Photo: Mike B

What cable do I need to power my shed?

armoured cable One of the most frequently asked questions is what outdoor electrical cable do I need to power my shed? The answer is armoured cable.

meteorelectrical.com - 10 Tips For Powering Your Shed Or Garden - Meteor Electrical

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Since the first Covid-19 lockdown hit, many people throughout the UK and Ireland have opted to take on new DIY projects, both inside and outside of the home. It’s now common to see gyms, offices, beauty salons, and bars pop up in your neighbours’ garden. With more and more companies adopting a working from home and hybrid working pattern, people are no longer happy to work from their bedroom, sofa, or kitchen table. Therefore, office sheds, known as ‘shoffices’ are in high demand and at the top of the DIY to-do list! The biggest challenge for the DIYer is running electricity to the shed . Whether you are looking for an easy way to install an elaborate new water feature that needs mains power to run or need to power your new office or gym space. For the best results follow these home improvement tips below from Meteor Electrical on getting mains power to your shed or garden. SAFETY TIP: Never attempt any electrical work in a shed without the necessary qualifications or without fully consulting a professional electrician first. Attempting this kind of work alone can lead to a poor end result at best and serious injury at worst, so always ensure you are comfortable with what you’re doing.

1. Plan Your Layout and Devices

Before you begin any work, you need to consider what you want from your new source of power and what you can safely fit into the project. If you’re retrofitting into a previous space, check it for leaks and ensure it’s well insulated to prevent mould or moisture build up. Think about why you need to power your shed. Do you need to power a treadmill in the corner for your gym, or perhaps a desktop and printer for your new shoffice?

Draw up a basic floor plan and know what electronics you want in the space. Your electrician will want full details on everything you intend to do with the space and the more information you give them the better the end result will be. With a clearly laid out floor plan, you will figure out how to efficiently run electricity to your shed. The plan will allow your electrician to be a lot more efficient with their time and arrive at your house with the required supplies to wire the shed, avoiding a second call-out charge. For example, if you are using your shed space for an office, you will need switches and sockets and 3 compartment dado trunking for the access and segregation of power, data, and communication to be installed within the shed. For a bar shed, you might want to install LED strip lighting underneath the counter to create ambiance.

2. Run Electric To Shed Above-Ground Or Underground?

Before you begin your project, you need to decide how you want to run your new cabling. Overhead is much faster to install but with a much higher risk of damage to the wiring, which could create a safety hazard. You should only consider running electrical cable outside if you’re running power less than 10 feet from your home to the new outlet. You may also be interested in armoured cable for the shed. An option for above-ground wiring is to run the armoured cable from an adaptable junction box from your house to the shed. Running cable underground is ideal if you’re planning to turn your project into a permanent fixture and is the safer option. Use a PVC conduit for your wiring or specialist underground cabling. Ensure you bury at a depth of 18 inches beneath paths or patios and 30 inches below grass and flowerbeds.

3. Consult The Experts on How To Put Electricity In A Shed

Do you know how to put electricity in a shed? If you want to save costs you can do a lot of this work yourself, however you should obviously only attempt this if you feel competent enough to do the work involved. Regardless of your skill level, unless you are a qualified electrician, you should never attempt to do any main electrical work. Instead, get an electrician to consult on the project before you begin. This will allow you to decide where your trench will run (if you decide on running underground wiring) and what materials you will need. Once the safest and most efficient location is agreed with a professional, you can start digging the trench to have it ready for the electrician, helping you save money on labour costs.

Check out this vide showing how to put electricity in a shed:

Credit: Practical Home Projects

Outdoor Electrical Cable

One of the most frequently asked questions is what outdoor electrical cable do I need to power my shed? The answer is armoured cable. Also referred to as SWA or steel wired armoured cable, a power cable with many insulated cores covered in PVC bedding, protected by a galvanised steel braided wire with an outer thick black PVC sheath. The armour is intended to lessen the possibility of the cable being pinched or damaged, while the steel is used to protect the armoured cable. Because SWA cables are thick and difficult to bend, they are best suited for underground wiring. Therefore, armoured cable is the most suitable cable to be used in harsh external or underground systems when running electrical cable outside to your shed.

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How To Get Internet to My Shed

If you have a strong wireless connection and a short distance from your router to your new project you can use your Wi-Fi as if you were in your house. Test your reception signal in your new area if you don’t think your router is up to the job you can use an armoured ethernet cable instead. There are now many options when installing Wi-Fi to your shed. Here are the 2 most popular solutions:

Install a Wi-Fi booster.

Run ethernet cable underground from the router to a your shed.

Firstly, you can simply try a Wi-Fi booster that might work if your connection is strong enough. These are designed to amplify the signal from your router so devices can work at a greater range. While these will not provide the speed of a wired connection, they produce a signal that is fine for general internet use and browsing. In most shoffices or home gyms, this will not be sufficient, particularly if you heavily rely on using the internet in the shed for important zoom calls or classes. Running an ethernet cable is the most bulletproof solution and one we recommend if you plan on using internet in your shed long-term. In addition, you may want to consult with a professional decorator to select the most appropriate materials and finish, to ensure that your new project lasts, and it is not vulnerable to damage from moisture. For example, if you are turning your shed into a home gym and you want a wet/shower area, it is important that you understand zones and ingress protection (IP) ratings and take extreme care when selecting the fitting for that specific zone. For more information on IP ratings and zones to help with lighting, read our blog here.

How to Get Light into My Shed

Are you searching for a little light for when you're putting equipment away or storing the lawnmower, or do you want to work far into the night (whether in a workshop or a shoffice)?

In any case, there are many shed lighting electrical options.

You should determine the kind of shed lighting electrical option will be most effective for you. Will your shed have LED illumination inside or ground lighting for the stairs leading up to it?

The following terms and shed lighting electrical guidelines should be considered:

What is the best cost-effective (and energy-efficient) way to illuminate your area? How much light is produced by the light is its brightness. This is measured in lumens, and the more lumens there are, the brighter the light is. How long does a light source last after it is turned on? (And what is its expected lifetime?) Are the lights self-installable? Do they run on batteries, or will you have to wire your shed? Are you going to need an electrician? The colour temperature of the shed lighting.

Shed Lighting Electrical Recommendations

LED Shed Lighting

One of the best shed lighting electrical option is LED bulbs.

LEDs are incredibly effective and robust. Additionally, there are several other LED colour and design possibilities, ranging from spotlights to striplights. Although LEDs might be excellent for garden workshops, they can also cast shadows, flicker, and provide harsh lighting conditions since they are quite "cool." Instead of using white light, think about using a "warmer" colour. However, you may avoid this by adding extra lighting.

Security Shed Lighting

There are even more possibilities if you want to purchase outside lights for your shed to improve security. You can consider choosing a set of outdoor security lights with a motion sensor. Alternately, think about investing in security lights that turn on at night and shut off in the morning. These light sensors will contribute to the long-term security and financial savings of your garden shed. You may either attach floodlights on the front of your shed. Also, consider your shed's entrance path; you might wish to light this area. You can’t begin any work with rerouting your mains electricity without first ensuring you comply with the legal building regulations. Contact your local authority to inform them of the project and fully understand what current rules you need to meet when wiring a shed. They can provide further clarity on the outside electrical cable wiring regulations if you need.

Electricity to Shed Wiring Regulations UK

Any electrical work done in the garden, such as wiring a shed, should be securely fastened and protected from potential accidental damage. All electrical equipment and fittings must be suitable for outdoor usage and must be fitted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Cable Wiring Regulations

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If you opt for underground wiring when wiring a shed, the wires should be routed in such a way that they are not likely to be harmed by any foreseeable disturbance and buried at a sufficient depth, normally, not less than 600 mm is considered. If you are wiring a shed and it is buried underground, it must be marked by cable covers in accordance with regulation 522.8.10. The regulation states that “Burried cables, conduits, and ducts shall be at sufficient depth to avoid being damaged by any reasonably foreseeable disturbances to the ground”. In addition, when you come to sell your property you will need the necessary certification to hand in, you’ll need a Part P inspection upon completion of your project of wiring a shed. You can get this from your NICEIC qualified electrician.

5. Dig Your Trench For Running Electrical Cable To Your Shed

After your plan is drawn up and passed by a professional, you can start digging your trench. This is work that you can safely carry out yourself, instead of paying an electrician. Refer back to the cable regulations for powering your shed and the depth that is required. After this step is carried out, the ground can receive the cable and feed the power through to your shed. It is recommended to dig the trench during good weather. It can be extremely frustrating to dig a trench and it only to be destroyed by the rain. This will also delay your electrician. While most cases for external home projects will require rerouting mains power, renewable energy is now reaching the stage where smaller projects can solely be powered by a solar panel. If you only need lighting for the new project you can buy a solar panel kit that is fairly simple to install and will provide several hours worth of illumination using a completely sustainable source of energy. However, installing enough solar panels to run a few mains outlets wouldn’t be cost-efficient if you plan on running devices like a TV or computer, then you’re best option is to direct your mains power instead.

7. Get an RCD

An RCD (Residual Current Device) is essential to any outdoor electrical project. The purpose of the RCD is to immediately shut off the electrical flow in the presence of dampness or overheating, this prevents potential fires and severe injury through electric shock. While any larger outdoor electrical cable project will require an RCD, no matter the scale of your project we strongly recommend installing this device for safety reasons.

8. Use Your Time Wisely

As we are talking about a project with a fairly long list of things to do, it can seem tempting to spread this work across many months. However, if you’re in a country where the weather is inconsistent (as is the case in the UK and Ireland) you’ll want to use good weather to your advantage. A good plan is to dedicate an amount of time to the technical side of your project (electrics, installation, and preparation) and commit to a later date for all the aesthetic elements (painting, carpeting etc.).

9. Outsource machinery when necessary

You can save time in your renovation by renting industrial tools from your local hardware store. If you decide to run an underground trench you may want to get a petrol-driven trench machine, this will turn a task of many hours into a much faster step that saves a lot of time in the long run. These machines can be hired out at a low cost.

10. Avoid Cutting corners

While a project like a shed conversion or running electrical to shed can seem like a lot of work, all the steps need to be followed in order to create a final result that is safe and looks good. Some people decide to save time by using an outdoor extension cable in place of proper rerouting of the mains power. These cables are designed for temporary use, they are fine when running power tools for any power tools you need to use during the project. But using this method for a permanent solution presents a long-term risk of damage and fire hazard. In addition, when sourcing any materials ensure all electrical items are bought from legitimate retailers with the appropriate BSI kitemarks and regulatory stamps. Following our home renovation recommendations on running electric to your shed or garden will provide you with safe and great results. Check out our wide range of Armoured Cable, available for next day delivery. Not sure what size of Armoured Cable you need? Contact one of our cable experts on 028 (048) 867 51515 or speak to one of our friendly advisors on the live chat!

meteorelectrical.com - 10 Tips For Powering Your Shed Or Garden - Meteor Electrical

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