On Thu, 8 Mar 2018 19:48:14 +0000
John Rumm wrote:

On 08/03/2018 16:44, SteveE wrote:
My 89 y/o mother can no longer reach the switch above the mirror
and I want to change it for a LED pullcord light.

The old light was installed by a bathroom fitter and was not
earthed.

This light requires an earth connection but further investigation
has revealed that her upstairs lighting circuit has no earth.

Can I borrow an earth from an accessible ring-circuit in these
circumstances?

Its not a good idea to borrow conductors from other circuits.

Thanks, this is why I was uneasy about doing it.


If you must* take a feed from another circuit, then take the Line and
Neutral from there as well (via a FCU). Remember to include the earth
for the new circuit into the bathroom's equipotential bonding.

I think I'll take this approach as it will be as easy as just taking a
single earth wire down.

* One could argue that for a pull cord switch, where any metallic
part of the switch is out of reach, one could omit the earthing
without too much risk. Better choose a lamp fitting that is double
insulated and does not require an earth.


Yes, the pull cord will provide some isolation and she is under
instruction not to touch the metallic part until it's sorted.