Know How

On the 1st June 2020 new legislation came into force for Landlords in England for electrical safety checks to be completed on their property following this timeline: - All new specified tenancies from 1st July 2020 - All existing specified tenancies from 1st April 2021 This was introduced by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government who specify that these safety checks are to be carried out at intervals of no more than 5 years (or tenancy change – whichever comes earlier) by a qualified and competent person.

On 13th January 2020, plans were laid out in Parliament for ‘ElectricalSafety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020’. Once ratified by the House of Commons and the House of Lords, these new regulations will take effect from July 1st 2020 for new tenancies and April1st 2021 for incumbent tenancies.

Bathrooms today have to be hard-working – efficient for those early mornings, but also a calming retreat where you can relax at the end of the day. Lighting plays a big part in both the mood and efficiency of a bathroom, so if you’re planning a revamp, make sure you spend a bit of time thinking about it. Are you planning just to update your existingbathroom? A new lighting scheme can transform things – whether you add astriking pendant, improve your mirror lighting or fit a dimmer switch, youcan give your room a whole new feel. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

It’s one of the exciting Christmas rituals, getting out the decorations and lights. Typically 9 in 10 UK homes are decorated every year and 4 out of 5 Brits admit going ‘over the top’ with this tradition. However, despite our enthusiasm for adorning our homes – less than a quarter*of us think about the impact this might have on the electrics in our home. Not surprisingly, the increase in decorative lights requires the use of multiple sockets and extension leads, and very few of us realise that this could be a danger to our family. “Electrical safety in the home is important at any time of the year, but at Christmas we tend to forget that all the decorative lights we use around the home massively increase the dangers to our family. Just grabbing old lights from the loft and plugging them in isn’t acceptable. Everyone needs to be aware of the dangers and take into account the risks when getting competitive with the neighbours.” explains Tony Cable, Senior Events Engineer for NICEIC and ELECSA. Further causes for concern include repeatedly using lights year in year out that are not properly checked, lights used for 5 years or more and Brits not understanding the British Safety Kitemark. Steve Owen, MD of Buzz Electrical explains “With lighting going up in the garden and in the house, the usual issue is over-loading on sockets. Try and avoid this by not using extension leads or splitters where high currents are involved and a great idea is to use external festive lighting which is LED type; this is much lower power consumption which reduces the risk of overloading cables and socket power supplies” Over-loading can cause fires.”

The biggest, headline-change is expected to be the introduction of mandatory five-year electrical installation checks on private rented accommodation in England, which the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) propose to implement in a phased approach.

1. Ceiling height - Make sure you take it into consideration. This key piece of information is really important when your choosing hanging light fixtures. Some lights come with adjustable cables or rods, but others don’t. Avoid getting stuck with a light that hangs too low or too high. As a general rule, the bottom of a light should hang about 12 to 20 inches below a standard 8-foot ceiling. For each additional foot of ceiling height, add 3 inches.

Most people will turn their hand to certain DIY jobs like painting and decorating, maybe joinery work and even some plumbing. However, for those that think that they can turn their hand to electrical work – please think again. Every year in the UK, there are fatalities and thousands injured due to faulty electrics in the home. Unsafe electrical installations lead to fires and electric shocks, which is why Steve Owens, MD at Buzz Electrical advises that it’s not a good idea to try to save money by carrying out electrical work yourself. Rewiring of your home : If a property has not already been rewired within the last 25-30 years, the chances are it will need upgrading at least in part, in order to bring it up to current IEE standards. The wiring may be potentially dangerous and may not be able to cope with the demands of modern living. This is a skilled job that takes a qualified electrician several days to do professionally. At Buzz Electrical, we go to great lengths to ensure that your home is rewired as quickly and with as less disruption as possible to minimise any inconvenience. Fuse Board Upgrades: Fuse Boards are also commonly known as Consumer Units and distribution boards. There are several reasons why you may require a replacement: - · Your current Distribution board does not have an RCD protection (residual current device). This is a sensitive safety device that switches off electricity automatically in a fraction of a second if it detects any electrical fault on your circuit, or the smallest of current changes. This minimises the risk of electrical fires, electrocution or electrical shocks. · Your Distribution board meter tails to your supplier meter & earth pipework bonding are up to the latest regulations. · Your Distribution board is more than 10 years old. Fuses or Circuit breakers can age through use, therefore if it is older than 10 years you should get it checked by a qualified electrician. After installation, there must be full testing & certification of the system and this can only be undertaken by a skilled electrician with the latest qualifications & accreditations, preferably an approved NICEIC contractor. New socket installations : Whilst these might seem easy to install, there should be a full test of the circuits after installation to ensure that there is no overloading of the circuit and all works conform to BS7671 2008 Amendment 3. of the IEE regulations. All Electrical works carried out in a domestic property requires notification to your local Building control Department, known as Approved Part P of the building regulations 2013. (This Part P document is asked for when selling a property). It is recommended that in the first instance, an Electrical Installation condition report & test is normally recommended, this will confirm that all circuits, accessories & distribution boards are satisfactory and conform to BS7671-2008 Amendment 3. Buzz electrical Ltd, will be happy to quote for this report, normally without visiting the property, please ring or e mail for a verbal or written fixed price quotation. This will be followed by a further quotation for any remedial works or rewiring , if the installation is found to be unsatisfactory. It is important to get recommendations or testimonials for the electrician you have chosen. Buzz Electrical Ltd are a NICEIC fully approved Electrical Contractor, so you can be sure of a professional service and full peace of mind. Get in touch for a free no obligation quotation today. Tel: 01386 423600 / www.buzzelectrical.co.uk

Style, form and function should be your top priorities when upgrading your outdoor electrics suggests Steve Owens, M.D. at Buzz Electrical. Enjoying your garden is so much easier when you have an outdoor source of power. Carrying out routine jobs like lawn mowing and hedge cutting becomes so much more convenient, especially if you prefer to use lightweight electrical equipment. At last, you can ditch the hassle that comes with an extension lead and miles of cables. And essential summer pleasures like listening to music on the patio with a glass of wine are suddenly no problem. Using a fixed outdoor supply is also safer, not only because it eliminates trailing wires but because exterior sockets must be RCD protected. An RCD (residual current device) works by switching off the flow of electricity when a cable is cut so preventing awful accidents. It’s usually a simple matter for an electrician to run armoured cable from your house to wherever you need it. If you have a shed, summerhouse, greenhouse, gazebo, outdoor office or workshop, installing electricity will open up all kinds of new possibilities. Functional items like pond pumps, heaters, and security lights look neater when wired in close proximity. With a bit of imagination and technical know-how lighting will transform your garden at night.Fix wall lights, hang lanterns and/or string fairy lights around your seating area and it will be transformed by dark into an intimate grotto. Combine with a series of spotlights strategically placed to create features of your trees, shrubs or potted plants and your space will take on a whole new appeal. For further details or advice call us on 01386 423600 , or visit us on https://www.facebook.com/buzzelectrical/