Electrical – use only one phase out of a triphasic cable

electrical

Scenario

There is a three-phase cable popping out of the wall exactly where I need to put a light bulb.

Is it ok if I plug only two wires to the triphasic cable, (i.e. neutral and live 1) to achieve this?

Further questions

What consequences would this have (e.g. consumption?, stability?)

Context

At home I have identified two types of cables:

  • single phase cables (with their expected three wires inside).
  • three-phase cables (five wires inside).

The latter has two outputs, one in the kitchen for the stove/oven, while there is another cable in the toilet (most prob for the washing machine), which I don't use at all.

Best Answer

If there is a provided neutral wire, for most countries it should be fine,

Consequences:

If it was a large load, e.g. an outlet, you would need to make sure the load on each phase was reasonably balanced,

Having a lighting circuit on a different breaker to the rest of the house lighting is frowned at, as if that circuit trips, the light goes out, equally someone later on perhaps wanting to replace that light socket will switch off the lighting breaker, if they fail to test the light socket afterwards, they will have a nasty surprise.