Dear all,

Just a newbie that has just arrived in Switzerland and now leaving in Zurich. Have just rented a new flat and am still struggling to figure out what type of ceiling lights and how to install them given there is no hook available either.

Pls find attached a picture with the three cables (also something we don't see that often in UK either).

https://ibb.co/hRnOnA

Thank you for your help and feedback!!!

Best regards,
Tony

You should be able to pick out your light first, and then figure out the mounting.

On the mechanical front, the basic process is to drill a hole, insert an anchor and then screw in a fastener according to what the light requires. You can buy anchors and hook fasteners at Migros Bau & Hobby, and similar places. In your case, there is a high chance that a hole drilled for a hook is already in place, but hiding in the darkness of the box.

On an electrical front, the modern standard is blue for neutral, yellow/green stripes for safety earth and something else (typically brown, red or orange) for a phase (switched or otherwise). So it is pretty straightforward, but if you don't know what those terms mean, or if you wouldn't know how to double check that with a phase tester, I'd consider involving pro, just to be sure you don't install a fixture in a way that electrocutes people. Sometimes standards change or boxes are miswired, (even in Switzerland) and so it is hard to be sure over the internet.

Sometimes the light that you buy will contain all the support brackets. Ask at a good lighting shop

Thank you, any light shops you suggest? As the standard IKEA lights don't fit the sockets in the picture. Many thanks

Lumimart has a big range but can be a bit pricey. Theres a branch next to Ikea in Dietlikon

https://www.lumimart.ch/de/

Otherwise Micasa,Interio,or Möbel Pfister.

Ikea lights are full crap

In what sense do they not fit? Or rather, let me put it this way: I know from experience that it isn't particularly complex to attach nearly any sort of light to that sort of box, including lights from IKEA. Typically you'd only need a screwdriver and drill sufficient to make holes for anchoring. In more extreme cases you'd want a spool of wire, nippers, and line or two of terminal connectors, also all available from the standard home improvement places.

All that said, "Electrical Work for Beginners" isn't a course I'd want the responsibility for teaching, much less over an internet forum. It may not be particularly complex, but the cost of failure can be high. So the more you ask, the more strongly I find myself agreeing with the suggestion that you buy whatever you want and then pay for an hour or two of electrician's time to get them fit.

Each Ikea lamp has an downloadable instruction for fitting. Which lamp do you mean exactly?

https://www.ikea.com/ch/de/catalog/c...ighting/18751/

They all have basically the same crappy system to hold them in place. As I said forget Ikea

Maybe this video helps

https://www.selbst.de/deckenleuchte-...essen-275.html

You might have to put a hook in if there is none already

IKEA lights should fit... This might seem obvious and you probably know this already but the white bits aren't connectors... these are safety caps, pinch the two sides together and pull it a bit and the wire should be exposed which can connect on to the light...

I know this should be common sense but make sure to take the Breaker off for the zone you're working in. See...i thought I was HE-MAN once. I thought to myself, I don't need to take off no stinking breaker. just took the light switch off. Well, HE-MAN that I was forgot to take the Light Switch off and well had a nice 220 V spike through me - painful yes, the white-light flash i saw was even more interesting - i think i saw jesus. Or zeus..one of them at least for a second. Good luck.

Anything electrical I'd hire an electrician. If you buy the lights and fittings it shouldn't cost much more than chf 300 for the labour depending of course on the number of lights and the size of the apartment.

300CHF Doing it yourself is not so hard. I did all my lights. But the first one I installed blew all the fuses in the house.

Blew your fuses too, i reckon !!

Right! Seems I connected some wrong wires