Install a new plug socket

Install a socket

Things to think about when considering installing a new socket

Replacing an existing socket?

Replacing an old socket with a new one is fairly straightforward. Sockets come in standard sizes, so it should just be a matter of turning the power off, unscrewing and disconnecting the old socket fascia and fitting a new one. You can now buy sockets with USB slots built-in so you can plug in a USB cable and a normal 13A plug at the same time (or, for a double socket, two USB cables and two plugs).

Fitting a socket where there hasn’t been one before?

Modern life needs lots of sockets! The simplest way to add a socket to an existing circuit is to add a single “spur” to the existing ring of sockets. If the new socket is not far from an existing one, and you don’t mind the cable being surface-mounted and concealed beneath a short length of plastic conduit, then this can be completed within an hour. The spur wiring will slip behind the existing socket, be covered for its length behind a strip of conduit stuck to the wall, then behind the new socket. The time will increase if you’d like the cables chased into the wall, and if the distance to the nearest socket is quite far, or in a different room.