Pond Electrics

When electricity comes into contact with water it can be extremely dangerous and even life threatening. When any device like a pond pump, filter or lighting is used electricity will be required, so is an understanding of pond electrics. Unless of course you use solar powered garden pond equipment. Any electrical installation in the garden should follow the safety standards mentioned in this article.

The main rule that seems obvious to most is to check that any garden electrical equipment brought is designed for outdoor use. It’s also worth inspecting the equipment especially the

cables to ensure that there are no obvious defects. A regular inspection of accessible electrical equipment and wiring as part of a seasonal maintenance program is also recommended.

If you are in any doubt about pond electrics in your garden then get a qualified electrician to do the work for you. If you are comfortable in doing pond electrics yourself then there are some simple steps to follow. You will need to plan the route for any cabling. If you plan to bury any cabling then you must bury it at a depth of at least 45cm (17 inches) and must be special cabling known as armoured cabling, this is cabling that is surrounded by metal / plastic and will protect the cable to a degree from accidental damage. The path of any above ground cabling should not go through bushes or tree’s as it could be quite easy to forget its there when trimming and pruning your garden. Cables should be secured and no cables should be left drooping or excess wire left that could cause a tripping hazard. Regardless of how and where electrical cabling is installed in your garden you should document the path of the cable run so that you will remember it in the future. If you ever sell your home, this information will be useful to future owners.

Other components of pond electrics like junction boxes and switches must be totally water proof at all time and a visual inspection for damage is something you should do every month, if there are any obvious problems with any pond electrics then switch off the electricity supply before doing and further investigation. Always install any pond electrics exactly how requested in the manufacturers installation instructions, never be tempted to cut corners and give yourself plenty of time to install the equipment correctly.

Garden Electricity Safety

Mains power is not always required in the garden; some pond equipment will work with DC voltage. Using a transformer the electrical current can be converted to a low DC voltage that is much safer if accidents occur. You will however need DC voltage equipment and care should be taken to check that any prospective DC pump is powerful enough to run your filter and any water fall sufficiently.

Every garden electrical install should have a circuit breaker installed between the pond equipment and the mains supply; a circuit breaker can be professionally wired into the main home fuse box, installed in a socket, a plug or more common a separate “RCD” circuit breaker. A separate RCD can be plugged into a normal socket. Whatever type of circuit breaker you use make sure all equipment is protected, either individually or as a group.

A RCD circuit breaker works by continually monitoring the live and neutral wires and when it detects current leaking to earth it will instantly cut off the mains supply. An example of this could an electrical fault or a person accidently touching the live wire, the circuit breaker.

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