Bright Ideas, Safe Solutions

Please see our 'All Services' page, found in the 'More' section or the footer of any page.

Please see our up-to-date pricing on our 'Services / Pricing' page, found in the navigation bar at the top of this page.

We don't tend to ask for deposits, unless it's a large project such as a rewire or refurbishment. For standard electrical work, payment is due in full immediately upon completion. However; on large scale projects, we will require a deposit to cover the initial outlay and staged payments may be required to cover further time and materials. This will be noted in the Terms of Service (TOS) and Disclaimer you will sign before any work is started.

Because invoices are only issued for labour and materials delivered to date, immediate payment is expected unless other terms have been agreed beforehand.

Can I book some work in at the property I rent? You can send the bill to my landlord?

This is a slippery slope... The person booking the work, has full responsibility for the invoice and payment when it is due. 

We're more than happy to do work for tenants, as long as your landlord is happy and you are paying the invoice, unless other terms have been agreed beforehand.

If you require us to travel to your property/premises and use our tools and expertise to investigate the alleged fault, then you will be subsequently charged for our time regardless of whether any fault is actually found or whether you want us to further quote for any rectification work.

As a business, we cannot volunteer our time for free troubleshooting unless it has been agreed beforehand that we will be paid to rectify alleged fault if found. We will not pass on our findings so a 'cheaper' or 'rival' firm can put it right. 

Fault-finding doesn't come under any free quotation offer, you're paying to get an answer even if that answer is that all inspections and tests pass and no fault is apparent at that time.

1. Consumer unit/fuse board and meter tails - Responsibility of the home owner or landlord
2. Metering equipment - Responsibility of the electricity provider/supplier (i.e. British Gas)
3. The main fuse - Responsibility of the distribution network operator (DNO) (i.e. Northern Powergrid)

A consumer unit, (also known as a fusebox, distribution board, or panel-board) is a plastic or metal enclosure that contains circuit breakers for each circuit within a property.

Function

A consumer unit takes electricity from the power grid and distributes it to circuits throughout a building. It also protects people and appliances from electric shock and overload. 

Safety

Consumer units are a safety requirement for homes and businesses. They contain circuit protection devices like residual current devices (RCDs), mini circuit breakers (MCBs), and residual current circuit breakers with overload (RCBOs) or arc-fault detection devices (AFDDs) 

Location

Consumer units are usually installed in utility rooms, garages, or under-stairs cupboards. They should be mounted between 1350mm and 1450mm above the floor and kept away from children. 

Materials

Consumer units must be made from non-combustible material or placed in a non-combustible cabinet. Metal consumer units are better than plastic units because they help prevent overheating and contain fires. 

As per the IET Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) new consumer units within homes throughout the UK need to be constructed out of a non-combustible material (i.e. Metal)

Maintenance

It's important to know where your consumer unit is located and to regularly check its condition. 

These are all electrical safety devices, installed within the consumer unit (usually, sometimes in other enclosures) designed to automatically trip in the event of a fault and disconnect a circuit.

MCB's are known as miniature circuit breakers, these are electrical safety devices that will automatically trip, disconnecting a circuit in the event of an overload (too much current) on that circuit, protecting equipment and preventing fires.

RCD's are a type of electrical safety device (known as Residual Current Devices), that will automatically trip, disconnecting a group of circuits in the event of a fault, protecting equipment and reducing the risk of serious harm from an ongoing electric shock.

An RCBO is another type of electrical safety device that will isolate a specific circuit if a fault occurs. RCBO's share the same characteristics as an RCD and MCB combined. It protects against residual current faults alongside circuit overload. RCBO's or AFDD's are used in modern/new consumer units (instead of split-load dual RCD boards) to comply with regulation 411.3.3 of the IET Wiring Regulations (BS 7671).

An AFDD is another type of electrical safety device (Arc-Fault Detection Device), which constantly checks for loose connections or anything that may cause an electrical arc. When an arc is detected, the device automatically trips, disconnecting the affected circuit.

There should be labels present on the consumer unit; outlining how to test the installed safety devices, if installed by a competent electrician.

You can usually find a button on RCD's, RCBO's and AFDD's that should be pressed to test the device and their operation. This should be carried out in six-monthly intervals, unless otherwise stated on the consumer unit safety signage/labels or manufacturers instructions and guidelines.

If in doubt, don't hesitate to contact us, or any other competent electrician for further advice.

A Surge Protection Device (or SPD for short) is designed to protect your electrical installation and circuits within your home or property from power surges and overloads.

How does it work?

An SPD will either limit the transient voltage, or diverting it back down to earth.

What are the different types?

 SPDs are typically installed in a consumer unit, also known as a fuse board or sub-distribution board. There are different types of SPDs, including: 

• Type 1: Installed at the origin, like the main distribution board.
• Type 2: Installed at sub-distribution boards/consumer unit.
• Type 3: Installed close to the protected load, but only as a supplement to a Type 2 SPD. 

How do I know if my SPD has been activated?

There are green/red indicator windows located on the front of the SPD. If they are RED it means that there has been a surge and the device has been activated. If RED the device needs to be changed. If the indicator shows GREEN, it is in proper working order.

Do I need to install an SPD?

The current edition of the IET Wiring Regulations, BS 7671:2018, states that unless a risk assessment is carried out, protection against transient overvoltage shall be provided where the consequence caused by overvoltage could:

• Result in serious injury to, or loss of, human life; or
• Result in interruption of public services and/or damage to cultural heritage; or
• Result in interruption of commercial or industrial activity; or
• Affect a large number of co-located individuals.

This regulation applies to all types of premises which include domestic, commercial and industrial.

If you replaced every luminaire in your home or property, you should see a significant improvement (around 60-70%), especially if the LED's are rated as A+++ efficient.

You could potentially be saving up to 90% on your lighting electricity bill upgrading to LED's.

LED's produce little to no heat, and don't emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation compared to halogen bulbs.

An LED is a light-emitting diode.

Compared to halogen bulbs, LED's tend to last a lot longer (around 50,000 hours, while halogens only last up to 1,500 hours).

LED's have much quicker response times than halogen, so they activate quicker. A smaller, less energy demanding (5w) LED can emit the same amount of light (lumens) as a 50w halogen bulb.

When choosing an LED bulb, you can look at the lumen value to determine how bright you want the light to be. The higher the number of lumens, the brighter the light. 

In short, yes - absolutely we can. All light fittings can be changed, but there's a few things that need to be checked first.

1. Is the cabling in a good state of health?
2. How big is the light and can a good fixing can be achieved? - If not, can we get above it to add the additional required support?
3. Can we get to the light? Is it on the ceiling above the bottom of the stairs and additional access equipment and PPE is needed?
4. Is there a CPC (Circuit protective conductor - yellow/green cable) at the base of the fitting? If not a Class Two/Double Insulated fitting will be required. (If you supply the fitting this is indicated by a marking of two squares one inside the other.)

Yes, as long as we can get a cable to where the fitting is required. The light fitting must have a minimum IP (Ingress Protection) Rating of IP43, which will protect the electrics against light rain and sprayed water.

IP Ratings Explained:

First digit

Protection against solid objects, ranging from 0 (no protection) to 6 (no ingress of dust)

Second digit

Protection against liquids, ranging from 0 (no protection) to 9 (high-pressure hot water from different angles) 

Here are some other things to know about IP ratings:

• An "X" in place of a digit means the enclosure has not been tested or the test is not applicable. 
• A letter may be added to the end of the IP rating to indicate resistance to specific materials or hazards, or the scenario in which the IP testing was conducted. For example, "IP67M" indicates resistance to oil or high voltages. 
• The higher the number after IP, the better the protection against foreign bodies. 
• Different parts of an enclosure can have different degrees of protection. 
• Equipment designed to be mounted in an enclosure may contribute towards the stated IP rating. 

First digit - Solid foreign objects

• 0: No protection
• 1: Protection against a solid object greater than 50mm, such as a hand.
• 2: Protection against a solid object greater than 12mm, such as a finger.
• 3: Protection against a solid object greater than 2.5mm, such as wire.
• 4: Protection against a solid object greater than 1.0mm such as a thin strap.
• 5: Dust protected. Prevent ingress of dust sufficient to cause harm.
• 6: Dust tight. No ingress of dust.

Second digit - Liquid foreign objects

•  0: No protection
• 1: Protection against water drops.
• 2: Protection against water drops at a 15 degree angle.
• 3: Protection against water spray at 60 degree angle.
• 4: Protection against water splashing from any angle.
• 5: Protection against water jets from any angle.
• 6: Protection against powerful water jets and heavy seas.
• 7: Protection against the effects of temporary submersion in water. (30 min, at 3ft).
• 8: Protection against the effects of permanent submersion in water. (up to 13ft).
• 9K: Protection from close-range, powerful, high temperature water jets.

Again, similar to above - if we can get a cable to it, YES we can fit a new socket.