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Can anyone of our electricians @ProDave please explain how this wiring diagram will work on my Panasonic 9kw Aquarea heat pump?Secon Panasonic H Series rev1.3.pdf I understand that the heat pump will require its own supply from the CU but I am a little unsure as to what cables to put in ready for my sparky mate to connect everything up. I think I need to run some 1.5mm flex to run the heat pump ,diverter valve and controls etc but not sure if the power supply for this is fed from the heat pump supply via some fused spurs or if the heating controls are fed from a different source to the main heat pump supply? I understand it would be ideal to have one isolator for the whole heat pump and assoc controls but just a little confused? The heat pump itself has a back up heater for DHW so this is also confusing me as it shows connections for the immersion heater in the drawings but I assume this is the one on my HW cylinder so not sure if the feed for the immersion heater should come via the main heat pump supply? I am just trying to get all my cables in place ( so I can plaster some ceilings ) plus some spare ready for when my sparky is available to connect it all up next month so we can get moved in before xmas and I still have plenty to do! Hope you can help me understand this? TIA

Good Afternoon, our plans are currently in for planning so next stage is Building warrant, weve been asked about positions of all our electrics, what lights in each rooms, sanitry/sing positions. thought this would be easy to decide but we just cant seem to agree on what we would need, looking for advice of anyone, or is there somewhere online who helps with these sort of things. I have attached our floor plans for reference. House FF.pdf House GF.pdf

We are seeking to put in some additional double sockets and spotlights in our newbuild. Builder initially said it would be c. £60 for each double socket. He is now saying £120! The schneider sockets themselves cost c. £20 each, but £120 sounds like a lot for some wiring. We are also being told £130 for each additional spotlight. Again the fitting is not driving the cost here.... Any advice appreciated. many thanks, Steve

Hey everyone, Our electrician has finished the work at our house but disappeared. We are looking to get it signed off ASAP. Does anyone know what we would expect to pay for that service, roughly? Had a few quotes and they're very different so just want to get a feel for what it should be... Thanks Joanna

Hi All, First post - go easy We have a fairly typical 3 bed 1930s semi with CU and meter under the stairs - we're planning a loft conversion and a ground floor extension on the back (original I know ). We're also planning on UFH on each floor. Don't think the electics have been updated since the 80's and planning to rewire. (and there's also a shocking lack of plug sockets!) I think all the walls involved are brick with plaster (seen one which is laths and plaster, but not one the electrics should need to go near). 1. Where should I expect all the wires to go? I was assuming something like chasing the downstairs sockets to the ceiling and the first floor sockets to the floor (chasing horizontally for sockets on the same wall) then feeding the wiring through the floor space and down to the CU (some negotiation around the top of the stairs). One radial circuit per room, presumably some short cuts for walls with sockets both sides. Or is there a better / standard approach to this? (Not planning on doing it myself, just want to get my head round it) We're thinking of doing this before the loft or rear extension - so wouldn't plan on doing the dining room or kitchen as these could be done when the extension is done. 2. Preparation - everything I've read so far, says pay someone (the electrician?) to do the chasing and clean up after themselves it'll be worth it! Any tips on dust proofing gratefully received! (we plan not to be staying in the house for the duration - 6 to 10 days?) 3. Finally what paper work do I need to ask for? We're not planning on moving, but if we did what's the buyer's solicitor going to want to see? Kind regards, Niall.

Hi all, Our house has a very high apex (8m with a 50 degree roof pitch). Our architect has specced the alarms to be right up at the top. The electrician says they should be lower down as the smoke doesn't always go right up in to the apex, it curves around. So I'm wondering, can we bring these down without updating the drawings? And he's also asking if we can install wireless alarms - is this all allowed by BC? Thanks, Joanna

Good evening all, After (too many) hours of research, we have finally decided to bite the bullet and allow for power and cat 6 to each window for electric blinds. Does anyone have a view on where the spur fuse box should sit? Should this be up high by the blind, or adjacent to the socket that we are taking pwoer from? Views as always greatly appreciated. Steve

Hi everyone, We’re going to have our bathroom refitted in the very near future and we’ve decided we’d like a spa bath and a digital shower (not pumped but digitally controlled) Bath: https://www.thewhirlpoolbathshop.com/single-ended-baths/aquaestil-plane-solo-14-jet-whirlpool-bath shower: https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/mira-platinum-digital-shower-dual-concealed-101375-27988 I’ll have an electrician out to install the power but I wondered if anyone had any experience with this type of electrical install? The sort of cost to expect would be great too, we’re in south east London so a rough figure would be good as I’d rather not be overcharged! I’m assuming that the electric will be taken from the plug socket in the bedroom next door, drilled through into the bathroom and then run through an RCD and isolator? Is it possible to have an isolator in the bathroom on a pull cord above the door? (Please remember I’ve no experience of this and am not doing it myself, the bathroom is going to need to be replastered too and I want to make sure I have some knowledge for when an electrician visits for hiding of cables etc). Can the digital shower unit be installed under the bath? The Mira documentation says it can but it doesn’t seem right to me? Will there need to be more than one isolator with the electrics with different power going to two different pieces of electronics? It’s only a small bathroom and we’re going to have a small stud wall fitted to conceal the pipes for the wall mounted shower. Thanks in advance, any insight you can give me would be very much appreciated. Robbie.

Hi all - after much searching online, I have found the lights I'd like to put in our sitting room when our house is built (start in Jan after 2 years planning!). They are the ones in the picture, but they come with a cable and plug, and inline switch. In the other picture, it seems like these same lights have been adapted to be hard-wired. Is this a relatively simple thing for an electrician to do? Or do I need to go and find some other lights?!

Working around the joiners as they completed the internal fit out, the electrician returned to complete second / final fix. I won’t bore you with endless photographs of sockets and light switches, but will describe the most notable electrical installations: LED lighting – after obtaining various samples and some electrical testing, I purchased a quantity of slimline 6W recessed fittings from https://hartingtonheath.com/product-category/led-recessed-lights/non-dimmable/ I bought mine via their ebay outlet which gave me an additional 10% off. The electrician was a little dubious, primarily on the issue of the cut out size required being greater than a standard downlight. We went ahead and fitted them in the kitchen, utility, staircase and upper floor. Each light comes with its own driver so to wire up to the mains, a connector block enclosed in a 'choc' box was used. This did increase the amount of time required to install each fitting, but the actual cost of the fitting was significantly lower than the more traditional alternatives we had previously looked at. The light they give off is fantastic and they really do seem to disappear into the ceiling, far more so than many standard downlight designs I’ve seen. Apologies for the quality of the pictures! The slimline design was especially helpful when fitting in the coomb ceiling as there was no requirement to hack into the insulation as the fitting sat comfortably in the service void. Chatting to the electrician, he commented that they had now adopted this type of downlight because of the flexibility it offers. Our next luxury was a 5A lighting circuit - fitted in the main room so we can switch off all the occasional lamps used from a master switch. Simple, effective home automation! To future proof the house we installed Cat 5E data points to every room, with the hub located in the meter cupboard next to the BT master socket. I've located my BT router there and currently hard wire direct from an ethernet port on the back of the router to the port on the hub for the data point in use. There are still 2 ethernet ports left on the router, however, if I want to make any more than three of the data point live, I'll need some additional equipment (not really sure what would be required so following various current topics with interest). Whether we end up using all or indeed the majority of the data points, I have no idea, but it certainly made sense to put all the cables in. The last electrical item of note was a CO2 detector – a wonderful (Scottish) building regulation designed, I think, as a way for large developers to avoid having to fit a mechanical ventilation system, because householders have a means of monitoring air quality and therefore a way to manage it – by opening windows etc. At £200 they are not cheap (but from a developers point of view, a lot cheaper than an MVHR system). Here is the link to the relevant requirement - look up part 3.14.2 http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Building/Building-standards/publications/pubtech/th2015domcomp No doubt this regulation will creep in elsewhere in the UK. I did have quite lengthy discussions about whether we could use a CO2 sensor in the MVHR to actively manage our ventilation. The idea of doing so was certainly very positively received and thought to be a far better / more sensible approach, but unfortunately, there was no getting round the installation of a stand alone detector as the Vent Axia sensor that you could integrate with my MVHR didn’t have the specifications required in the regulations. At £350, it was also significantly more expensive. If you read through the specification, you’ll notice that one of the requirements is that the sensor alarm must be capable of being switched off, which does make you wonder, why bother? Next entry: MVHR final connections and commissioning.

Hi all. I embarking on my first self build next month. We have a budget set for electrical work, lights and switches of £10k (200m2 flat roof bungalow). I'd like to try and future proof the build so I can install CCTV, network servers, home automation etc at a later date. What should I be asking my electrician to install now. Just a load of CAT 6/7 cabling into the main rooms (remembering their exact locations) and then terminate into a singe location where the servers will reside? Any help or experiences greatly received. Cheers

This is slightly off topic, but we are technically "self-building". I am involved in moving a (Crossfit) gym into a new unit. This is a photo of the unit pre-fit-out, and we will be having the far end in the pic when a wall has been built across. The left hand side is the front. Dimensions of our unit are 30m front to back by 18m side to side, giving a 5800 sqft rectangular space, with loos, showers, and changing rooms on the right hand side in this view. The eaves height is about 5m, and the apex height is about 9m. The facility will run potentially from 6am to 11pm six days a week plus special events on Sundays. The walls will be painted grey to a height of ~4.5m. The issue that I have got is a pair of normal self-build elephants that have appeared out of thin air at zero notice and are now standing on my foot, and I have a very few days to decide how to deal with it, and there is not very much in the budget - but what is needed will be found. Basic heating is gas and will be staying. Electrics are generally not an issue as Crossfit does not usually involve machines with power supplies. 1 - I need to replace the lights. The cable is staying in place. 2 - I need to run a water supply from the LHS where the new metered supply comes in to the changing rooms and showers. Water heating will be electric at the shower. Lighting For 1, which I think is the more straightforward, it is a case of rapidly sourcing the right LED lights for a gym lit from that height, getting them and probably paying the LLs refurbishment contractors to replace them when they take the old ones down to avoid messing about with big scaffold towers. Plus a need to think about certification if required. Can anyone advise me on light intensity, types and perhaps colour of light (warm or cool white?), and perhaps recommend a source? Water pipes etc For 2, it seems to me that I can run the water supply high or low, exposed or hidden. I need to decide: 2a - Type and size of pipe. I think I want plastic (JG Speedfit?) on a 100m reel, or perhaps 2x50m for ease of handling, so it is in one or two lengths only. 2b - High or low? Hidden or concealed? If I am running it at ground level (and therefore round at least one or two doors depending on which way we go) it will need protecting, perhaps by the type of plastic boxing in which was pointed out by I think @Onoff some time ago for bathrooms. I think that is complicated, and more expensive, but if I did it I would probably also run a pipe and conduit in tandem in the other protected space in the boxing-in product so I can get electricity anywhere later round the walls. I think I prefer to run it at perhaps 3-3.5m to go above doors and nto have things dropped on it, but not be stupidly high for ease of installation, and to leave it exposed so that any leaks or damage become immediately obvious. For wallball exercise spots we would need to install facing boards over the pipe. Not a problem. 2c - Do I need an accumulator or similar? We will be having 2 showers, with potentially one or two extra later, but if we grow to need them we will have more money to spend. Wrap-Up 3 - Have I missed anything? I would welcome comments on any of the above, perhaps especially from known gym users such as @Onoff and @jack or relevant pros. Any advice from anyone would be most welcome. Cheers Ferdinand

I have recently been a bit under weather, (ha! just realised what I said there - lucky it wasn't blocks eh?), and in bed, bored out of my mind bumped into this channel He makes videos about a wide range of electrical issues, some practical, others more theoretical. To me he appears to deliver authoritative content. He virtually never responds to comments on the videos he makes, which makes me question just a little bit. My question to anyone who'd like to review his videos is: Is his content worth linking to on BH? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2uFFhnMKyF82UY2TbXRaNgYT Channel Be warned. The delivery might be thought by some to be soporific. His mother loves him, I'm sure. It's the message that's important, though. What do you think?

I've put a few of these cheap LED floodlights about: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/192036357719 Apart from the fact they didn't like a super cheap non-sine wave inverter and kept blowing up so I've upgraded to a sine wave inverter and they seem fine. To help the trades I've put some switched plugs on LED power cords: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261904475129 But when the switch is OFF the LED floods are partially illuminating - this is happening on all the LED floods I have with these switch plugs on. Is it dangerous? A problem with the LED? A problem with the switch? A screwup by me? Thanks for any tips Paul