Adding Caravan Electrical Supply to House Exterior

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Jaxson

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#295845 28-Apr-2022 12:33

Hi everyone,

Looking for Sparky advice to confirm my thinking please.

Building a Sleepout / Garden Office Cabin and want to supply electricity to it in a formal way (rather than cord out the window etc).

The most common approach is to install Caravan sockets on both the cabin and house exteriors, then run a caravan lead between the two.

Looking at this sort of thing, 16A IP65/67, surface mounted onto my brick cladding and cabin outside wall.

Will install and run a separate feed from the house board dedicated to this purpose.

Cabin will have it's own mini DB to cover lighting and power outlets separately etc.

Questions are:

Do I need an isolating switch on the outside Caravan supply socket?
Do I need an RCD on this feed back at the main house board?

Anyone done something like this previously and have any feedback?

Thanks!

richms

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#2907896 28-Apr-2022 13:42

Using those makes it a portable building and needing an electrical WOF periodically to be legal. Also there are additional requirements with switching for the wiring inside portables that will cost more to get done vs fixed wiring.

Richard rich.ms

Jaxson

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#2907898 28-Apr-2022 13:46

richms:

Using those makes it a portable building and needing an electrical WOF periodically to be legal. Also there are additional requirements with switching for the wiring inside portables that will cost more to get done vs fixed wiring.

Good to know.

So preferable to run dedicated cable through house, outside via suitable surface mount boxes, conduit over to cabin and into little DB there?
All as fixed/not junction connections along the way?

richms

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#2907907 28-Apr-2022 14:03

My outbuildings all have panels in them and a ditch with conduit back to the house to power them. 6mm cable to the building and a 32A breaker in the house for the building. I am now techincally over my maximum demand calculations when I tried to have something else added (aircons) because of that so you might have issues with the house side of things not being enough to have another sub panel on it.

Richard rich.ms

t92300

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#2908442 29-Apr-2022 21:45

richms:

My outbuildings all have panels in them and a ditch with conduit back to the house to power them. 6mm cable to the building and a 32A breaker in the house for the building. I am now techincally over my maximum demand calculations when I tried to have something else added (aircons) because of that so you might have issues with the house side of things not being enough to have another sub panel on it.

You could always go for maximum demand by limitation(substitute main switch for breaker or fuse of appropriate size) instead of calculation. Then you can add as much as you want.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2908444 29-Apr-2022 22:07

Yeah, transportable structures and their supplies need to comply with AS/NZS 3001. I think this might actually apply even if hardwired...

New circuits and boards is sparky work.

richms

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#2908521 30-Apr-2022 12:12

t92300:
You could always go for maximum demand by limitation(substitute main switch for breaker or fuse of appropriate size) instead of calculation. Then you can add as much as you want.

That's what's been added when something previous was done. Better than blowing the pole fuse but it likes to trip when the power comes back after a power cut because of inrush sometimes. At least since they replaced the pole I can get the supply upgraded at some time and I'm going to have to if I want to get all the solar I want installed anyway.

Probably going to be dropping another outbuilding on the lawn sometime to be an actual garage since the garage is a workspace so will see how it goes then. Need asbestos removal first tho :(

Richard rich.ms

Jaxson

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#2908529 30-Apr-2022 12:51

What defines something as relocatable?

Will be on piles, not on skids/pavers etc.

It won’t be going anywhere, not on a trailer etc.

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t92300

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#2908826 30-Apr-2022 20:56

Jaxson: What defines something as relocatable?

Will be on piles, not on skids/pavers etc.

It won’t be going anywhere, not on a trailer etc.

To be electrically relocatable, is to be able to be plugged in. See the exclusions in the scope of ASNZS 3001.

MikeAqua

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#2909271 2-May-2022 13:12

SomeoneSomewhere:

Yeah, transportable structures and their supplies need to comply with AS/NZS 3001. I think this might actually apply even if hardwired...

That's good to know, we have some at work.

Mike