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Integrated appliances and plug sockets

10 replies

returnvisit · 02/07/2018 11:11

In our are kitchen extension I am having two integrated fridge freezers next to each other, an integrated dishwasher, a range cooker and a cooker hood.

The question is about where the plug sockets are to be placed for each item. It's a new extension so I have to decide where they should go.

I am being advised that behind the appliances isn't a good idea as they are pretty inaccessible in the event there is a problem so I am being told I should have the sockets in the unit next to them which is not ideal either as I am not supposed to have a back piece to the unit next to the fridge so I can access the socket on the wall? also I want loads of pan drawers so how would that work?

Or I can have the sockets behind the unit and have a separate switch so I can switch them on and off if necessary.

any advice??

OP posts:
TheQueef · 02/07/2018 11:13

You can have the socket below counter and the switch above but a neighbouring cupboard will look tidier or you will have six extra switches.

Oven and hob main switch above work top but hide the others.

LondonMischief · 02/07/2018 11:52

Typically they would be behind the the unit with grid switches located elsewhere. You would only ever need to get to the socket when installing the unit or removing it to replace.

LIZS · 02/07/2018 11:54

Ours are either behind (ff and oven) or wired in with switches above the worktop (dw and hob)

returnvisit · 02/07/2018 11:58

thanks for the replies.

would I be able to have to socket for the gas range cooker behind it?

where would the cooker hood socket go?

OP posts:
LondonMischief · 02/07/2018 12:20

Extract or plug cab go inside a wall cabinet to keep it hidden. It can also be switched via a grid, mounted anywhere you like
vimeo.com/146394105

LIZS · 02/07/2018 12:21

I think our hood is wired in presumably within the surround

returnvisit · 02/07/2018 12:55

thanks Flowers

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 02/07/2018 13:52

bear in mind that you will probably have a number of electrical sockets in a row running along the wall about 150mm above the worktop.

It is enrirely normal to have matching switches for your appliances in this same row (and it is simpler too wire the kitchen that way).

Where the appliance is under the worktop (e.g. dishwasher) it may be convenient to have the socket under the worktop, directly under the switch. Or if it's above, such as an extractor hood, directly above. The socket does not have to be obvious, as long as the switch is. So you are easily able to turn off if power if, say, your tumbledrier catches fire.

In the case of hobs and cookers, the switch should be to one side, so you don't have to reach through the flames to turn it off, also for tall appliances such as fridge freezers. Dishwashers are purposely made very big so a plug and socket may not fit behind.

Cables buried in plaster should run directly vertically or horizontally, not diagonally or in curves, so you have a clue where not to drill.

You can buy switches and FCUs engraved for this purpose. Common titles are available off the shelf, unusual names are engraved to order. Many electricians now have a label-making machine, but it's not as durable. There is a discussion about choice of FCU or DP switch which you can have with your electrician. But a socket for the appliance is much more convenient than a hard-wired connector.

Please don't hide your switches in a cupboard where they will be out of sight or obstructed in an emergency.

Integrated appliances and plug sockets
BubblesBuddy · 02/07/2018 15:26

Mine are in a single cupboard! All labelled. No decent modern kitchen has banks of exposed switches! It’s such a messy look . I know where they are and they don’t have much in front of them. I value a streamlined kitchen and only sockets are exposed and no switches, for anything. All appliances are wired in. Way more than the OP!

FUSEServices · 04/08/2020 10:58

Anyone who fits a socket behind an appliance is going to cause someone like me, an electrician, a big problem when the fuse in the plug blows, and they do. Same for those muppets who install a socket within the chimney of a cooker hood. Just stop it.
Guidance says a socket in an adjacent cupboard, as high up as reasonably practical on the hinge side of the cupboard. ALL decent electricians know this. Handymen, builders and Kitchen Fitters don't seem to. They do this and move on. Someone else's problem.

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