In article ,
Tony Bryer writes:
In article , Lurch wrote:
I have a property of that period similarly wired.
Live loops around switches, neutral between ceiling roses -
quite confusing till you get your head round it!
Wouldn't suprise me if this was done for cheapness.
With new additions to mine, I've tended to adopt modern
wiring protocols (rightly or wrongly).

That is modern protocol, just not as common as the 'loop-in'
method. It's not wrong, just different.

It sounds less than wise to me, because you end up with
unbalanced currents in different cables. Wouldn't this do
undesirable things where the cable was (say) in a length of
metal conduit?

Yes, it's not allowed in steel conduit. In theory it
causes edie current heating if the wires enter steel back
boxes through different punchouts, but I doubt it will be
significant enough to notice at domestic lighting circuit
current levels.

Another reason you aren't supposed to do it is it stops
induction loop hearing aids working, and this can affect
neighbouring properties too. Unbalanced wiring layout
of 2-way switched landing lights is a common cause of this
problem.

--
Andrew Gabriel