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French Wiring – Lesson 1! The GTL, Consumer Unit and Wiring Regs

French Wiring – Colours!

New installations should use brown for live, blue for neutral and green/yellow for earth.  The chart shows that these colours should have been used since 1977.

France Wiring Colours

France moved to brown for live, blue for neutral in 1977.

The definitive reference on French wiring (the Leroy Merlin catalogue!) states that the live wire can actually be any colour except blue or yellow and green.

As French socket circuits don’t use the UK ring main principle (which allows a rating of 32 amps per circuit) the number of outlets allowed on any one circuit is limited. There are two sizes of wiring allowed for use with sockets, which creates another level of restriction.

Socket Circuit wired in 1.5mm² cable: maximum number of sockets = 5.
Protection must be via a maximum 16 amp rated MCB (disjoncteur divisionnaire) only – no fuses are allowed.

Socket Circuit wired in 2.5mm² cable: maximum number of sockets = 8.
Protection can be via a maximum 20 amp rated MCB (disjoncteur divisionnaire) or fuse of 16 amps maximum.

All the sockets can actually be double sockets meaning you can have 10 or 16 sockets on each MCB if you use doubles.

The table below shows the number of outlets and cable sizes that should be used in a domestic electric installation in France.

Type of circuit Maximum number of outlets Max Power MCB Protection Wire Diameter
Lighting
8
2300 W
10 A
1.5 mm
Power supply 10/16 A
8
3600 W
16 A
2.5 mm
Washing machine, dishwasher, water heater, tumble dryer
1
4600 W
20 A
2.5 mm
Electric Hob
1
7300 W
32 A
6 mm
Electric Oven
1
7300 W
32 A
6 mm
Electric Heaters / Radiators
5
5
5
5
2300 W
4600 W
5700 W
7300 W
10 A
20 A
25 A
32 A
1.5 mm
2.5 mm
4 mm
6 mm
Floor Heating
1
1
1
1
1700 W
3400 W
4200 W
5400 W
16 A
20 A
25 A
32 A
1.5 mm
2.5 mm
4 mm
6 mm

Labels, Standards & Codes

French Electrical Installation Codes/Standards

NF C 15-100 describes the features and technical requirements to be met by domestic electrical installations. NF C 15-100 is occasionaly amended (most recently in 2003), and it applies to all new dwellings and renovation projects. To ensure the safety of your electrical installation you should only choose equipment stamped NF or NF-USE.



The Main Requirements of French Wiring Standard NF C15-100:

  • All circuits shall be protected by a differential high sensitivity (30 mA) installed on the distribution table.
  • All outlets should be earthed and must be a type of the “Child safety” type that,”prevention the insertion of objects”. Since 2004, the sockets outlets with ‘fixing claws’ are prohibited.
  • The NF C 15-100 standard specifies the arrangement of the bathroom by defining the areas in which the location of electrical equipment is permitted or not.
  • Lighting circuits and power outlet sockets must be separated. The electric cooker, washing machines, dishwashers and water heaters should each have a dedicated electrical circuit.
  • A mains circuit or lighting circuit can not contain more than 8 double sockets, or connect to more than 8 points of light. If the surface area of the house exceeds 35 m2, a minimum of two circuits is required.
  • Wire colour is regulated, the earth wire is green and yellow, the neutral conductor is blue, the phase(live) conductors are red or any other color (except green / yellow and blue).
  • The sheath technique Lodging (GTL), designed to bring together in one place all arrivals and departures of power networks and communications is mandatory in all new residential housing and must be installed in case of complete rehabilitation.
  • In the Gaine Technique Logement(GTL), low voltage and high voltage cables should be housed in separate conduit
  • The Gaine Technique Logement(GTL) should include a communication board where phone and, ideally, computer network, and satellite TV enter the building. This device must be earthed and the two power outlets inside the GTL should be dedicated to this device.

    • Lots of good info here, not on French wiring but worth a read anyway
    http://web.archive.org/web/20071013043715/www.kevinboone.com/PF_domesticinstallations.html

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