# EElectrics in Spanish Properties



## pewe (May 12, 2015)

Does anyone here know anything about the electrical wiring practices used in Spanish domestic property (built after 2000).

In particular what I am trying to establish is

- Do they use a ring main (or spurs like not uncommon in other countries such as Italy)
- what size cabling is used for main circuits (not the lighting)

Anyone know?

Thanks


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

pewe said:


> Does anyone here know anything about the electrical wiring practices used in Spanish domestic property (built after 2000).
> 
> In particular what I am trying to establish is
> 
> ...


They certainly don't use ring mains. They are just about all radial which is the best way to do things. (Ring mains were introduced in UK to save copper - very inefficient way of doing things).

Cabling is the same as in UK but is single strand rather than multi-core.


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## pewe (May 12, 2015)

snikpoh said:


> They certainly don't use ring mains. They are just about all radial which is the best way to do things. (Ring mains were introduced in UK to save copper - very inefficient way of doing things).
> 
> Cabling is the same as in UK but is single strand rather than multi-core.


Thanks snikpoh.

Radial is what I was hoping for, but now I need to know what the size of the cable is likely to be (2.5mm or 4mm).

The reason I need the info is that I am investigating the possibility of fitting one of these for a relative when I visit her in the late autumn.

If this is do-able the possible size of the heater will depend on the wiring size.
I am hoping to use one of the existing sockets in the kitchen rather than trying to fit new wiring and so radial gets me closer to doing this.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

pewe said:


> Thanks snikpoh.
> 
> Radial is what I was hoping for, but now I need to know what the size of the cable is likely to be (2.5mm or 4mm).
> 
> ...


At 3.7 - 5.5kW you'll really need a 30amp feed from the main box and a dedicated 'trip'.

Best to get a QUALIFIED (Spanish) electrician in.

The joy of working on electrics in Spain is that everything can be run through the conduits to accessible boxes - most sane thing they've ever done in Spain 


Have you checked what their supply is? If the boiler draws that sort of power, then you'll need to be on one of the higher levels.


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## pewe (May 12, 2015)

phoenix4321 said:


> both legally and morally you are on the thinnest of ice here. Legally I am pretty sure over here in spain only qualified electricians are allowed to work on the electrical systems (a bit like back in blighty with the current part P etc) and the owner might need the work to be 'signed' off (once again back in Britain this work would be under the Electrical Installation Certificate, if it involves a new circuit). Morally if you are resorting to expat forums for electrical advice I would have to say that you owe it to your friends to decline this work and get a proper Spanish electrician in, sorry no offence, just honest advice.


Thanks for your concern phoenix.

For sake of brevity I didn't go in to all the details.
I will be fitting the unit and doing all the plumbing, but there is a local electrician (recommended) who would be asked to quote to come in and make the electrical connections once the unit is fitted.

My query was to try and establish the complexity of the work that may be needed to make the electrical connections.
In the UK the unit would require a dedicated connection through a fused spur box back to the main fuse box - because we have ring mains using 2.5mm wiring - which would be very complex and costly - burying cabling etc.

If the house is wired correctly for a radial circuit it means less work running cabling if an existing socket can be used (with adaptation to a switched/fused isolation box), hence a much lower and more affordable installation (electrical) cost. 
As my relative knows nothing about this type of work I wanted to be sure I knew what should be involved so there is no 'wool pulling' and overcharging.

Just as an aside - in the local area where my relative lives (mostly native residents as opposed to expats) there are a lot of local handy men who do all sorts of work who are probably not certified to do it, and no one seems to bat an eyelid. As a consequence she finds it difficult to find reliable quality tradesmen that she would feel comfortable using to do any work for her.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

You must have a fully qualified and authorised electrician to oversee and confirm that everything is in order before he will issue a "boletín" to enable the connection to be made to the meter and the mains. What you will be asking for is an electrician to accept that he wasn't required to do the work, and somebody else has done him out of a job, yet he is required to confirm that everything is in order. - he might consider that to be a bit of a cheek.


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## pewe (May 12, 2015)

baldilocks said:


> You must have a fully qualified and authorised electrician to oversee and confirm that everything is in order before he will issue a "boletín" to enable the connection to be made to the meter and the mains. What you will be asking for is an electrician to accept that he wasn't required to do the work, and somebody else has done him out of a job, yet he is required to confirm that everything is in order. - he might consider that to be a bit of a cheek.


What you describe is not what would actually be required in this situation.
The unit will be plumbed in and the electrician would be required to do all the electrical work, ie to supply the materials and make the electrical connection from the unit to an existing outlet, changing the existing socket plate to a switched/fused isolator.

So it won't actually be doing him out of work - most electricians won't want to do the plumbing anyway.

However, (as an aside) what you describe is exactly as it is here in the UK, and there are a number of electricians here who are happy to test, inspect and certify work not done by them and issue a certificate. 
For example I built a 2 storey 3 bed extension on our house a couple of years ago, and along with everything else did all the electrics myself (I have been doing diy with electrics for the last 40 years and am pretty competent at it) and I had 4 different electricians give me quotes to do the necessary to issue a certificate. However some did try it on, prices quoted ranged from £85 to £250 for what turned out to be a couple of hours work including travelling time.
Building regs then did their final inspection and accepted the certificate knowing that I had done the work and then had it certified.

Interestingly, I have since had some acquaintances who needed electrical work done. For one of them I did the job (small one) and had the same electrician in to certify, and for 3 others I referred them to him to do it all - so he got more work, so he's happy.


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