Electrical question

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@PigletJohn

Hello , I'm wondering if you can help reassure me , I've read some of your wonderful insightful comments on here.

I live in a 1975 house , that's been partially re wired . Some lights don't have a earth the upstairs ones mainly .
So I had all the metal fittings changed to plastic even with plastic screw caps on the ones with metal back boxes .
I had a new consumer unit fitted , this was all two years ago , as I needed to save for a eventual re wire .
I was almost at my target for a re wire when Covid situ came about and financially I've had to use my savings . So will take me about another 2 years to save again once I'm back on my feet job wise .
With all the measures I've taken regarding all the plastic fittings and consumer unit with RCD , am I pretty safe here ? I have children and the thought of things being unsafe totally panics me .
Also , as I have plastic light pendants I can have a lampshade on them ? A electrician said to me not so long ago that I couldn't have them as they have metal on them ? The pendant from the ceiling that houses the wires is plastic ? So surely I can put even a metal lampshade on it ?! I've never heard this before . Think he was scaremongering me . I grew up in the 70s when nearly all lighting had no earths and they all had lampshades attached to the plastic pendants !? And part of the lampshade is nearly always metal . Many thanks in advanced .

It's odd that a 1976 house has lamps without earth wires. They have been required since 1966 so even slow learners should have grasped it.

You must have insulated (not metal) light switches and fittings, including the bulbholders and shades.

When the lighting circuit is accessible, for example in a loft for upstairs lamps, it should not be too hard to add an earthwire during rewiring. By 1976 the cables would normally have included one, unless it was run in steel conduit that does not require it (unless it has open joints, or slip-joints which are not reliable). It has always been very annoying to work on circuits run by old electricians who used to cut off earthwires.

Oh ok ,
So I just have to have the bulb hanging down and no shade ? As every single lamp shade I come across has some metal on it . I just assumed once you had the plastic pendant in place you could add a shade of your choice !

Just to clarify ,
I can't add this lampshade to my plastic ceiling pendant ?

Interesting point. It's so rare now. Will see if I can track down a ruling on lampshades.

I would have thought there wouldn't be any safety issue what so ever , as it just only comes in contact with the plastic bulb holder on the plastic pendant . I've never known ( even back in the day ) do people just to have the plastic pendant with just a bulb and no shade attached . As isn't there actually no place for a earth in a plastic pendant ? !

Surely with a plastic pendant fitting, the shade metalwork is effectively double insulated, therefore about as safe as you can get with a pendant.

Hi changi,

I wouldn't have thought this too , and never even questioned it before and felt rather silly asking the question . It was just a electrician that mentioned something to me , although I think he was scaremongering me in many ways .

I would have I meant

I haven't found any mention of lampshades.

The usual things are when people want to fit metal lightswitches or chandeliers, or still have (rare now) brass bulbholders. None of which are allowed in changes, though if you have them in your 1922 house from original, there are no Building Regulations Police who will raid your house and make you change them.

Many thanks for your reply . I think I was being overly cautious . Anyone I've mentioned it too has said I'm over thinking things . Too much time in lockdown in the house ! Driven me mad . Glad I have everything safe though and changed to plastic / double insulated until we have saved for refurb in which we will rewire then anyway . It's surprising how many old houses without a earth on the lighting do have metal lights and switches though ! Millions most probably . People just don't know about these things .