When planning a pond you will almost certainly want to provide a power supply to the garden to run a pump, filters, lighting and other useful outdoor equipment.

This is worth considering in the early planning stages. Installing power in the garden is a serious, but realistic DIY project that need not take long, or cost you the earth.

There are several new legal and regulatory considerations when installing power to the garden.

The main considerations are: Part P Building Regulations, and Outdoor Weatherproof Safety Standards (IP56). Part P Electrical Safety Regulations have been introduced in order to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations and make life harder for 'cowboys' to leave electrical installations in an unsafe condition.

Part P states that: The installation of prefabricated ‘modular’ systems (for example armoured garden cabling) linked by plug and socket connectors is not notifiable under Part P, provided that the products are CE-marked and that any final connections in kitchens and special locations are made to existing connection units or points (possible a 13A socket outlet). See the Part P website for further information.

Electrical standards state that: All outdoor power supplies must be protected with a circuit breaker. All outdoor electrical components must comply with outdoor, weatherproof safety standards. All power supplies across the garden must be carried by metal sheathed armoured cable. If buried, warning tape must be applied.

Choosing a complete DIY armoured garden power system, such as Blagdon’s Powersafe Armoured Garden Power Supply Kit will provide you with the confidence that you are installing all the equipment you need for easy, safe and legal DIY garden power. All the relevant components in the kit meet IP56 safety standards and it is a prefabricated modular system, meeting CE standards.

The kit is so simple and quick to install, only basic DIY skills are required to take power from the house/garage to the garden. The kit comes with everything you will need to install it, (even the drill bits!) and comes complete with very easy to follow, illustrated step-by-step instructions. It takes little more than drilling a hole and wiring a plug to provide you with garden power.

1. Powersafe Watergarden Circuit Breaker : this will plug straight into an indoor mains outlet socket

2. Masonry SDS drill bit, and wood drill bit for drilling cable hole through exterior wall or window frame

3. Small block of weatherproof sealing putty for sealing the hole after cable has been inserted

4. 5 metres of rubber cable (pre-wired to weatherproof socket) Once this is passed through the hole drilled in exterior wall or window frame, the bare ends can be connected to the Three Pin plug using the electrical screwdriver which is included (Do this last after rest of system is completed)

5. Electrical screwdriver

6. Three Pin Plug : unwired : for connecting to the 5 metres of rubber cable, and which is then plugged into the circuit breaker (Do this last after rest of system is completed)

7. Rubber cable cleats and screws x5 : for attaching cable to walls, fences etc

8. Plug and Socket adaptor brackets ( for fixing weatherproof plug & socket connections neatly to wall or fence etc)

9. Adaptor bracket screws and wall plugs x6

10. Pre-wired weatherproof plug connected to 5, 10, 15 or 20 metre length of armoured cable connected to pre-wired weatherproof socket

11. 5, 10, 15 or 20 metre of warning tape for use if armoured cable is buried

12. Armoured cable cleats, screws and wall plugs (x5 in 5/10m kits, x10 in 15/20m kits)

13. Pre-wired weatherproof plug connected to 50cm of rubber cable connected to pre-wired Powersafe 3 Outlet Switch box

14. Switchbox mounting plate, screws and wall plugs x 4

15. Switchbox spare 5amp & 1.5amp fuses (x 1 each), Full and detailed installation instructions