French domestic electrics
Most of the cabling, fittings and methods that are used in the UK are not relevant to or are not the same as the French way of wiring a house so it is important to familiarise yourself with the basics of the French system.
Electricity supply:
In France electricity is supplied by the EDF (Electricite de France) who are the electricity supply authority. They provide each house with the meter, fuses and a mains current operated circuit breaker (disjoncteur differential). These are the property of EDF, so they are security sealed and if they are tampered with there is a fine. What is great about the French system, compared to the UK system, is that you can choose the amount of electricity that you require. The electricity supply generally depends on the size of your property but the standard domestic electricity supply is single phase 230 volts, 50Hz and 3-phase 380 volts to larger properties. EDF offers a range of KW supplies from 3KW to 36KW and when buying a house you choose which rate suits you. There is also the option of off peak tariffs where the cost is much lower if you only use appliances at certain times of the day. This is a popular choice but does require careful consideration of exactly when you are going to use your appliances.
When you have brought your new French property it is important to ascertain exactly which tariff the house is running on and adjust it accordingly if you feel that you are going to need more electricity than it is set at. You can get a meter reading done, called a ‘Releve Special’ to make sure you’re not paying for the previous owner’s electricity and so that you can establish your own rate. If you keep exceeding the set tariff by using all the electrical equipment in your house, then you will find that the electrical supply will keep tripping.
In the UK energy supplies are regulated so there are no fluctuations in the supply. This is not the case in France and as a result there can often be surges or dips in the EDF supply, putting your electrics such as your computer, at risk. In order to ensure that you don’t lose any important data in the event of a power surge or a power cut, you should fit an uninterruptable power supply to your computer. This ensures that the computer has a regulated energy supply, whatever happens.
Wiring Methods:
– In France the cables are always either single core or sheathed and have to be fitted in conduits for safety reasons and also so that they look presentable. If there are hidden cables they must be run vertically rather than horizontally.
– In the UK you will generally find that a ring system is in place but the French system, by contrast, is one of spurs; also known as a radial circuit. Wires come from the distribution box and each of these mains spurs is able to carry a maximum of 16 amps at 220 volts – or roughly 8 lights or 8 socket outlets.
– Since it is very uncommon in France to find a plug top with a fuse in it, any appliance that is connected to a power outlet is not protected anywhere except at the fuse board.
– For larger power items separate circuits are used. These include items such as washing machines, cookers, dish washers, water heaters and larger kitchen appliances.
– When it comes to wiring in France you’ll generally find that most buildings use a multi-junction-box approach but you can carefully select the socket and switch boxes that are used in order to minimise the amount of junction boxes. You must always make sure that the junction boxes that are used are accessible if needs be.
– In France the amount of outlets on each circuit is limited when it comes to power and lighting and it depends on the size of the cable being used and the protection device that is in place. Multi-point light switches work on a relay system (telerupteur) but you can use a 2-way or an intermediate switch as an alternative.
– When it comes to bathroom and kitchen appliances you must make sure that a ‘RCD’ (a differential switch- interrupteur differential) is incorporated to the fuse board. French regulations specify one 25A 30mA RCD for up to 35m2 living space, one 40A 30mA RCD for between 35sqm and 100sqm, and two 40A30mA RCDs for up to 100sqm.
Colour code for wiring systems in France:
Luckily the colours of the wires are the same as in the UK, however, you will find that the earth lead is nearly always missing.
BLACK/BROWN = generally always the live conductor
BLUE = neutral wire
GREEN/YELLOW STRIPED = earth wire
RED = live wire inside a fuse box
Earthing principles:
Older French properties are known for not being earthed. It is your responsibility to provide your house with its own earth connection and the norm in France is to use copper earthing rods of two metres to do this, which are then wired to the Barrette de Repartition (removable connector to permit resistance of earth to be measured.) When buying a property you must make sure this connection is checked. If the ground is rocky then you might find earthing plates are used instead of rods, which will be set in a trench near your property to a minimum depth of 1 metre.
Fuse boards:
Some older properties may have a fuse box on every floor but modern houses are generally fitted with one box. Under the French system it is a legal requirement to have a RCD (residual current device) of 30ma sensitivity fitted into the distribution system. This functions as protection against the risk of being electrocuted if there is an earth fault. You might find that they often trip in storms because they are so sensitive but even so they need to be periodically tested to make sure that they do trip. This is done simply by pressing the button on the front of the box. In the French system fuses and circuit breakers are ‘double pole’ which means that if there is a trip, both live and neutral are isolated.