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Abonnement |
The contract with EDF is for a set maximum current typically 9 or 12 kW on single phase. This is set at the disjoncteur de branchement and can be varied by applying to your local EDF office. The levels are quite low, this why you don’t see electric showers in France. |
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Alimentation |
Supply (of current) |
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Apparent (en) |
Surface mounted (also en sallie) |
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Applique |
Wall light fitting |
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Barette de terre |
A connection point in the earthing circuit that can be disconnected to allow the testing of the earth resistance (required by CONSUEL on a new installation) |
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Barre (ou Peigne) de Pontage |
Connecting bridge used in the tableau to connect modules. |
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Boite de derivation / distribution |
Junction box, they come in all shapes and sizes. All connections must be accessible and not hidden in the plaster. |
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Boite d’appareillage |
General box for building in sockets and switches, usually round (65mm). Two versions are available, one for use direct in masonry (fix with platre) and a different one with a clamping system for use with plasterboard. |
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Borne |
Terminal, typically a small bus-bar in a tableau for phase neutral and earth |
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Bouton-poussoir |
Push button, sometimes used for multiple way switching with a remote unit in the tableau. |
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Cable |
Although French electricians generally use individual conductors, you can use cable (U 1000) black, three-core), but it must be buried directly into walls (encastre), must be in gaine. UK T+E cable even with new EU colours is not acceptable as the earth is not insulated. |
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Chauffe-eau |
Water heater aka cumulus. The big white tank in the loft. Must be on a separate circuit 2.5 mm2 and 20A disjoncteur. |
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Compteur |
Meter, which can be digital or analogue depending on age. The connection on the company side of the meter is to the EDF fuse (sealed), on the output side is the disjoncteur de branchement. If you are going over to heures creuses you will probably need a new meter. |
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Conducteur |
Conductor, individual wires, see couleurs |
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CONSUEL |
Comité National pour la Securité des Usagers de l’Electricité – inspection body for the inspection of new electrical installations – see www.consuel.com the site gives local contact addresses, cost of inspection, and form for application. |
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Couleurs |
Colours (of conductors). On a new installation these should be blue for neutral, green/yellow for earth, and (mainly) red or black for phase. Other colours occur on the output side of switched and in two way circuits. On old installations, you may find anything depending on the mood of the installer. |
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Congelateur |
Freezer, should be on a separate dedicated circuit which is handy so you can leave it on when you go away with everything else switched off. |
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Contrôle, Contrôler |
Test, to test (verb) |
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Contrôle de Terre |
Earth resistance test required by CONSUEL, should be less than 100 ohms. Needs special earth meter (hirable) and cannot be done using multimeter. |
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Convecteur |
Electrical convector heaters are generally available but if fixed to the wall should be attached via a sortie de cable rather than plugged into a prise, and be on a separate circuit. Storage radiators are available for heures creuses but are more expensive than UK. |
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Couronne |
Lit: “crown”. Big roll of cable, 50 or 100 metres. |
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DCL |
Dispositif Connexion Luminaire. Small plug-in fitting required for all lighting fixtures under new rules NF C 15-100, not really required for an existing system. |
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Delesteur |
A module in the tableau which allows the offloading of non-priority circuits if the consumption gets too high. It will for example switch off a couple of heaters rather than cast you into outer darkness (usually when you are in the bath and the chauffe-eau kicks in) |
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Disjoncteur de branchement |
The EDF circuit breaker which enables one to connect / disconnect all power. This breaker is set at the required abonnement by EDF. Connection from this is allowed, but the input side from the meter is sealed (scellée or plombée) by EDF. |
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Disjoncteur differential |
Equivalent to RCBO i.e. combined earth leakage and overload protection. Expensive way of doing it, but may be desirable for the freezer. |
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Disjoncteur divisionairre |
Circuit breaker, equivalent to UK MCB, but are two pole for both phase and neutral. Neutral is not connected on a separate busbar |
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Domino |
“chocolate block” connectors, available in many sizes. |
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EDF |
Electricite de France, the French National Electricity company |
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Eclairage |
Lighting |
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Encastre |
Built-in, chased in wiring |
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Enjoliveur |
Facia on switches and sockets |
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Etanche |
Watertight (as in socket, junction box etc) |
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Fiche |
Plug |
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Fiche DCL |
Teeny plug for connecting light fitting to the DCL. |
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Fil(s) |
Individual conductor wires. |
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Fil Pilote |
Control wire: an exotic French way of controlling convectors and other heating devices by an extra wire sending control signals back to a control module in the tableau. |
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Fusible |
Fuses, which come in different sizes depending on rating. You can still use fuse carriers in the tableau instead of disjoncteurs , but it’s not recommended. |
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Gaine |
The corrugated plastic tubing through which wiring is threaded. Obligatory for individual conductors and for passage of cables in or through walls. It usually has a thin steel messenger wire for pulling through the conductors. There are limits on the amount of conductor you can thread into a given size of gaine. Typically 16mm takes a light circuit, 20mm diameter a power circuit. |
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Gaine prefilée |
You can buy gaine ready filled with three cores of 1.5mm2 (lighting) or 2.5 mm2 (general power) cable, which saves a lot of bad language but costs extra. |
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Goulotte |
Literally gutter, but is large size cable trunking |
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GTL or Gaine Technique de Logement |
Under the new French rules, the meter, the tableau, and all telephone and television etc connections come in to a GTL. Not necessary for an existing system, it nevertheless forms a reasonable model for how to lay things out. |
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Griffes |
Claws or clamps on old-style surface mounted switches or sockets, no longer allowed. |
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Hauteur |
Height. French light switches are generally positioned lower on the wall than in UK, about the same height as the door handle. There are rules about height of points from the floor but these are not a problem. |
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Heures creuses |
Off peak electricity |
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Isolement |
Insulation |
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Interrupteur |
Switch, see also va et vient |
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Interrupteur differential (ID) |
Equivalent to RCD. Note that all circuits have to be protected by a 30mA ID not just the power circuits as in the UK (split load not acceptable). For general circuits Type A. For cooker and washing machine Type AC is required. |
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Liason equipotentielle |
Obligatory separate earth line to bathroom etc, connected to all metal items, essentially the same as cross-bonding in the UK. |
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Lave linge |
Washing machine – should be on a separate circuit from the general kitchen power points with 20A disjoncteur |
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Lave vessailles |
Dishwasher– should be on a separate circuit from the general kitchen power points with 20A disjoncteur |
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Luminaire |
Light fitting. |
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Mechanisme |
The working bits of a socket or switch, sometime sold separately to confuse the issue |
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Mise en Securité |
Making it safe: of an existing installation. |
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Module |
Generic term for any bit of equipment in the tableau. |
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Monophase |
Single phase. Now generally used in domestic systems. |
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Moulure |
Cable trunking available in many shapes and sizes, and any colour you like as long as its white. |
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Navettes |
Lit. “shuttle” wires in a two way light switch arrangement |
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Neutre |
Neutral (should always be blue in modern system) |
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Normes Francais |
All material used in an installation should have an NF stamp somewhere on it. |
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Norme NF C 15 100 |
The rule book for electrical installations in France, which nobody actually buys because it is horribly expensive. |
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Obturation |
Sockets are required to have method of blanking the live holes until the earth pin is pushed in as per UK sockets. Also the bits of plastic that blank off unused slots in the tableau. |
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Parafoudre |
Module in the tableau that allows a sudden current surge in a thunderstorm to run to earth rather than into the house system. Obligatory in parts (mainly South) of France where thunderstorms are more common |
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Phase |
Phase, live |
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Piquet de Terre |
Earth stake, usually galvanised steel, typically 2 metres, large hammer needed. |
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Prise |
Socket. Sockets do not usually have a switch. Phase or live is conventionally right side facing the socket but not always the case. |
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Prise controllee |
Switched socket, probably for a light. |
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Prise de confort |
General purpose power sockets, usually 16A arranged radially, rings not allowed. A radial circuit can take up to 8 points on 2.5 mm2 wiring connected to a 20A disjoncteur divisionel. |
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Prise cuisiniere |
32A dedicated socket or cable outlet for cooker. Recommended even if you have gas cooker. Needs 6mm2 wiring and a 32A DD at the Tableau. |
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Prise de Terre |
Earth connection, note that French regs generally require a longer piquet de terre than UK, typically 2 metres. |
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Prise rasoir |
Razor socket with isolation transformer. |
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PROMOTELEC |
French official body for the promotion of the use of electricity. They set down recommended minimum numbers of sockets etc. See www.promotelec.fr |
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Salle de Bains |
Bathroom. The rules regarding zoning and location of equipment are very similar to that in the UK. There are minor differences in Zone 2 which extends up to the ceiling. You also need an external light switch, they don’t do pull cord switches. Because of the relatively low abonnement electric showers and instant water heaters are not used. |
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Saignee (en) |
Chasing in walls. Because everything has to be in gaine, there are rules about the position and depth to which you can cut into walls to take your wiring, particularly thin partition walls. For the same reason chasing for cables in stone walls is very hard going. |
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Sallie (en) |
Surface mounted, as in moulures |
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Seche-serviettes |
Heated towel rail, which may be controlled by a fil pilote. |
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Socle |
Socket |
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Sortie de cable |
Cable outlet, as for cooker or for convector heaters |
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Tableau (de repartition) |
Equivalent to consumer unit, and contains rows of disjoncteurs divisonnaires, each fed by an interrupteur differential. The structure (DIN rail) is very similar to the UK arrangement, but the units themselves are not interchangeable. Note there is no separate incoming switch as the EDF disjoncteur de branchement fulfils the same purpose. |
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TBT |
Tres bas tension (very low voltage) as in 12v halogen systems. |
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Telephone |
For some strange reason, telephone points are recommended everywhere, and any French electrician will include for telephone points in each room whether you want one or not. |
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Television |
And television points as well. |
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Terre |
Earth (green /yellow in modern system) |
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Triphase |
Three phase system, don’t touch unless you know exactly what you are doing |
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VMC |
Ventilation Mechanique Centrale (Controllee). Centralised ventilation / extraction system, would normally be specified ina new house, and very good for getting of condensation |
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Va et Vient |
Two way switch |
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Vis |
Screw, screw connection fixation a vis. |
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WAGO |
Patent cable connectors sometimes used instead of dominos |