporated in the fitting. This is another thing that I will check out.

That is obviously crucial. If you cut off the power supply/driver and connected mains electricity directly to what was left, that could clearly be disastrous!

Kind Regards, John

 

[grizla]

If you cut off the power supply/driver and connected mains electricity directly to what was left, that could clearly be disastrous!

I'll be careful not to do that! Thanks again.