Domestic

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to immediately spot an electrical issue. Any good handyman will tell you that they can fix it themselves without a problem. Unfortunately, there is a problem. Handymen are not qualified to handle electrical work. Electricians have to undergo years of extensive training and certification processes to obtain their license.

When you reach to your light switch to turn it off, only to find that it is hot to the touch, you have a problem. This is not a normal phenomenon, and it indicates that there are serious issues hiding behind your walls. If you don’t get help right away, you could end up facing a serious electrical fire

All circuits within a domestic dwelling must be supplied via an RCD. RCD should be incorporated into the consumer unit of your installation. This means that all circuits fed from that RCD are protected by it. An RCD that is incorporated into an ordinary mains socket, or plugged into it, will protect anything attached to that socket, but it is possible that equipment may be plugged into another, unprotected socket.

RCDs should be regularly tested by pressing the 'test' button and making sure the RCD trips. Faulty or inoperative RCDs should be removed from use.

Operating the RCD test button provides assurance that it is operating correctly. If RCDs are regularly tested by operating the test button, problems can be detected.

A good way of remembering to test your RCD, do it when you change the clocks, that way it will be done twice a year.

Most circuits within a domestic installation now require RCD protection.  BS 7671:2018 requires that all luminaires within domestic premises, are to have additional protection by a 30 mA RCD when installed in an AC final circuit.  It means that electrical installers have to provide RCD protection for all new lighting circuits, and for existing circuits which are significantly altered in domestic premises.

(LEDs) light-emitting diodes. Even though these lamps can initially cost more bulbs, they use less energy and last longer so will save you money in the long-term.

(CFLs) compact fluorescent lamps, place second to LEDs

BS 7671:2018 states, for consumer units and similar switchgear assemblies in domestic premises, to be manufactured from non-combustible materials or be enclosed in a cabinet constructed from non-combustible materials.

BS 7671:2018 states that protection against transient overvoltage’s shall be provided within single dwellings unless the value of the installation and equipment therein does not justify such protection.

Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) are relatively inexpensive when compared to the cost of an electrical installation and expensive electronic equipment such as PCs and TVs, it is difficult not to justify the installation of SPDs. 

Lightning strikes are the most common source of extreme transient overvoltage’s, where total outage of an unprotected system can occur, with significant damage to equipment and cable insulation through flashover, potentially resulting in loss of life or injury due to fire or electric shock.

Switching transients may also occur, for example, due to interruption of short circuit currents, such as a fuse blowing. Whilst this may be of a lower magnitude than a lightning strike, it is likely to happen more frequently.