![]() ![]() For a shower rated at 7.5kW to 10kW, 10mm2 cable should be used and for a shower rated at 10.5kW to 11kW, 16mm2 should be used. One of the most common questions that gets asked is What size electric cable is needed for an electric shower? As with many situations like this, the answer is, it all depends on how much it draws and its power in kW (kilowatts).Īs a very rough guide, for a shower rated at 6kW to 7kW, 6mm2 cable should be used. Incoming fuse holder in domestic electrical setup Common Shower Ratings and Protective Devices If your supply company are unable to help, your only solution then is to call in a professional electrician. NEVER break the seal on your incoming fuse holder to look at the fuse, this is illegal and could lead to prosecution. Large showers use a lot of power (or load), similar to that of an electric oven, and this can cause issues on older installations that may have consumer units that are not capable of handling this extra load.Īs a rule of thumb, if you have a 60A or 63A main switch, then your supply fuse will likely be 40A or 60A, if it is 80A or 100A the supply fuse will likely be 60A, 80A or 100A, quite often a phone call to your electric supply company can resolve this and tell you exactly what setup you have. What to Check Before Installing an Electric Showerīefore you even settle on the fact you want an electric shower, you should first check your consumer unit (or fuse box) and the size of the supply coming in to your property. More information on this can be found in our wire colours project here.įinally, for any more information on staying safe when working on or around electricity, see our electrical safety project here. ![]() You may also be aware that years ago cable colours were harmonised to those used in Europe and due to this, if you have an older home, you may still have the older wire colours. This is even the case if you are simply swapping an old shower unit for a new one of exactly the same type! For more information please see our project here on Part P Building Regulations.Īdditionally, as a shower is installed in what’s known as a “special location” ( see our project on bathroom zones here for more info), once installed it needs to be signed off and that can only be done by a Part P registered electrician. With this in mind you are not allowed to install an electric shower yourself unless you have the necessary skills and knowledge to fully test it e.g. Failure to do this could render your house insurance invalid and make selling your home very difficult. Regulations now insist that ALL domestic DIY electrical work is checked by a qualified electrician and a minor works certificate issued. Safety is paramount when dealing with any form of DIY, but never more so than when dealing with electricity. Regulations and Safety Information for Electric Showers If you can replace the cable with 10mm I would do that, as it ensures safety, MEM 40A MCBs to fit are freely available and will be fine on 10, and it needs RCD protection too, as you clearly have an older board you need to check that is in place.If you don’t currently have a shower it’s well worth considering installing one as over time it may save you a great deal of funds and there are numerous different types such as the thermostatic bar shower (if you have a boiler), or often more simply, an electric shower. If all is well then likely your new shower will work as the old one, but as showers are not all built the same internally you could find that your old one had multiple elements and therefore, unless it was piping hot never pulled full load, but the new one does. Also look at the inner insulation, if it has crinkled or is very shiny that indicates its been heated up. I would be tempted at the least to do some investigation of the other fittings, look at the ends of the cable, the copper should be bright and shiny, if its very dull brown that indicates annealing due to overheating. So it depends what cable you have and how its laid, its likely 6 mm T&E which is rated at 32A if passed through walls and 47A if clipped to the surface, quite a difference!Ĩ.5kw will draw about 35A at 240V, so likely you are potentially overloading the fuse and cable, however as we tend not to shower for very long, and if you are using the shower on a lower setting it may not have both its elements energised (if it has 2, some do) then it possibly never gets hot enough to be a big issue in the short term (not ideal though!). The fuse or breaker is there to protect the cable from overload, not the appliance.
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