An electrical contractors life

Walthamstow Baptist Church letter

2008-04-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

We have just received this letter from the Reverend Neil at the Central Baptist Church, Our engineers would also like to thank the Reverend Neil and all his staff as it was a very enjoyable project to work on and everyone was so very helpful.

2008-02-20T00:35:00.000-08:00

The upstairs balcony lighting was positioned to highlight the upstairs balconies and the roof features for the congregation in the main church. For this we used 28w energy saving white drum fittings, positioned behind the pillars. These fittings were also installed under the balconies which gave a warm light around the church, highlighting the pillars and arches.

2008-02-20T00:33:00.000-08:00

As the organ and the surrounding wood features were original and very impressive, we decided to highlight this area with150w Son-T floods. All these were installed, including the globe fittings, with separate switching so different lighting levels and effects could be obtained.

2008-02-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

The main challenge was to design lighting which would fit in with the décor of the church, highlight certain areas and have ease of maintenance as the height of the roof is 10 meters, with a globe height of 8 meters. We sourced 500mm diameter globe fittings and had 150w warm Light HQI Metal halide lamps installed. We then devised a pulley system, from the loft space above the main church area, so that the lights could be lowered for general maintenance and cleaning, which is a lot cheaper that erecting a tower each time.

Latest Project - Church Design & Rewire

2008-02-20T00:28:00.000-08:00

We were asked to complete a new electrical installation for the church which included designing the church lighting. At present there were only fluorescent strip lighting to all areas including the main church and both below and above the balconies. The electrical installation had been added onto over a period of time with very few power outlets, which meant extension leads being used everywhere. The majority of the existing circuits had been run in the old imperial conduit with a mixture of VIR and PVC cables. A new 3 Phase 100amp Mains Board was installed and the electrical circuits, for the Church and surrounding rooms, were installed using Low Smoke and Fume cabling for both the small power and lighting.

Artical regarding Un-safe electricians we found

2008-02-10T02:11:00.000-08:00

Just came across this artical regarding un-qualified electricians, so, please be careful out there.

Copy of artical:

Survey finds 98% of unregistered electricians willing to flout safety laws.

Three years after the introduction of safety legislation designed to prevent dangerous electrical installations, a significant number of electricians either remain confused about the regulations, or are deliberately flouting them. Research carried out on behalf of NICEIC, the UK’s electrical contracting regulatory body, found that the resulting confusion is putting consumer safety at risk, with unregistered electricians advertising their services to carry out potentially hazardous electrical work.
Designed to prevent fires, injury and death, the latest safety legislation known as Part P, severely restricts the work that can be carried out by unregistered electricians. They should not, for example, install new plug sockets in a kitchen or fit an electric shower in a bathroom, unless their work is inspected and certified by the Local Authority Building Control department.
Posing as potential customers, researchers contacted unregistered electricians advertising in newspaper and on-line small ads. The vast majority, 98%, said they would fit both an electric shower and/or plug sockets in the kitchen, with no mention of a subsequent inspection. Only one of the electricians contacted said he could not do either job as he was not registered with a government approved scheme such as NICEIC. Several others mentioned the regulations to their would-be “customer” during the telephone conversation, but still said they could do the job,
A separate survey commissioned by the Electrical Safety Council, found that only 10% of consumers were aware of the regulations that govern electrical work in the home in England and Wales.
Each year around 12,500 house fires, 750 serious injuries and 10 deaths are caused by unsafe electrics in the home.
Said Jim Speirs, chief executive of NICEIC: “The extent to which a hard core of unregistered electricians are deliberately ignoring safety law is both shocking and deplorable. The industry has a duty of care to the public to ensure that all electrical installations are safe and certified, particularly as so many consumers are unaware of regulations governing such work. While we may not expect every householder to be aware of the law, after three years, there is no excuse for professional tradesmen not to fully understand the regulations.
“It is, however, unfortunate that the Government has not given the same level of consumer publicity to safety laws governing electrical installations as they have to those covering gas, both of which are potentially lethal if installed wrongly. We would urge householders to download our Part P fact sheet and ensure any electrician is registered before engaging them to carry out work in their home.”
All work carried out by a registered electrician is tested and certified as safe. The householder should retain this certificate as it will be required as proof that work has been carried out correctly when their house is sold.
The NICEIC maintains a list of some 24,000 Approved Contractors and Domestic Installers, who are regularly inspected and meet national safety standards and codes of practice.

Please visit our Web Site at
http://www.arklebros.co.uk

New 17th Edition

2008-02-09T02:25:00.000-08:00

Just to let everyone know that all of our electricians have now completed the new City & Guilds course on the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations and have all passed.

These Regulations were published on January 1st 2008 and come into effect in July 2008. Installations designed before 1st July 2008 can be in accordance
with the 16th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations and installed and certified as such after 1st July 2008. However, all design after 1st July 2008 is required to be to the 17th
Edition IEE Wiring Regulations and installation and certification will have to reflect such.

Introduction to the Changes
BS7671:2001 is the current national standard for all electrical work undertaken in
the United Kingdom. The first edition of BS7671 was published in 1992 and has
so far been amended six times. The 17th Edition is the result of a complete
review of the 16th Edition and aims to standardise the UK standards with the
Harmonised Documents (HD’s) produced by the European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC).
Changes
Preface. A new informative note in the preface advises that publication of the
2008 edition of BS7671 does not automatically mean that installations complying
with previous editions are unsafe for continued use or need to be upgraded.
Numbering. The Regulation numbers are changed so as to be in line with
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Numbers. This enables users to
readily relate UK regulations with European HDs and IEC regulations.
Fundamental Principles. Requirements are added for protection for persons and
livestock against injury, and property against damage caused by voltage
disturbances and electromagnetic influences.
Protection against electric shock – chapter 41.• The chapter has been rewritten. Many regulations are worded differently but
the requirements are not significantly changed.
• The terms ‘Direct Contact’ and ‘Indirect Contact’ are no longer used. They are
replaced with Basic Protection and Fault Protection. ‘Basic protection’ is
protection against touching live parts. ‘Fault protection’ is protection against
receiving a shock from conductive parts that have become live due to a
breakdown of insulation or damage to equipment.
• Socket outlets rated not exceeding 20 A and intended for general use by
ordinary persons must be protected with 30 mA RCDs. This means that
general purpose sockets in domestic and similar properties must have
RCD protection.
• External sockets rated not exceeding 32 A must also have 30 mA
RCD protection.
• Maximum permitted earth loop impedance – Zs values have been adjusted,
based on 230V nominal and this has slightly reduced these, for example for
32amp type ‘B’ MCB protection the maximum permitted is 1.44and was
previously 1.5.
Selection and erection of wiring systems – chapter 52.• An important new regulation that particularly affects domestic and similar
installations, requires cables that are buried less than 50mm into a wall or
partition and are not enclosed in earthed metallic covering or have mechanical
protection capable of resisting nails or screws to be protected by a 30 mA
RCD as well as being installed in the ‘safe zones’ created by the position of
accessories etc. as previously permitted.
• Similarly, irrespective of depth of cable, cables that are installed in metal framed
walls require 30 mA RCD protection if not otherwise protected by earthed
metallic covering.
• The above requirements do not apply to installations that are under the control
of skilled or instructed persons, such as office buildings, large retail outlets and
industrial premises.
• Maximum permitted volt drop where supplied directly from a public
distribution system is now 3% for lighting and 5% for all other applications.

Luminaires and lighting – section 559• This is a new section applicable to all general lighting installations as appropriate
to particular locations and structures.
• Includes requirements for fixed outdoor lighting including highway power
supplies and street furniture previously in Part 6, and extra low voltage (less
than 50 volts a.c. and 120 volts d.c.) lighting systems.
• Applies to both individual luminaires and multiluminaire track lighting and
similar systems.
• Special considerations for protection against fire.
Inspection and testing – part 6
Minimum permitted insulation resistance values are now 0.5Mfor SELV and
PELV (250Vd.c. test voltage), 1.0Mfor installations up to 500V (500Vd.c. test
voltage) and 1.0Mfor installations in excess of 500V (500Vd.c. test voltage).
Special locations – part 7
Part 7 addresses the particular risks that occur in various special locations. There
are several new sections in Part 7. Many of the existing sections have been
modified in line with the European HD’s.
Modified sections
All of the following Sections have been modified to accommodate the regulations
contained in the European HD’s.
701 – Locations containing a bath or a shower particularly the changes from the
16th Edition are substantial:
• Zones 0, 1 & 2 as defined in the 16th Edition are retained. Zone 3 is
being removed. New regulations require all circuits supplying equipment in
the bathrooms to be protected by 30 mA RCDs.
• Supplementary equipotential bonding is no longer required providing the
main bonding of services within the property is in place.
• SELV (separated extra low voltage) socket outlets and shaver socket outlets
are permitted outside Zone 1. 230 V socket outlets are permitted
provided they are more than 3 metres from Zone 1.
702 – Swimming pools
703 – Rooms and cabins containing sauna heaters
704 – Construction sites
705 – Agricultural and horticultural premises
706 – Conductive locations with restricted movement
707 – Previously 607 in the 16th edition is not used. The particular requirements
are embodied in the General Earthing Requirements of Chapter 54.
708 – Caravan and Camping Parks Formerly Caravans, Motor Caravans and
Caravan Parks in the 16th edition.
The section is now divided into Section 708 and Section 721 – Caravans
and Motor Caravans.
Of particular note, each pitch socket outlet is to have separate 30 mA
RCD protection.
New sections
709 – Marinas and similar locations
711 – Exhibitions, shows and stands
712 – Solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems
717 – Mobile or transportable units
721 – Caravans and motor caravans
740 – Temporary electrical installations for structures, amusement devices
and booths at fairgrounds, amusement parks and circuses

Wednesday 8th Aug

2007-08-08T01:54:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my breakfast meeting with 'Trade in Essex Business Network' which is a really great group, with a lot of very interesting people. Today, however, the food was not that good. Well, thanks to Brian who suggested we set up this blog. When we get used to this we will post various bits of info here about electrical regulations and what we are doing. Now, I must get back to work and get some quotations out.