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Also commonly referred to as a consumer unit in recent times, a fuse box is responsible for controlling and allocating of the electricity in your home. They hold the power any time there’s an overload in one of the circuits which in turn, prevents fire as well as electrical damage. Fuse boxes are often incorporated in homes but consumer units are very rapidly replacing them. Therefore, when your fuse box breaks down, it’s always a smart decision to replace them with consumer units due to the fact that they’re safer and also comply with building regulations while also being a lot easier to use. If you’re extending your home, upgrading to a larger capacity model enables you to make use of more power with the power overloading. In this post, we’re going to cover the amount you’re expected to pay to replace or install a new fuse box or consumer unit as well as the factors that may affect the cost.

For a 10 way dual RCD consumer unit, the typical cost range will be between £250 to £600, meanwhile 15 way dual RCD consumer unit should cost within the range of £300 to £700. Overall, the smaller the house, the fewer the circuits that’ll be needed, hence the difference in the aforementioned prices.

There a number of factors that can affect the cost of replacing a fuse box. These factors includes the the size of the house in question ( the bigger the house , the more the circuits there are and the bigger the fuse box needed), the location ( for instance, places like London where there are higher demands are likely to be more expensive than other regions ).

If you’re about to acquire an electrical safety certificate, it’s quite normal to be a bit curious about the length of time the certificate is expected to last for. Well, this is also a bit tricky as the duration is determined by your type of property. In this post, we aim to shed more light into this topic in order to give you a detailed insight and help you make informed decisions moving forward.

As earlier stated, the validity of your electrical safety certificate or report is based on the type of property you own. In event whereby you happen to have tenants living in the property, the electrical safety certificate will last for 5 years or with every change of tenancy, depending on whichever comes first. However, in the event whereby you happen to live in your property, the electrical safety certificate is going to remain valid for 10 years. What’s more? For commercial properties, the electrical safety certificate is also valid for only 5 years. Meanwhile for caravans and swimming pools, the electrical safety certificate possesses a shorter lifespan of just 3 year and 1 year respectively.

The suggested length of validity is only the industry standard. And as such, landlords are not under any legal obligation to get their electrical safety certificate updated at the aforementioned times. According to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985, landlords are only required to keep the electrical wiring in proper condition at all times. It does not in any form require landlords to get an electrical safety report or certificate.

One of the primary reasons why you need to get an electrical certificate is that you may not be allowed to show legal proof that the wiring and electrical set up in your property was in the best possible condition in the event of an electrical accident. Several insurance companies will not accept your claims if you’re unable to present the electrical safety certificate.

Unlike in houses constructed in the 1960s, where you’d probably need to rewire the entire house unless the wiring is the modern PVCu coated type, majority of houses built in the 1970s would not need to be rewired. Most often than not, what they’ll need is just a consumer unit as well as an earthing upgrade. If you happen to have a consumer unit change, the electrical professional you hire would have to inspect the most parts of the property regardless. With that answered, you may also wish to know just how often a house would need to be rewired.

First and foremost, in order to make sure that your wiring is safe there’s a need to ensure that a periodic inspection is carried out by a fully licensed and qualified electrician every 10 years. Meanwhile for rental properties with tenants, the landlord is required to carry out a periodic inspection at least every 5 years. This will make sure that the electrical works in the property are safe, up to date and suitable for continued usage.

In order to determine whether your house needs to be rewired, there are some signs or indicators you’d have to watch out for. If you notice one or even a combination of the following , then you should get in touch with a registered electrician:

• Discoloured outlets and switches
• Persistent burning smell
• Outlets problems
• Flickering lights
• Tripping circuit breaker or blown fuses
• If you happen to possess aluminium wiring
• If you have continually experienced electrical shocks

It must, however, be said that rewiring a house is a messy and quite disruptive work. It’s also considered to be quite dangerous and recommended to be carried out only by a professional is well trained and experienced when it comes to tackling electrical works.

How Many Solar Panels And Batteries Do I Need?

Are you presently considering adding a solar system to your home? With several homeowners in the UK using solar now, many more are realizing the numerous benefits they stand to derive by getting one. Therefore, if you’re thinking about adding the system to your home but do not know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

Here, we’ll help you calculate the number of solar panels and batteries you’ll need to power your home. Starting from the panels, you can begin by taken into account everything that makes use of power in your home to get a good idea of how many you’ll need.

• Firstly, you’ll have to determine the number of watts you use. Simply go through your utility bill for kilowatt-hours (kWh). This varies amongst homes and being able to identify your daily average energy usage will assist you in getting your solar needs.

• Secondly, you have to determine the peak sunlight hours - having in mind that the solar panels only work when under direct sunlight. Once determined, you can then multiply the figure in hours by your home’s hourly energy usage and divide by your selected solar panel’s wattage.

Generally for a 1500 square foot house, you might need around 15 to 18 solar panels to cover the house’s electricity.

Meanwhile for batteries, there are also some factors to be considered to determine the number of batteries you’ll need for your house. These factors include your home’s power or electricity usage, the period of time in which the battery will be used as well as the battery’ specifications. Once done, you’ll be able to calculate the number of batteries required by your home.

Most people want to connect solar panels to a battery when they’re not at home all day to use the electricity they generate, or generate more than they consume over a day. Solar batteries are a great way to maximise the savings on your energy bills since you can use every unit of electricity you generate.

If you want to connect your solar panels to a battery, the best – and safest – way is to ask an MCS-registered company to do it for you. They’ve had lots of training and hold qualifications in handling electricity and installing solar batteries, so they will be able to recommend the best battery for your solar panels and for the among of electricity you use. Some of the brands they might recommend include Tesla, SolarEdge and SolaX, but there are many more to choose from. If you want to send electricity to the grid from your battery to receive Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments, it’s also worth leaving installation up to a registered installer. This is because you might not be eligible for payments if your battery wasn’t installed by an MCS-registered company.

However, if you do want to have a go at connecting your solar panels to a battery, it’s worth finding out whether your system is ‘storage ready’. Most relatively new systems will be, since batteries are becoming more commonplace. If your solar panels are storage ready, they will have an inverter that can easily have a battery added to it. If this is the case, then you should be able to buy the solar battery you want and follow the manufacturer's instructions to install it.

But it’s worth remembering that electricity is extremely dangerous when handled improperly. If you don’t get the solar battery connected properly and something goes wrong, it could cause a fire or you could electrocute yourself. If a fire breaks out due to your battery, it’s unlikely that your home insurance company would pay out since you connected the battery yourself. That’s why it’s always worth speaking to a registered installer to install a solar battery storage system for you.

It might be possible to fit electrics in your shed, depending on where it is and what it’s made of. You should get in touch with a qualified electrician to find out whether it’s possible. Never attempt to run electrical cable from your house to an outbuilding!

There are two different types: flat plate, where lots of thin tubes carry water through a flat absorber panel, and evacuated tube, where vacuum glass tubes capture the sun’s energy directly. There is little difference in performance between the two but evacuated tube panels do more obviously extrude from the roof.