Pont Noir

Hi all,

I want to run a single phase supply out of my house to a detached building.

I can either :-

1. run a 2 core cable between the house and the detached building and provide rcd protection with an earth electrode at the detached building end.

OR

2. run a 3 core cable and earth the installation within the detached building using the earthing arrangements within the house.

Which method is acceptable, 1, 2 or either.

Thanks in advance.

Oldnick

Either method should be ok, but (at least in most of the USA) a grounding rod (which you'd have to install in method 1) typically has to be driven eight feet into the earth. In Creuse, this can be a challenge, it's no accident that the best stone-workers in France are Creusois. If the ground in the original wiring is up to par, then the three-wire method should be fine, and probably overall less hassle than a separate ground which the two-wire solution would require.
If you choose to bury the new wires, do put them in a gaine (conduit), and before backfilling the trench, cover it with a bright-red plastic grillage, which is cheap, sold by the meter in a roll, so that anyone digging in the area later will be warned that there's electricity underneath.

Personally, method 2. I would use the house because you can get problems with earth loops.

Also if running underground it must be a minimum of 50 cm deep and run in red gaine.

If traffic is running across it then it must be 80cm deep.