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And they deliver. Been using the one down the road for 20+ years, always great price / value, and stuff is usually in stock.

Is it cool in summer?

Thanks for the various suggestions, I'll check them out…

+1 for Superlec, and internet-electrical are good for Fusebox CUs.

Worth insulating then to some extent. Bubblewrap to the structure and pipe insulation.

TLC for me too, unless I need hands-or -eyes-on. The prices are best of near to best. And heavy cable is by the m and saves waste. I think that SF and TS charge as much as they can, relying on just in time purchases on the way to the job. If it's not in stock that is a big failure in my opinion. And the likes of City Electrical charge as much as they can, relying on their trade clients using the credit account for cashflow. My most recent order from TLC was downlighters based on BH advice. Ordered one evening, arrived next morning in their own marked van. That service deserves repeat orders.

My house, 1970 build (Cork) has I'M fairly sure, Hydrodare very heavy walled piping, I found a bit lying about a few years ago and it measured 21mm OD x 11MM ID, that 11mm ID seems a bit strange since we use imperial pipe sizing, its ID is certainly not 1/2", (12.7mm).

It's not a gift. It's part of the value of the home. Sure there are buyers out there that don't value it, but plenty do and the number that do value it will only go up as EVs become dominant. If you hold on to your property for 5 years, the odds are the buyer in 5 years will have an EV/PHEV or be actively planning to get one so they will see the value. In the meantime before you sell, having a charger already installed means that it's available for guests and also lowers the bar next time you replace your car and unless you are a committed petrolhead then EVs are likely to be the best choice when you do so. (As I said earlier the rate of improvement and cost reduction in EVs means that the reasons not to get an EV are vanishing fast). I get the argument that compared to other costly building regs requirements that we may not personally care about (of which there are many) that EV chargers are very easy to retrofit once the wiring is in place and therefore shouldn't be mandated. But rules are inevitably compromises and it's better to have a simple rule that says 'new builds must have car chargers' than to say 'all new builds that will be sold within 5 years, rented out or can reasonably be expected to need to accomodate an EV within 5 years must have chargers'. There are alternative ways to get to the same result but I'd guess they are all much more intrusive and costly.

Lamplec for my Fusebox consumer units generally. TLC for most other bits.

I have rarely had to go anywhere else.

Screwfix, Toolstation CPC and TLC-Direct for me. Published pricing so you know what you are getting and can check stock on line if collecting or get it delivered. I gave up with "wholesalers" long ago due to random (not published) pricing, very often more expensive than the above, and often poor stock levels.

We have already had the samples taken and the water analysed. The external plant rooms has to be heated above freezing.

That makes sense😁

Not used them before, but there is a Yesss Electrical local to me, any feedback on them?

Our bungalow, in Cornwall though, was replumbed in the 70s using black alkathene pipe, which I am in the process of replacing.

I used a local branch of national chain, handy to get additional supplies as the installation progresses and take back what you don’t use. I mail ordered a lot of other stuff but electrical components need to be available to avoid holding up electrician, or losing him to another job. Do check prices are reasonably competitive but availability is sometimes more important.

Spanish mate says Inspect annually or replace Don't put behind a wally willy

No that's an inaccurate assumption. I knew from the outset that an EV charger was required. My sparky did indeed run a suitable cable from the consumer unit out to an outside wall. This was part of his overall fee of course. This also happens to be the part of the EV installation requirement that i believe is reasonable to be mandated for the potential benefit of whoever may come after me. It still leaves almost £600 for the unit itself which i maintain is not reasonable as a gift to someone else.

This is Spain. There's a sticker on each pipe but don't know what it says...everything easy to get to

I've been using TLC for some time, their range is good.

Superlec direct are pretty good for CU’s, SWA, cable tray etc.

Would love to avoid RFG but its a an old victorian house with solid walls so have been advised to use this over PIR...RFG manages the moisture, doesn't push it to the wall as opposes to PIR with DPM - mositure will either condens under DPM or will be pushed to the alls and cause potential risng damp? Thats my limited understand.

Do you use local suppliers for all your electrical components like consumer units, cable, sockets etc. or are there national/online suppliers you'd recommend checking out?

My experience was that neither planning or building control check or seem to care about this. I have a gravel drive but large patio at the back was supposed to be ‘permeable surface’. I laid sandstone slabs which slope away from the house to the lawn, so I would argue that all rainwater soaks away on site. If your drive is impervious and slopes to a road, someone may challenge it.

Changing grid frequency is how the overall grid responds to load as frequency directly affects power generated due to the spinning generators that make up most of the grid. Software driven inverters have more flexibility. They are not constrained by big rotating turbines and generators. So I believe it is possible to inverters to choose how many amps to export independently of the frequency and therefore have a configuration option to have a voltage level where output is tapered off that is set below the max voltage trip. Given our grid runs quite close to the upper limit in many places the scope for this currently may be limited, but there are plans to change the acceptable voltage range of the grid (https://www.efixx.co.uk/Articles/Proposed-Changes-to-UK-Mains-Voltage-Limits-Explained) and if that happens the the average grid voltage might drop. This would give more room to inverters to generate in the first place, but might also give room for regulations to support sensible production reduction above say 250V to produce a more stable grid when lots of inverters are online at peak times. Wouldn't hold my breath for it though (would seem like the sort of thing that would already have been proposed to align with the voltage change if it was going to happen).