Metal Consumer Unit Regulation 2016 Amendment 3

Below is the new amendments for the 17th edition electrical installation regulations

Need an electrician in Glasgow? 

NEW NUMBERING SYSTEM

The Third amendment recognises UK only regulations and these are now identified by a new numbering system. Regulations with a .100 number are CENELEC requirements and those with a .200 number are specific
to the UK.

PART 2 - Definitions

Definitions have been expanded and modified, including the introduction of some new symbols. A list of abbreviations used in the Regulations has been added. The definition of ‘competent person’ has been removed and it has been replaced with ‘instructed person (electrically)’ and ‘skilled person (electrically)’. These changes have been reflected throughout the wiring regulations.

CHAPTER 41 - Protection against electric shock


There is now a requirement for RCD protection for socket-outlets up to
20A for all installations, however exceptions are permitted for:
a specific labelled or otherwise suitably identified socket-outlet provided for connection of a particular item of equipment, or
where, other than for an installation in a dwelling, a documented risk assessment determines that the RCD protection is not necessary
Maximum earth fault loop impedances given in tables 41.2, 41.3, 41.4 and 41.6 have been revised to take account of the Cmin factor. Cmin is the minimum voltage factor to take account of voltage variations depending on a number of considerations.

CHAPTER 42 - Protection against thermal effects

Due to the number of consumer unit fires reported within domestic premises, Regulation 421.1.201 (UK only) has been added and

requires consumer units and similar switchgear to have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible material or be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of non-combustible material and complying with Regulation 132.12.
Please note: This regulation will be implemented on 1st January 2016 to allow for manufacturers to ensure an adequate supply of suitable cabinets or enclosures is available.

CHAPTER 51 - Common rules

Section 551 concerning compliance with standards requires all equipment to be suitable for the nominal voltage and also requires certain information to be noted on the Electrical Installation Certificate.

CHAPTER 52 - Selection and erection of wiring systems

A new regulation 521.200 (UK only) has been included giving requirements for the methods of support of wiring systems in escape routes.
The regulations concerning selection and erection of wiring systems have been re-drafted. Reference to “under the supervision of a skilled or instructed person” has been removed.

CHAPTER 55 - Other Equipment


A new section 557 Auxiliary Circuits is included. All auxiliary circuits are
defined in Part 2.

SECTION 559 - Luminaires and lighting installation

Requirements for outdoor lighting installations and extra low voltage lighting installations have been moved to new Sections 714 and
715 respectively.

PART 7 - Special Installations or Locations Section 701 locations containing a bath or shower

There is now a requirement for RCD protection to be provided for: low voltage circuits serving the location
low voltage circuits passing through zones 1 and 2 not serving the location.
Appendix 3 - Time/current characteristics of overcurrent protective devices and RCDs
This includes changes in connection with maximum earth fault loop impedance to take account of the Cmin factor given in CLC/TR50480:2011.

APPENDIX 6 - Model forms for certification and reporting

The schedule of inspections (for new work only) has been replaced by examples of items requiring inspection during initial verifications (which must be appended to the Electrical Installation Certificate).
A small number of changes to the Electrical Installation Condition Report and associated notes have been made, including a requirement to carry out an inspection within an accessible roof space where electrical equipment is present in that roof space.
This summary is not a definitive guide to all the changes introduced by Amendment 3 and contractors will be required to demonstrate a full and comprehensive understanding of AMD 3 at their assessment visit. 

electricians in glasgow westend

TIPS FOR CCTV INSTALLATION

Tips on installing CCTV to your home. 

WES ELECTRICAL WESTEND GLASGOW

The prospect of drilling a hole through the outside wall of your house to run the power and video cable for a camera may seem a big job. With a little forethought it can be quite simple. 

Positioning of cameras
Most people want to hide the camera as much as possible. The modern cctv camera can easily be located under or on the fascia/soffit boards where the roof meets the wall. When located here it is sheltered from wind and rain and can be shaded from most sunlight. The height of the camera gives a good area of view and minimizes the risk of vandalism. 

Another advantage of this location is cabling. It is pretty easy to run the cables into the loft from this position. Many houses have a small ventilation gap between the roof tiles and the external wall, or a small hole may be drilled in the fascia board to gain access to the loft. 

Cabling
It is usually quite easy to pick up mains power in the loft or, if additional cabling is required it is now internal. Wireless transmission can be used for the video signal with the receiver being placed next to the monitor or recorder (TV, VCR, PC etc.). That's it, job done. 

A 'hard-wired' system is almost as easy to install. Locate the TV aerial down-lead that may be in the loft or run down the outside of the house, then run the CCTV camera video cable alongside the aerial cable, which will lead directly to the TV. 

A good method of connection is an RF modulator. This changes the camera's video output to an RF output. You can pipe the CCTV images down the existing TV aerial down-lead and view on the TV/VCR as if it were another channel. If your house is fitted with a TV distribution system, this method will allow the pictures to be seen on all the TV sets. 

Addition of Switchers etc.
Consider placing switchers, multiplexers or DVRs in the loft. This keeps all the cabling in the loft with just one output cable to your monitor. It also hides your recording device. 

electricians partick glasgow

HOW TO REPLACE YOUR FUSEBOARD

What you MUST know before replacing your fuse board

Having made the decision to replace your old fuse board, it is important to ensure that this important job is completed by a competent electrician.

Think of your fuse board as the main hub of your home – its the ‘thinking centre’ to all electrical aspects in your home. If the job is carried out incorrectly, your home will be in a dangerous condition and your family is then at risk from electrical harm.

Firstly, I will outline the main reasons why you may need or want to upgrade your old fuse board to a new 17th Edition Consumer Unit:

• You are having some other electrical work carried out and need to comply with the regulations.
• Your old fuse board is overloaded and starting to cause problems for the remainder of the installation.
• Your wiring installation is in poor condition but you cannot afford a rewire, changing to a 17th Edition Consumer Unit will offer some protection.

Whatever the reason upgrading an old consumer unit to one incorporating two residual current devices (RCDs), is a job that many people will now have to consider at some point.

The above points may have been raised by another tradesperson in your home such as a builder if are having a large building project undertaken.

Please DO NOT be tempted into hiring anyone who IS NOT a qualified electrician to carry out electrical work in your home, even if they offer to carry out the work for a fraction of the price because ‘they know all about electrics’

It’s not just the price that counts, a competent electrician will be fully qualified, Part P compliantand fully insured to do the job AND have a lengthy guarantee on the job for years to come.

If the person fitting the consumer unit is not qualified, Part P compliant, and is not insured, it really is better to walk away. These people are not interested in your safety or future well being, they are only interested in your cash!

Yet over the years I have come across the same objections about price when quoting for a replacement consumer unit /fuse board. They normally go as follows…

• I can buy one myself for £80 in a well known DIY Shop
• My mate that works for %%%%%% can do it for £xxx
• I’ve had a quote from my builder and he reckons he can do it for £xxx
• Mick down the pub said if I get the board he’ll fit it for £50

Please don’t believe anyone who say you don’t need a certificate or dis-regards the importance of certification. Not only if an electrical certificate your peace of mind that your home is safe, it is also an important document that is needed should you wish to sell or let your home in the future.

It is not simply a peace of paper signed by the electrician, it is a legal document and the electrician needs to carry out several tests on the installation before they can issue a certificate.

The Electrician who carries out the installation should also issue the certificate. BEWARE some ‘electricians’ employ someone else to issue the certificate. This practice is NOT APPROVED and means your electrician is not Part P compliant.

So having obtained a quote from a genuine electrician, you might be wondering how they arrive at the cost.

So what is the Cost?

When you ask an Electrician to quote for a Fuse Board/New Consumer Unit, there are a number of things he will take into consideration, therefore costs will vary. You should be aware of these:

The materials involved

You can now go to a high street hardware/DIY shop and buy new Consumer Units for a reasonable amount of money, they come preloaded with MCBs, which may or may not be the right rating for your circuits, you will have to add to that the cost of Meter Tails and the fact that if anything goes wrong with the unit you will need to pay to have it removed and a new one refitted.

On the other hand your electrician will have accounted for all necessary items required and if he supplies the board it will be of good quality and if anything goes wrong with the unit he will have to replace it at no cost to you. You only Pay Once.

Checking earthing and bonding arrangements

Before the consumer unit is changed, the electrician will have checked the distributor’s equipment at the origin of the installation (where your meter is) along with the earthing and bonding arrangements. This is to ensure that they are properly connected, safe and that they comply with the regulations. If they do not then work may have to be postponed until the distributor rectifies any issues highlighted.

The time involved for installation

This will depend on the size of the property, number of circuits and location of the old fuse board. Stripping out the old, marking up cables ensuring they are in good condition and long enough then installing the New Consumer Unit.

The time involved in Testing

All of the circuits in the property will have to be tested, there is a series of predefined tests that must be applied to each of the circuits, and the results of this testing form a big part of the certification you will receive.

This is perhaps the most important part of changing a Fuse Board, however it is often the part that is not carried out correctly or at all by those who charge below market value for installing a new Consumer Unit. Often they will Fudge the test and fake the certificate, because they haven’t allowed time in their cost to do it correctly or they just are not capable of testing to the correct standard.

Allowance for Fault Finding

A good electrician will have built in an allowance for some Fault Finding because experience tells us that there are often minor issues that need to be resolved, if this has been built into the cost then often the electrician will not bother you with the detail, but will just rectify simple faults as found. Major faults would be notified to you and be discussed as a separate Job.

Again someone who is quoting below market value will not have factored in time for fault finding and you run two serious risks here. The first is that you are likely to be presented with an “Extras” bill at the end which could be substantially higher than your original quote or secondly the “electrician” will bodge the job in order to make it work so he can get paid his original fee, the result is you are left with a potentially dangerous installation.

Certification and Registration

Electricians have to comply with strict regulations, a change of consumer unit is a serious undertaking and must meet all of the relevant Standards and Regulations, in order to comply with these Electricians will issue Certification for both the Electrical Installation and for Compliance with Part “P” of the Building Regulations. Apart from the fact that doing this properly takes time, it also requires the electrician to be registered with an awarding body and all the associated costs that go with that, such as ongoing training, insurance, membership fees.

Profit

And finally we get to Profit, which is after all why any Electrician is in Business. A good electrician who runs a good business will have built in a profit margin into his quote for the job, this is how he stays in business and can provide a good service to his clients, he will be happy to take payment in any legal manner.

Your cheep quote electrician, will not have factored in profit, because in his mind it is pretty much all profit, he will supply a cheap quality consumer unit, fudge the test results, hide any faults that show up and then tell you he prefers to be paid in cash.

He is likely not registered, not insured and possibly not even qualified. If anything goes wrong and it will you have absolutely no comeback.

Conclusion

When you take all of the above into consideration, you will appreciate that there is a big difference between what you can buy a Consumer Unit for off-the-shelf in a well known DIY Chain, and the cost of a fully installed fully certified and fully guaranteed Unit. You should ask yourself when you get a cheap quote “How can he do it so Cheap”?…what is not getting done…

Most reputable electricians would agree that anything below £350 is too cheap and something is being missed and anything above £550 for a standard domestic board is too high (unless there are mitigating circumstances).

Glasgow westend Electrical Contractor

ELECTRICIANS IN WESTEND GLASGOW

2014 has been a busy year so far, as we approach the end of august i have seen many more clients coming to us for our expertise in electrical rewiring commercial and domestic both are equally as busy at the moment and long may it continue. Some of out larger customers include businesses with Glasgow airport and larger shopping centres in and around Glasgow.



Another massive change to the electrical industry this year in the installation of commercial LED lighting in buildings and shopping centres, not only does it reduce the cost of the electricity bills for the client but the lamps last up to 10 x as long as regular lamps that have previously been installed.



also on the rise for our business is the installation of custom tv installation around the home, from simply putting the tv on the wall to a complete wall make over with various points av ports and speaker installations, we are a professional installation company for audio visual equipment and are the best in Glasgow at what we do feel free to get in touch if you have a query or if you require a quotation.

EICR Glasgow

ELECTRICAL APPRENTICESHIP UK

I’ve just enrolled on a three-year course to become an electrician. It’s a complete career change, but after being made redundant four times from the engineering sector, I want a job that is “recession-proof”. However, because I now attend college during the week, I’m only available to work part-time. I’m worried this could put recruiters off from hiring me. Am I doing the right thing? Steven, 58, via email

You’ve certainly taken a bold step, Steven. Throwing your own money and time into a three-year course is not easy and demonstrates your commitment to changing careers. To some extent, your reasons for wanting to become an electrician are sound: businesses and home owners will always need electricians.

A word of caution though. The industry is far from “recession proof”. As construction and manufacturing projects have been scaled back over the last few years, so too has the need for all the trades associated with them – and electricians have suffered. David Marshall, of Electrical Recruitment Specialists, says he receives up to 150 applications for jobs. And all of them are from qualified electricians, with endless contact books and experience. When you qualify, you’ll be competing against them.

Which is why, if you’re serious about a career as an electrician, you must spend the next three years learning the trade, working in the trade, and building contacts in the trade. There is absolutely no point getting your course while working in a totally unrelated job – even if it’s something technical like engineering, Marshall says. Employers will want to see you’ve learned the ropes during your three years. That means rolling your sleeves up and getting out on site, just as much as it does turning up to class.

Related Articles

• Careers advice: Part-time work can be senior and respected 
  22 Nov 2012
• Careers advice: Graduates must broaden outlook 
  08 Dec 2011
• Careers advice: Avoid being a robot in your interview 
  17 Nov 2011
• Careers advice: Employers seem keen to retire staff over 65 
  03 Nov 2011
• Careers advice: How do I get my old job back after changing careers? 
  13 Oct 2011
• Careers advice: Don't assume your age will count against you 
  29 Sep 2011
• How to succeed in business with GE Capital GE

First things first though, Steven. Make sure your course is industry-recognised. I’ve done a bit of digging around for you, and to be taken seriously you must be on a City & Guilds course. If you’re not, change this now. If you are, you should be aiming – eventually – for an Electrotechnical Certification Scheme competence card, a “pass” which allows you to work at any industrial or domestic site. Check the sector’s skills council, Summit Skills, to make sure you’re on the right course at www.summitskills.org.uk.

Your next step is to try and secure work in the field. But as Matt Darville, an engineer at electrical contractors’ body the NICEIC, says: “Offering to do jobs for virtually nothing is a good start.” Electricians start as “labourers”, or “mates”, for about £10 an hour. The next level is called an “improver”, at about £11. They work with electricians, handing him or her cables, knocking down walls, talking to clients – everything except the actual wiring. Without these skills, employers are unlikely to consider you when you become qualified. You have to prove you can get stuck in, stomach long periods outside in the rain, or up a pole if need be. The contacts and job opportunities you’ll get from doing this are potentially huge. The Electrical Contractors’ Association website, www.eca.co.uk, lists the employers with these types of jobs available. Iain Macdonald, of the ECA, urges you to get your pitch right before approaching them, though. If you’re willing, state that you can work at a beginners’ rates, or firms may assume someone like you is too expensive.

PERIODIC INPECTION REPORTS WESTEND GLASGOW LANDLORD CERT

Periodic Inspection Explained

All electrical installations deteriorate with age and use. They should therefore be inspected and tested at appropriate intervals to check whether they are in a satisfactory condition for continued service. Such safety checks are commonly referred to as 'periodic inspection and testing'.

A periodic inspection will:

• Reveal if any of your electrical circuits or equipment are overloaded.
• Find any potential electric shock risks and fire hazards.
• Identify any defective electrical work.
• Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding.

Tests are also carried out on wiring and fixed electrical equipment to check that they are safe. A schedule of circuits is also provided, which is invaluable for a property.

How often is a periodic inspection required? Your electrics should be inspected and tested every:

• 10 years for an owner-occupied home.
• 5 years for a rented home.
• 3 years for a caravan
• 1 year for a swimming pool.

Other times when a periodic inspection should be carried out are:

• When a property is being prepared for letting.
• Before selling a property or buying a previously-occupied property.

Who should carry out the periodic inspection and what happens? 
Periodic inspection and testing should be carried out only by electrically competent persons, such as registered electricians. They will check the condition of the electrics against the UK standard for the safety of electrical installations, BS 7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations (IEE Wiring Regulations).

The inspection takes into account all the relevant circumstances and checks on:

• The adequacy of earthing and bonding.
• The suitability of the switchgear and controlgear. For example, an old fusebox with a wooden back, cast-iron switches, or a mixture of both will need replacing.
• The serviceability of switches, sockets and lighting fittings. Items that  may need replacing include: older round-pin sockets, round light switches, cables with fabric coating hanging from ceiling roses to light fittings, black switches and sockets mounted in skirting boards.
• The type of wiring system and its condition. For example, cables coated in black rubber were phased out in the 1960s. Likewise cables coated in lead or fabric are even older and may well need replacing (modern cables use longer-lasting pvc insulation).
• Sockets that may be used to supply portable electrical equipment for use outdoors, making sure they are protected by a suitable residual current device (RCD).
• The presence of adequate identification and notices.
• The extent of any wear and tear, damage or other deterioration.
• Any changes in the use of the premises that have led to, or may lead to, unsafe conditions.

The competent person will then issue an Electrical Installation Condition Report detailing any observed damage, deterioration, defects, dangerous conditions and any non-compliances with the present-day safety standard that might give rise to danger.

If any dangerous or potentially dangerous condition or conditions are found, the overall condition of the electrical installation will be declared to be 'unsatisfactory', meaning that remedial action is required without delay to remove the risks to those in the premises.

If you would like to arrange for a Periodic Inspection to be carried out, the following leaflets may be helpful:

electricians glasgow

Expanding as an electrical contractor

As with all businesses the problem arises when you look to expand and take on more work. there is a few problems with this that you must over come. Firstly being an electrical contractor, basically an electrician working in the westend of glasgow for more than 10 years, i have found that i can pretty much keep myself busy with 2- 4 jobs daily during the week and 1-2 jobs at the weekend. Which in itself provides a great income for electricians but to take you electrical business to a new level you must have things in place, the idea similar to the chicken and the egg dance - which one comes first?

Well let me tell you, when you start up in business you do want to be able to get to the point where you are getting more work than you can actually manage to do, and it is at this stage you would consider taking on more staff. The difficulty comes when you hire the staff, are they the right person for the jon, in my case are they a good electricians, willl they be loyal to your business, will they try and steal from you, be it materials of even cash? you never know so it is essential that when the time comes to expand you make sure you find the best person for the job.

the main reason i would want to take on another electrician would be that i cannot be in two places at the one time, so here comes the next problem to overcome - new vehicles - i would need to offer my new electrician a van to do his work from, a mobile office if you will, and from this he will generate income for the business without you having to drive around with you new employee and also give him a sense of responsibility and freedom to get his work done with the boss breathing down that back of his neck.

with these two new additions to the business - new employee - new van the cost of running your small one man band electrical contractor business has just went through the roof and its at this point you start to doubt yourself or well i did, but that is the wrong thing to do as i will explain later in my blogg. i needed to find the extra exposure to find more work to keep now two electricians busy not just one, i now need to turn to advertising again which dosnt come cheap. But this is the only way for the cash circle to work. you need to spend money to make money but it usually works out a lot more than you were planning on spending, that being said it dosnt take away the fact that your business would be growing and your turnover with dramaticallly increase, but having that extra cash for that rainy day might come in handy.

hope you like what i have said and check out my website www.wesuk.co.uk

Electricians clarkston glasgow