Electrical contracting in Glasgow and Renfrewshire - Highlighting the new regulations, installations and current matters to do with all aspects of Electrical contracting - Iain Jamieson Wes electrical
In tough economic times like we have endured over the past several years, businesses in and around Glasgow, have struggled to survive and make ends meet doing the thing they have been doing for the past few years. The landscape has changed advertising has changed even the way we communicate has changed. Our customers come to our company from all different sources and if you have not moved with the times you will be left behind and will suffer the dire business and economic consequences.
We are based in the Westend of Glasgow and cover Glasgow - south side Glasgow (Clarkston)- Glasgow north - East end Glasgow and Renfrewshire. we continue to grow on a daily basis and are consistently looking for new opportunities to grow and enhance our visibility across all levels of media.
The most interesting thing is that in 2014 it dosnt cost in actual cold cash to get yourself out the intact you can basically get business all week 24 hours a day for free just like i do. you need to learn the techniques to do this but once you do you would be forever grateful for taking the time to do so.
i spend 0 on advertising and have done for the past 3 years i more jobs on a daily basis that i can handle and have to disappoint some customers but i do try and get 5-8 jobs done per day minimum if possible.
if you are interested in learning more about becoming a success as an electrician get in touch iain@weselectrical.co.uk
Prior to the arrival of mini circuit breakers (MCBs), the older type of consumer unit feature a horizontal row of fuses. New consumer units are more pleasing on the eye, and they have “toggles” so when they trip they just need flipping back up. Needless to say they are much safer.
Pre-1950 fuse boxes still exist but their numbers are low, and because it’s common for them to have exposed live parts these units should always be regarded with caution.
There’s a wide range of consumer units available in the UK, from leading and well respected manufactures such as Volex, Legrand, Wylex, MK and Crabtree. Determining which type of unit that best suits your needs will depend on how many separate circuits you have in the home.
Dual Residual Current Device (RCD)/ 17th Edition consumer unit
High Integrity Boards
For security and aesthetics, consumer units tend to be located in out of the way places, for example in closets (but not clothing closets), basements and garages. However, they still need to be easily accessible.
New 17th edition wiring regulations were introduced for the UK in 2008, which required all circuits to have RCD protection. Since the new electrical wiring regulations were introduced, all new homes built in the UK have to be fitted with RCDs. These life saving devices are designed to protect against electrical fires and electric shocks, which can be fatal.
Although it is possible to make existing electrical installations in the home compliant, in most instances it’s easier, safer and ultimately more cost-effective just to remove the old fuse board and replace it with a modern consumer unit.
Consumer units must be installed by a certified Part P electrical contractor. Replacing an old fuse box in a typical three bedroom property should normally be completed in a day. day.
The electrical installation will need to be inspected and tested to ensure it is safe before the fuse box can be replaced with a new consumer unit. All cables will be upgraded and all circuits fully tested. An electrical installation certificate will only be issued after the job has been done and all tests are satisfactory.
For well over one hundred years the Wiring Regulations IN scotland and in Glasgow where we are based, have provided the rules which must be followed to make sure that electrical installations are safe. The introduction of the 17th Edition of the Wiring Regulations on the 1st January 2008 has major implications for all Electrical ContractorsGlasgow, Designers and Consultants. Installations designed from 1st July 2008 must comply with this new set of Regulations. Several new Regulations will have an impact upon circuit design and consumer unit layout. This guide below will help you understand the new Wiring Regulations and current Building Regulations, providing the necessary facts to construct compliant installations including Consumer Units. Since 2005 the Building regulations for England and Wales has made direct reference to Electrical Installations, increasing the influence on how Electrical Equipment is installed in buildings.
Building Regulations
Part P of the building regulations relates to the electrical safety in dwellings. The approved document prescribes that consumer units should be located so that they are easily reachable where this is necessary to comply with Part M of the building Regulations.
Part M requires that reasonable provision be made for people to gain access to a building and use its facilities. The approved document prescribes that switches, socket outlets and “other equipment” needs to be at appropriate heights, these are defined as between 0.45m and 1.2m from finished floor level.
Other equipment may be taken to include the consumer unit, as it contains devices such as MCB’s and RCD’s that may need operation or resetting by the user of the dwelling. The consumer unit should therefore be accessible, with the devices mounted at a height no greater the 1.2m above the floor. In addition the consumer unit should not be in a location that would make it difficult to access such as an under stairs cupboard. Neither should it be placed in a position where is likely to be damaged by impact. Therefore depending on the layout of the dwelling a flush consumer unit may be considered.
Consumer Units should be easily reachable and be mounted with the switches at a height of between 0.45m & 1.2m above floor level
Scotland Requirements of 17th Edition Wiring Regulations BS 7671:2008
This section aims to explain some of the new Regulations contained within the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, regarding the consumer unit and final circuits. Firstly however, to fully understand what is required, we need to consider some definitions from Part 2 of the Regulations.
Ordinary Person – Someone who is neither skilled or instructed e.g. General public / Home owner
Skilled Person – A person with technical knowledge or experience to enable him/her to avoid dangers which electricity may create e.g. Qualified Electrician
Instructed Person – A person who has been adequately advised or supervised to enable him/her to avoid dangers which electricity may create e.g. Facilities Manager
Typically commercial installations will be under the control of a Skilled or Instructed Person. However domestic and some commercial installations will not. This is particularly important, as certain Regulations only apply to installations not under the supervision of a Skilled or Instructed Person. A significant change is the introduction of Regulations requiring additional protection by RCDs. There are 3 points of consideration,
The definitions for persons are important to consider when we look at the requirements for protection of circuits supplying socket outlets. Regulation 411.3.3 requires that an RCD of not exceeding 30mA be provided for:
Socket outlets up to 20A that for general use by “ordinary persons”.
Mobile equipment up to 32A that is for use outdoors. Exceptions to 411.3.3 are permitted where:
Use of socket outlets is under the supervision of someone “skilled” or “instructed”.
Specifically labelled or otherwise suitably identified socket outlets provided for a particular item of equipment.
This is a change from the 16th Edition that required only socket outlets ‘reasonably expected’ to supply equipment used outside the equipotential zone to have RCD protection e.g. used for an Electric lawn mower. Now under the requirements of the 17th edition it is likely that every socket outlet in a domestic installation will require RCD protection not exceeding 30mA. This may also apply to some commercial installations, like small offices or shops etc where there is no control on the use of those socket outlets. Consideration should also be given to areas where free access to socket outlets is available to the general public e.g. airport lounges.
Socket outlets for general use in a domestic installation require RCD protection not exceeding 30mA
Significant changes affect installations where cables are buried in the wall. This is the normal practice in dwellings.
Cables buried in the wall
Here we need to consider Section 522, Selection and erection of wiring systems in relation to external influences. The particular requirements of this section apply to cables which are concealed in a wall or partition at a depth of less than 50mm, or where metal partitions are used. The definitions for persons are once again important for this section. There are 5 options of installing cables in walls. The cables shall:
Incorporate an earthed metal covering which is suitable as a protective conductor. Eg SWA cable.
Be enclosed in earthed metal conduit, such that is suitable as a protective conductor.
Be enclosed in earthed metal trunking, such that is suitable as a protective conductor.
Be protected against damage from penetration by nails or screws.
Be installed in a safe zone.
This is much the same as the 16th Edition requirements and the usual option is to install cables in a dedicated safe zone. However, where an installation is not under the supervision of someone skilled or instructed, regulation 522.6.7 applies. In this regulation where (5) only from above is used then the cable must have additional protection by the use of a RCD not exceeding 30mA. This would apply where thermoplastic (PVC) wiring systems are used, this is typical in most domestic installations and some commercial installations.
Where buried cables are not mechanically protected additional protection by an RCD not exceeding 30mA must be provided
Although additional regulations relating to bathrooms etc are not new, there are some important changes to consider.
Section 701, Locations containing a bath or shower
Regulation 701.411.3.3 requires that all circuits within this location shall be additionally protected by an RCD not exceeding 30mA. This would mean 230V lighting, the 230V supply to the source for SELV, a shower circuit and bathroom heater for example will all need RCD protection. A standard 13A socket outlet is now permitted in this location provided however the socket outlet is more than 3m from the boundary of zone 1.
The 16th Edition required local supplementary bonding be provided connecting together all exposed and extraneous conductive parts in the zones. This is no longer required in this location provided the following conditions are met:
All final circuits of the location comply with the automatic disconnection requirements according to regulation 411.3.2.
All circuits are RCD protected in accordance with 701.411.3.3.
All extraneous-conductive parts of the location are effectively connected to the protective equipotential bonding according to regulation 411.3.1.2 (Previously termed main equipotential bonding).
All circuits in locations containing a bath or shower shall be protected by an RCD not exceeding 30mA
There are additional Regulations and Codes of Practice that need to be considered during the design of an installation. These will affect the choice of consumer unit.
Division of Installation
Section 314 calls for the installation to be so divided to:
Avoid hazards and minimize inconvenience in the event of a fault
Reduce the possibility of unwanted tripping of the RCD due to excessive protective conductor currents.
To comply with these requirements the circuits of an installation should not be connected to a single RCD, as this could lead to loss of supply to the entire installation in the event of a fault on one circuit, clearly inconvenient for the user of the building.
All circuits of an installation should not be connected to a single RCD
The Wiring Rules & Building regulations are not the only documents that need to be consulted, another important document relates to smoke alarms.
BS 5839-6:2004 Fire detection and Fire alarm systems for buildings
This Code of Practice has particular requirements for dwellings. This document makes reference to the power supply to such systems and mentions RCD’s. The circuit supplying these systems should preferably not be protected by an RCD. This however is going to be difficult to achieve if the circuit supplying these systems is buried in the walls and standard domestic wiring systems are used. Indeed the supply cables would need to be specially protected in earthed metal conduit etc. for RCD protection not to be used.
When it comes time to upgrade your consumer unit / older fusebox in your home, you need to take into account several things that will effect how much you are going to spend.
secondly you would need to know how many circuits you have in your home, for example you will have one circuit for your lighting downstairs and one circuit for your upstairs lighting. also you will have a socket circuit in the form of a ring circuit , you would have a shower circuit and cooker circuit also.
The more circuits you have the bigger the main board you will need to power you home.
you will also need to take into consideration if you would choose to install a board with rcd protection.
Most new boards come with an rcd protected circuit board but you can buy ones that don't.
The issue can arise that if the is earthing issues on you circuits or you have some other wiring faults your rcd will trip and not go back up until this is fixed. you would then need to take on testing of your electrical installation through the means of a EIC test to find out where the fault lies.
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.
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).
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.
I have been wondering for a while now why our industry has been cutting itself down and not staying true to business. What do I mean by that well I look at the bass fitters and the plumbers in my marketplace and they all have the same mentality and price structure. No one veers far from the standard price in the Glasgow and Mosspark area whether you are a one man show or a 50 man shop. HVAC companies have good structure and the standards for the technicians are set higher. They wear uniforms, don’t complain about working on call shifts and just seem to have a better grip on customer service than electricians.
Electricians and electrical contractors have been trying to play catch up with the other industries and trades and I have to say it is about time. We make our living doing a highly skilled trade and still don’t know how to do simple things in business and in marketing. There is no doubt that we are great electrical technicians but we definitely have some work to do on the business side of things.
I created this blog so we can all try to make our electrical industry a better place to earn a living. Let’s face it, this is what we do to feed our families and if we can not do that then why do it. I see electrical contractors everyday that go out of business not because they were bad electricians but they just don't understand how in todays market place new thinking and new approaches need to be taken to be a success. Believe me I was one of those guys. I searched and looked for business resources on running an electrical business approached business gateway in glasgow but never found anything. It was the school of hard knocks for me. I realized that our industry thinks it is some secret that should not be told on how to run a business. I think different, I think that if we all have better training and resources that we all will prosper.
For me learning about business has been a full time occupation since i was 20 and could get a job in the electrical industry after my time as an apprentice electrician was done and to be honest i diet want to go out and work for someone, i have always had a business mind and an attitude to making my own money. so thats exactly what i did, and i dominated my local area, but as time goes on without proper knowledge of where marketing and the industry was heading, the work started to slow down, until i released that i need to work hard at keeping my business at the top. There are multiple ways of doing this and i will digress in my other blogs but running a business in todays market in west end glasgow takes much more than placing an add in a news paper.
Lets make a change the electrical contracting game for the better in Glasgow because our industry is not like a shelf at asda. We cant look for the cheapest disposable electricians forever and it will catch up to all of us eventually. Let me know if you have anything you would like to learn or know about so we cant discuss it further.
The electrical wire board is the hub that controls all the wiring in your property with each circuit convey electrical present in your building heading again to this one single spot. Numerous properties are even now working on circuit sheets and electrical wiring that were introduced in the 1960s. These maturing establishments are practical, yet miss the mark concerning cutting edge wellbeing principles. In the event that your wires continue breaking it may be the case that this is the ideal opportunity to contemplate changing your old breaker board for a current one that offers better insurance.
electrical experts westend glasgow are a group of expert and qualified circuit repairmen working all over west end glasgow, along these lines, in the event that you are searching for a circuit tester in west end Glasgow, Lambeth or Croydon for instance, then we are splendidly set to offer assistance. Notwithstanding breaker board changes, our administrations spread anything electrical from essentially including an additional attachment, to a full-scale rewire. Each occupation we do attempts to make the electrical hardware in your property more secure, and takes after the strict rules set around the Bs7671 Wiring Regulations (seventeenth Amendment 1, 2011). Changing your circuit board is a noteworthy step towards getting electrical security your home closer to gathering these norms.
Current breaker sheets are fitted with Rcds, or Residual Current Devices, and Mcbs, or Micro Circuit Breakers. These productive gadgets are intended to catch blames in your circuits, and cut the present in a moment ought to anything uncommon be recognized. Fundamentally lessening the danger of electric stun and the flashes or overheating that can result in electrical blazes, these current circuit breakers offer incredible genuine feelings of serenity.
Otherwise called a fuse box or a consumer unit, power box unit or electrical board, the wire board in your property needs to be furnished to adapt to the requests of advanced family machines. Taken together, things like coolers, electric pots, clothes washers and dishwashers are significantly more eager for power than anything that was around when the old circuit sheets were initially introduced. Your new breaker board will be fitted with sufficient breakers to adapt to these raised force requests inside your property, with each one circuit being ensured more viably than at any time in the past.
Wire board changing is a generally direct assignment that can for the most part be carried out inside a couple of hours relying upon the amount of circuits in your property, and the unpredictability of the wiring as of now set up. The change can just lawfully be effected by a qualified electrical expert who is Part P enrolled. It is vital when changing a breaker board to guarantee that the earth-holding game plans in your property meet current benchmarks, and are overhauled if needed. The circuit board trade expense will fluctuate as stated by your prerequisites, yet is not as exorbitant as you may envision, and its a little cost to pay for your security. fuse board replacement
we have been giving electrical administrations to provincial and business customers in South London in excess of 20 years. Clients searching for an Emergency Electrician in partick, a circuit prepare to leave change in Bromley, or another plug attachment in glasgow realize that captivating the administrations of our group of masters will convey quick, productive and expert comes about, without a doubt.
occurring your quarters by fitting a appendage kitchen can be a earsplitting pretentiousness of revitalising and bringing added cartoon into your home. A proficiently intended, futuristic kitchen serves as an impressive feature in any dwelling; keeping familiar following than recent styles and trends shows off your eye for interior design and is certain to impress any visiting cronies and associates. A kitchen renovation is no little task by any means and there are many things to find by now spending any of your hard earned cash. So, tolerates see at a few lecture to thinking ideas that could learn how to fit a kitchen in the west end of glasgow.
Design
Before you attain any appliances, fittings or decorative appurtenances for you kitchen be unadulterated you have finalised your ideas for the style of the room. The first step as well as learning how to fit a kitchen is easy; know what you sorrowful. There are in view of that many every second styles understandable to you and it can be a little overwhelming behind bothersome to source ideas for your house. Thing just about what style would member in crime your home and your personality; are you looking of a more avowed kitchen behind a vintage kettle, oven and toaster? Or are you a speculator of the 21st century who needs coffee about the go and very developed colours and textures? Get an idea of the features, colours and design you nonexistence for your kitchen, mean it out and write it the length of.
Planning
The second step taking into account learning how to fit a kitchen is more obscure; when than we have decided for a design and style for our kitchen, its era to begin planning out the look we have and where each of our count features is going to be. Large fixtures and features are going to child maintenance a lot of freshen; ovens, dining tables and late buildup large items are compulsion to be usefully placed to maximise style and air efficiency. Be sure to take measurements of all the rooms dimensions; youa propos going to craving to decree the peak of the room (floor to ceiling) if youa propos planning to install an oven following an descent unit above. Measuring the room is afterward useful behind you are shopping for larger features or fixtures; you can compare late addition measurements to those of your kitchen to determine how customary each subsidiary feature or item is.
Fitting
The third step once researching how to fit a kitchen is the fitting and decorating. Firstly, certain your kitchen out every portion of; surgically surgically remove whatever that is mammal replaced and anything that could make a attain of damaged. Turn off all water and electricity supplies to the room and disconnect completely pipes that gain to/from sinks and drains (if invasion).
When removing pass cabinets, be sure to unscrew and detach any fitting that union them in place; this can prevent you damaging any walls or similar beams subsequent to removing cabinet and draw units. The same scrutinize applies as soon as discharge duty surfaces; ease the worktops off after unscrewing fittings underneath. This is the unqualified time to make repairs to walls or repaint walls, as there are no auxiliary cabinets and draws to accidentally make mixed in addition to free paint.
As you stockpile any cabinet or wall mounted cupboards, be sure to check they are straight in the by now a liveliness level. Leave doors and draws out of each unit until they are fitted properly, this makes for an easier becoming accustomed if you mannerism to remove units and a propos insert. Ensure any added worktops are scratch to the precise measurements in the in front taking them into your kitchen, operate this outdoors is strongly recommended. Cut out sections of your worktops according to the measurements of any new sinks or hobs. Once your worktop is of the right size and shape also you are ready to mass its installation by bolting it or calculation supports.
Once every new features and fittings have been completed, mount occurring finishing touches to your kitchen by accessorising subsequent to matching appliances and ornamentation. Kettles, toasters and caf tiers can be bought as a set and if matched neatly taking into consideration the colour of your kitchen, they can truly avow bring the cumulative design together. Add within enough limits blinds or ended that membership the room to emphasize your kitchen window and to any natural roomy entering your room.
Remember, turn off electrical and water supplies to the kitchen in the previously comport yourself any DIY. Apply common wisdom and always be safe taking into consideration taking upon house DIY jobs.
India's plan for world's largest solar farm may stumble over wetlands
Mega solar power project in Rajasthan may touch on protected Sambhar Lake wetlands
A map of the proposed boundaries for installation of a nearly 20,000-acre solar generating facility near Sambhar Lake in India's Rajasthan state, taken from plans submitted to India's government Photograph: /AlertNet
India has announced plans to build the world’s biggest solar-power generating facility on a salt-producing plain in Rajasthan, but experts say the massive project may still face ecological hurdles.
The facility, to be located on 20,000 acres (30 square miles) of land owned by Rajasthan’s government and a salt-producing firm, would have a capacity of 4,000 megawatts of electricity, and cost $1.2 billion in the first phase. India today uses an average of 772,000 gigawatt hours of power annually.
A.N. Srivastava, director of the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said in an interview the project should have a lifespan of 25 years, and would reduce the country’s carbon footprint by over 4 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Currently 67% of India’s energy requirements are met by rapidly depleting coal deposits, he said, and “to offset this dependency, India needs a clean energy revolution”.
Backers say the project will sit on dried-up land no longer required for salt production.
“There is almost 30 square miles of barren land surrounding the (Sambhar Lake) site which could be well-utilised for green energy production,” R.K. Tandon, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Salts Limited, one of the partners in the solar plant, said in an interview with Thomson Reuters Foundation. The project fits under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, which calls for greater use of renewable energy, and would be environmentally friendly, he added.
The project aims to cut prices for solar energy and close a huge gap between power production and power demand in rural areas as per capita consumption of power grows in India, from about 780 kilowatt hours per person in 2009-10 to more than 880 kilowatt hours per person in 2011-12, according to the country’s 12th five-year plan.
But the government has not yet announced the project’s boundaries, and environmental experts fear it may touch on Sambhar Lake wetlands protected under the international Ramsar Convention, and that it could also affect nearby villages and illegal settlements encroaching on the wetlands.
The company providing the land for the project controls 58,000 acres (90 square miles) in the area, and the catchment of Sambhar Lake covers 60 square miles, according to the Sambhar Master Plan prepared by the state government.
Sambhar Lake is one of the largest salt-producing areas in India, and has been used for salt production since the 1870s. The lake basin is spread at the confluence of three districts of Rajasthan – Jaipur, Nagaur and Ajmer – and is close to the fringes of the desert.
The lake depends on rainwater supplies, which have been declining in the area as a result of changing weather patterns and greater use of water by the growing town of Sambhar, with 24,000 people, and by close to 100 small illegal settlements in the catchment area.
Over the past several decades, large areas of land surrounding the lake have dried out and no longer flood regularly. This is the land the government now hopes to use to build the solar farm, Tandon said.
Sambhar Lake, an important habitat for birds, particularly flamingos, is among 25 wetlands of international importance in India.
India’s Wetlands Conservation and Management Rules 2010 prohibit the setting up of industries in flood areas or industrial activity likely to have an adverse impact on wetland ecosystems, according to a Ministry of Environment and Forests official. Such rules may drive the final footprint of the solar project.
Such a project would have to be approved by 12 members of the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority including seven officials from key ministries such as Environment and Forests, Water, and Agriculture, as well as five environmentalists or other leading experts, the official said.
Some experts also fear that the proposed 20,000-acre footprint of the project may need to be reduced to meet wetland rules, reducing the target for power generation. Under government policies, about 5,000 acres of land is required for each 1,000 megawatts of solar energy produced.
“It is likely that the solar power project may face a space crunch due to existing encroachments around the catchment area of the lake, hence reducing the area for the project site,” said Abhishek Goyal, a New Delhi-based energy consultant for solar energy companies in India.
The government is expected over the next few months to invite bids to carry out the project. Hindustan Salts Ltd. recently invited bids for detailed feasibility studies and analysis of the project, according to its website.
India plans to seek $500 million in loans for the project from the World Bank for the first 750 megawatt phase of the project, which would cost $1.2 billion, Minister of Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said in a statement.
In the coming months, the government is expected to sign agreements to set up similar solar facilities in Kharagoda (Gujarat), Kargil and Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) under the country’sJawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which aims to produce 20 gigawatts of solar power each year by 2022.
Sunny India receives solar energy each year equivalent to nearly 5,000 trillion kilowatt hours per year, experts say – . So far, however, India has only about 2,000 megawatts of grid-connected solar.
A memorandum to establish the Sambhar Lake project was signed in late January by six Indian public-sector companies, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Power
Regulation 701.411.3.3 requires that all circuits within this location shall be additionally protected by an RCD not exceeding 30mA. This would mean 230V lighting, the 230V supply to the source for SELV, a shower circuit and bathroom heater for example will all need RCD protection. A standard 13A socket outlet is now permitted in this location provided however the socket outlet is more than 3m from the boundary of zone 1.
To comply with these requirements the circuits of an installation should not be connected to a single RCD, as this could lead to loss of supply to the entire installation in the event of a fault on one circuit, clearly inconvenient for the user of the building.
This Code of Practice has particular requirements for dwellings. This document makes reference to the power supply to such systems and mentions RCD’s. The circuit supplying these systems should preferably not be protected by an RCD. This however is going to be difficult to achieve if the circuit supplying these systems is buried in the walls and standard domestic wiring systems are used. Indeed the supply cables would need to be specially protected in earthed metal conduit etc. for RCD protection not to be used.
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