# Buying light fittings in France



## Tootsie63

I believe the French electricity system supply/wiring etc is quite different to that of UK/Ireland and wondered where I would purchase light fittings, kitchen equipment, electric showers online compatible with the French electrics.

Is there any point in bringing over our fridge, washing machine and drier and other electrical appliances?

Thankyou


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## DrChips

Main difference is that you may be used to Ring mains etc. here in France most supplies are spurs running from a central distribution point. You will often find that lights and sockets are on the came Circuit Breaker. All white goods etc are compatible, but unless you are very fond of them, new ones with a warranty is probably best. Light fittings and all other bits are from Bricolage (often online) B&Q here is Castorama or Brico Depot and there are many other very good outlets with a wide range of choices. The way light circuits work often confuses new residents, they are often multiple switches (that spring rather than stay on) which are connected to Interrupters which switch the lights. Back boxes, sockets and switches also follow different designs that you may be used to.

Internet is a good starting place, as well as here.

Good luck with your plans.

Franck


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## rynd2it

Tootsie63 said:


> I believe the French electricity system supply/wiring etc is quite different to that of UK/Ireland and wondered where I would purchase light fittings, kitchen equipment, electric showers online compatible with the French electrics.
> 
> Is there any point in bringing over our fridge, washing machine and drier and other electrical appliances?
> 
> Thankyou


I have no idea where you got that information but it is wrong. There is basically no difference between UK and French electrical items apart from the plugs & sockets which are a vast improvement over the appallingly badly conceived UK 13-amp fused plug. You can even buy 4-way extension leads on Amazon UK which have a French plug on the end so no need even to change all those horrible 13-amp things. Bring everything you have - it will all work just fine.

The house wiring can be a bit different but if the house you are buying is up to French code then you can basically forget about it.


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## Crabtree

In respect of electric showers you should note that they are not universally popular in France due to the fact that the electric supply comes in different KWage ie 3 6 9 12 etc and the higher the KW supply the higher the standing charge If your devices overload your supply then the whole supply is automatically disconnected which can be a tad inconvenient if you are in the middle of showering


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## Franco-Belgian Brit

Crabtree said:


> In respect of electric showers you should note that they are not universally popular in France due to the fact that the electric supply comes in different KWage ie 3 6 9 12 etc and the higher the KW supply the higher the standing charge If your devices overload your supply then the whole supply is automatically disconnected which can be a tad inconvenient if you are in the middle of showering


Just to add that in France (and here in Belgium) you don't have that water tank in the loft so the basic water pressure is that of the mains which is normally strong enough for a shower.


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## clothmama

I've never seen an electric showers here thank goodness - the most awful things ever invented - I couldn't believe my eyes - well body I guess  when I first arrived in the UK and was forced to use one! As others have said water pressure here is excellent (sometimes too strong and you need a reducer) so you just don't need one. All your other things will work fine either with a new plug (about €1,50) or as others have said using a UK 4 gang.


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## ccm47

We found my sewing machine to be absolutely the same for both countries. Being keen to use French sockets throughout the house, we unscrewed the UK 3 pin socket ready to put a 2 pin socket on, only to find that there was a French one ready wired within! The 3 pin was an adapter in its own right.


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## BackinFrance

clothmama said:


> I've never seen an electric showers here thank goodness - the most awful things ever invented - I couldn't believe my eyes - well body I guess  when I first arrived in the UK and was forced to use one! As others have said water pressure here is excellent (sometimes too strong and you need a reducer) so you just don't need one. All your other things will work fine either with a new plug (about €1,50) or as others have said using a UK 4 gang.


Thanks for posting - I had no idea what an electric shower was


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## UikosAkol

Hello there, thank you for mentioning here the differences between electric systems.


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## Befuddled

If you are considering doing your own house rewiring you need to dig a little deeper than an expat forum. There are some comprehensive French books on the subject. 
Apart from the basic info mentioned above, avoid at all costs just using the little travel adaptors. Chop off the UK knuckle busters and put on French ones. Cheap and safe. The little adaptors they flog on the ferry are low current rated and only suitable for shavers and phone chargers. If you plug in a hairdryer or coffee machine they can overheat and burst into flame. If you have a load of the little block transformers for laptops, etc. you will have to buy a cheap UK multi-socket and cut the male plug off and change it for a French one.


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## Peasant

rynd2it said:


> ...the appallingly badly conceived UK 13-amp fused plug...


The British 13-amp fused plug is probably the safest plug in the world.


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## Befuddled

Only safe if it is wired correctly. The UK safety cutouts at the distribution point only disconnect the Live circuit leaving the Negative circuit intact. The French cutouts disconnect both simultaneously.


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## rynd2it

Peasant said:


> The British 13-amp fused plug is probably the safest plug in the world.


Quite possibly but it's horribly over engineered and there is no such thing as a two-pin plug. The fuse is irrelevant as RCDs etc will trip long before that slow burn fuse will, it doesn't protect anything.


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## Barriej

Befuddled said:


> Only safe if it is wired correctly. The UK safety cutouts at the distribution point only disconnect the Live circuit leaving the Negative circuit intact. The French cutouts disconnect both simultaneously.


Nope all modern Uk installs should have 2 channel RCBO which will cut both Neg and Live. And each one can have its own earth cable to ensure proper operation.
They can even be retro fitted into older consumer units. 
The rules allowed for them to be fitted in 2015...and depending on the type of install they were...


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## UikosAkol

You mentioned the compatibility of electrical systems, DrChips, so I was wondering if Vont bulbs would work in French electrical systems? I didn't know that information, so I had already ordered bulbs and LED strips from them. I just moved to Paris last week, so please help me now.<snip> I never thought that electrical systems could be identified by country. Well, maybe I'm just a dumb yankee, lol. Thanks in advance for the response, gentlemen!


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