Consumer Unit Upgrade

A consumer unit, often referred to as ‘the fuse board’ is the means by which your home or business electrical installation is connected to the incoming ‘mains’ of a property. One of the jobs of a consumer unit is to divide up your installation into individual circuits giving some discrimination to the installation. Another is to protect the cables from being overloaded by having fuses that will disconnect if the amount of current on that circuit becomes greater than the cable can safely carry. Thereby preventing overheating and the risk of fire.

On modern consumer units an additional function is the protection of the users from electric shock. This is achieved using Residual Current Devices or RCD’s for short. Their sole purpose is to monitor the current of a circuit and on detection of an imbalance, usually caused by a short circuit, disconnect the circuit from the supply before the voltage can rise to a point where it is dangerous to the user.

 

Should I upgrade my consumer unit?

Many older consumer units do not have RCD protection built into them. This does not necessarily make them unsafe but they would no longer comply with current regulations. This means that if you are planning on undertaking any new electrical work maybe as a part of a building extension or outbuilding supply, the new electrical circuits could not be connected to the current consumer unit without some adaptation. This is the perfect time to upgrade your consumer unit.
Similarly if you are purchasing a new house and are worried about the electrics, upgrading the fuse board would give you peace of mind. The installation of a new consumer unit also requires a full inspection, test and certification of the whole electrical installation so any electrical problems would be discovered just by virtue of having the old consumer unit upgraded. In addition, the main earthing cable and main bonding cables to the gas and water supply pipework are often upgraded at the same time. Many homeowners and developers often have an Electrical Installation Condition Report done on an old installation and as long as the condition of the cables is still fine and there are no other issues they upgrade the consumer unit to bring the installation up to the current standards.
Another good reason for a consumer unit upgrade would be if the current one has rewireable fuses. Many people on discovering a blown rewireable fuse are unsure about rewiring a new one and in some cases may use the incorrect size of fuse wire. This can be of concern to landlords who would rather their tenants just re-set a miniature circuit breaker than mess around in the dark with fiddly fuse wires.

 

So in conclusion, a consumer unit upgrade and associated inspection, test and certification is a good investment for your home or business.

For more information on consumer unit configuration options please click here

Fault Diagnosis & Repairs

Electrical faults are a safety hazard and could be putting people in danger of electrocution. Plugs Electrical Services aim to locate and repair your electrical fault as quickly as possible and with a minimum of disruption. We are highly skilled in the diagnosis, location and repair of electrical faults and will explain to the customer exactly what the problem is and the cost to the customer of repairing the problem before we go ahead and repair it. Fault diagnosis is charged at an hourly rate with the first hour being charged at 2 x the hourly rate if the work is a call out as opposed to being booked in. 

Please note we do not provide a 24 hour service. 

If you are based in the High Wycombe or the surrounding areas and require an electrician to fix an electrical fault we usually try to get to you on the same day if you call before noon but if we are unable to do this we will often get to you the next morning.

Inspection & Testing

Electrical Installation Condition Report

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is the inspection of the condition of an existing electrical installation to identify any deficiencies against the national safety standard (BS7671 Wiring Regulations).

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is the only report specified in the wiring regulations for existing electrical installations. There is no such thing as a landlords electrical certificate, an electrical safety certificate or NICEIC safety certificate. The report is exactly that, a report on the current state of the electrical installation. Think of it as an MOT for your electrical installation. On the report we will indicate that the installation is either ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. 

Please note that all installations are checked to the current regulations which at this point are the 17th Edition. If your installation was built before this they do not necessarily fail but simply do not comply with the current regulations.

 

An Electrical Installation Condition Report will:

  • Reveal if any electrical circuits or equipment is overloaded
  • Find any potential shock risks or fire hazards in the installation
  • Identify any defective DIY electrical work
  • Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding

A number of tests are then carried out on each circuit using sophisticated electrical testing equipment and the readings obtained recorded on the report. These are then checked against figures in the wiring regulations to ensure compliance.

 As you can see an Electrical Installation Condition Report is very thorough. It requires above average knowledge of electrical installations and can take several hours to complete. The electrical supply to the house must be isolated and all equipment and light bulbs unplugged or disconnected before any testing can begin. Access is required to all sockets, switches, isolators or any other wiring accessories as well as the fuse board and meter position. 

A standard (3 bedroom) domestic Electrical Condition Report normally requires around 4-5 hours to complete. A commercial or industrial condition report can take days or even weeks to complete and are often carried out when the businesses are closed to avoid downtime. After the inspection and test Plugs will produce a report as required by the regulations but also a list of problems found, if any, and their solutions written in laymens terms. This is usually emailed to the customer.

 

Visual Condition Report



In order to fully determine the safety of an electrical installation an Electrical Installation Condition Report is the best method. 

A Visual Inspection Report can only report on the fixed electrics that can be physically seen within a dwelling. For example the condition of the socket outlets, lighting pendants, correct earthing and bonding etc. It can never confirm complete electrical safety like an Electrical Installation Condition Report can.

 Nevertheless the Visual Inspection Report certainly has an important role to play between Electrical Installation Condition Reports. Especially in rented accommodation where the tenant is less likely than a homeowner perhaps to look out for damage and wear and tear.

 Homebuyers too may benefit from a professional casting an eye over the electrical installation prior to exchanging.

As with the Electrical Installation Condition Report, customers receive a report by email plus an explanation in laymens terms of any faults found and their solutions.

If you would like to book an Installation Condition Report or a Visual Inspection Report Please call Tony on 07944 162 958 or email us

Garden Lighting

Lighting within a garden can produce wonderful effects that have a wow factor that can’t be beat. Whether you want to light ponds, gazebos, pergolas, trees, shrubs or have lights in paving, decking, drives or patios we can install these for you.

 

Outside electrical installations can take a real battering from the elements such as rain, snow and extremes of temperature so we use only the best quality fittings and accessories to ensure your garden lighting is safe and durable for years to come.

 

At Plugs we install extra low voltage garden lighting systems to provide extra safety from electric shock. This also allows cables to be run anywhere within a garden, buried under lawns or in flower beds without the need to bury the cables in deep trenches, as is required by the wiring regulations for 230 volt supply cables. This in turn minimizes disruption to your beautiful garden.

 

Once installed, garden lighting can be controlled by remote controls, switches, light sensors, movement sensors, timer controls or even your mobile phone. Depending on your requirements any combination of these control methods can be used. Bring ‘Smart Home’ technology into your garden.

 

Plugs will discuss your requirements with you and offer a solution that works best for you and your garden.

Installation

Electrical Installation Work 



Plugs Electrical Services supply a wide range of services including the following:

 

Full rewires 


We can fully rewire your home or business with the minimum of disruption. All rewires are installed from scratch with new cable routes. This ensures that the existing installation stays in service until the new one has been installed. Thus keeping your downtime to a minimum.

 

Consumer Unit (Fuse Board) Upgrades

Much of the 17th edition of the wiring regulations deals with the need for more RCD protection on existing circuits. This can be achieved with a new consumer unit. With a new consumer unit comes a full inspection, test and certification of the whole electrical installation.

 

Additional Sockets

Outlets
Whether you require one extra socket in your lounge or ten in your garage we can do this for you. All socket outlets are required to be protected by an RCD so this will need to be installed in the fuse board if there is not one already installed.

 

New lighting points


Additional lighting points can easily be added wherever you require them indoors or outdoors. There is now a vast range of light fittings to choose from, many with energy efficient LED lamps.

 

Downlights

Downlights are as popular as ever. They are a smart way to light kitchens, hallways, utility rooms etc. With energy efficient LED technology coming on leaps and bounds, having many downlights in a house does not necessarily mean high electricity bills. They can also be dimmed just like conventional halogen downlights.

 

General electrical supplies to fixed equipment or buildings

If your requirement is to get power and lighting to garden sheds, cabins, outbuildings and hot tubs or need outdoor heaters, electric showers or panel heaters etc.installed. Then we can easily do this for you.

Outbuilding Supplies

As more and more people work from home, many choose to have log cabin style outbuildings built to serve as an office or workshop at home but away from the main house itself. These buildings often require electric supplies fed from the house consumer unit.

 

Plugs will discuss with you your needs in terms of lighting, heating, sockets etc. and will design and install a supply that perfectly fits your energy requirements in the outbuilding.

 

This can be as simple as a light and a socket or a complete office style installation incorporating dado trunking, floor boxes, data networks and TV screens. It may even be a larger supply to run power tools or machinery in a small workshop.

 

Whatever your needs, Plugs will find a way to give you the solution you require.

 

Don’t forget also that the path to the outbuilding may need lighting in case of a long working day in the depths of winter.