Find an Electrician you can trust in Bushey.

If you’re thinking about installing a solar thermal system in your house, it’s always important to put into consideration numerous factors before you proceed. While some solar thermal systems are suitable for use at home, there are also some that are suitable for businesses or organizations which normally requires a big amount of hot water like hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals and many more. You’ll also find some types available in the market that are suitable for communities to satisfy communal hot water demands.

It should, however, be noted that solar thermal systems do not have the capacity to produce all the hot water demand of a house. In the UK, an average household will need an annual water heating of between 3000kWh to 5000kWh. Whereas, a solar thermal system is only able to meet about 40 percent to 60 percent of this demand.

With that in mind, it’s also worth noting that during the summer months when the solar radiation is at its peak and hot water demand is relatively lower when compared to other seasons, a solar thermal system may be able to provide all of your household’s hot water needs. This implies that during this period you may not find the need to operate your boiler at all. However, during winter or colder months, when you have a higher hot water demands in contrary to a lower solar radiation, a solar thermal system will only be able to take care of about 20 percent of your household’s hot water needs. And that ultimately implies that during this period, you’ll need to rely more on a alternative or backup source of heat like gas, coal, electricity, oil or LPG.

Periodic testing and inspections should be completed: Every 10 years for your home, Every five years for rented accommodation, Every three years for a caravan, Every year for a swimming pool.Electrical inspections are also carried out when buying, selling or renting a property.

Unlike the photovoltaic (PV) power which works to turn a part of the electromagnetic radiation of the sun directly to electrons and electricity, a solar thermal can simply be referred to as the absorption of the sun’s heat for human use. As a result, the solar thermal has a wider range of uses than the PV does in several ways. This is due to the fact that the sun’s heat can be absorbed and transported via a medium and the stored energy incorporated for several great purposes such as to heat water, to heat and cool a home or living space, to prepare a meal as well as to generate electricity. All these functions are useful for both residential and commercial spaces.

There are generally three different ranges of solar thermal energy that are being used which includes the low temperature ( for heating, cooling as well as ventilation), the mid temperature ( used for preparing meals, heating hot water and the likes) as well as the high temperature ( used for generating electricity). To focus more on generating electricity, there are a wide array of ways through which the sun’s heat can be directed at creating electricity via a heat exchanger which operates to super heat water or inert gas to power an electricity- generating plant or to produce electricity via a Stirling engine.

In order to increase their output or make them more efficient, evacuated glass tubes are used to encircle the tubes which in turn helps them to collect more heat energy while also protecting them from re-radiating the heat energy absorbed. The trough are normal positioned north to south as well as to keep tabs on the travels of the sun throughout the day.

If you are thinking of buying an electric vehicle, then one of the first things you’d have to put into consideration is charging. When it comes to charging of your electric vehicle, doing it at home is one of the most convenient things that comes with it. Not only do you get to avoid the fuel stations, but you’d also get to drive a car in a much cheaper way. Fitting an EV charger or wallbox at your residential space gives you the option to add miles to your battery in a lot faster manner than making use of a three pin plug. In fact, there are also some chargers that offers a lot more than just being a fast way to charge your vehicle.

So which home ev charger should you use? There are a wide range of options available in the market today, however you can get the perfect match for your vehicle by answering these few questions:

• Can you park two cars side by side? If yes, then a tethered charger might just be your most suitable option. A tethered cable is one that’s always connected to your home’s charger. One of the major benefits of using this is that you can get home and plug the charger straight it without having to fetch the cable or carry it around.
• Is size and design crucial? If yes, then you can consider wallbox chargers or untethered wallboxes which are smaller in size and minimalist in design.
• What if your WiFi isn’t accessible? If your WiFi signal is poor in the spot where the charger is to installed but your mobile phone signal is good, then Ohme is a good option to consider.

What Size Of Electric Boiler Do I Need?

If you’re thinking about installing central heating in your home or property, you’ll be shocked by the plethora of options that’s currently available in the market as regards the boiler type that can be installed. Being a very good alternative to gas boilers or an oil or LPG boiler, electric boilers are here to stay. They usually feature different power outputs which tends to lead to one of the most frequently asked questions about electric heaters - what size of electric boiler do I need? Here, we’ll give you a good insight into sizes of electric boilers available to help you make the right decision.

The importance of getting the perfect size of electric boiler for your home can not be over-emphasized. If your electric boiler size is too small, it won’t be able to provide the level of heat and hot water required. And on the other hand, if it’s too big, it’ll definitely consume more electricity which would be a total waste of money.

To determine the correct size, if you have a wet central heating or water radiators in your home, you’ll need to calculate the boiler’s capacity required to operate them and allow 1.5kw per radiator. To be more accurate, it’s advisable to talk to a professional installer to avoid making a costly mistake. Every professional installer should have an idea of the appropriate size of electric boiler that’ll be needed given your special requirements and home size.

Generally, with a 12k kilowatt boiler, you should be able to operate up to 7 to 8 radiators which is good for smaller properties. For apartments and flats, getting a smaller electric boiler would be the best option.

Unlike in houses constructed in the 1960s, where you’d probably need to rewire the entire house unless the wiring is the modern PVCu coated type, majority of houses built in the 1970s would not need to be rewired. Most often than not, what they’ll need is just a consumer unit as well as an earthing upgrade. If you happen to have a consumer unit change, the electrical professional you hire would have to inspect the most parts of the property regardless. With that answered, you may also wish to know just how often a house would need to be rewired.

First and foremost, in order to make sure that your wiring is safe there’s a need to ensure that a periodic inspection is carried out by a fully licensed and qualified electrician every 10 years. Meanwhile for rental properties with tenants, the landlord is required to carry out a periodic inspection at least every 5 years. This will make sure that the electrical works in the property are safe, up to date and suitable for continued usage.

In order to determine whether your house needs to be rewired, there are some signs or indicators you’d have to watch out for. If you notice one or even a combination of the following , then you should get in touch with a registered electrician:

• Discoloured outlets and switches
• Persistent burning smell
• Outlets problems
• Flickering lights
• Tripping circuit breaker or blown fuses
• If you happen to possess aluminium wiring
• If you have continually experienced electrical shocks

It must, however, be said that rewiring a house is a messy and quite disruptive work. It’s also considered to be quite dangerous and recommended to be carried out only by a professional is well trained and experienced when it comes to tackling electrical works.

So, you’ve finally decided to go for solar? If yes, then you’d also probably find yourself trying to figure out exactly what solar battery size is needed to power your home or property. This is one of the most common questions when it comes to the solar system world and understandably so. In this article, we aim to give you an idea of the solar size you’d need to power your home or property before making a purchase decision. Let’s take a look!

The first thing to do if you find yourself asking this question is to identify the reason why you want to purchase the solar battery in the first place. For some individuals, they simply want to save some excess energy being fed back into the grid, while others just want protection from possible blackouts. There are also some environment-conscious home or property owners who makes this decision in order to create a carbon-neutral home. Another crucial factor to consider is your budget. A full solar storage system can be quite costly, although this is cheaper than a decade ago. Generally, the size of solar battery you’ll require depends on the following:

• How much energy you’re able to generate: The size of your solar array as well as its efficiency will influence the amount of power it’ll be able to supply to your home.
• Your daily energy usage needs: Daily energy usage can vary greatly between households depending on a number of factors. These factors include the number of occupants, geographical location, type of building, general household energy usage and more. Some may find that their solar system cover for most of their energy usage, while others find themselves still relying heavily on the grid.

Are Electric Radiators Expensive To Run?

Just like many home additions, the running costs of electric radiators varies largely on a number of factors. Great number of electric radiators typically comes with an in built thermostat which is designed to turn itself off automatically when not in use in order to save energy.

However the energy provider’s set electricity charge tariff will also have a great influence on an electric radiator’s running cost. Let’s take a look at the running costs of an electric radiator!

A 600 Watt electric radiator ( on a standard electricity tariff) will usually have a running cost ranging between 4 to 6 pence each hour. However you should also take note that this scenario might change in situations whereby the electric radiator is not calling for heat the full 60 minutes of each hour. And this is more likely to be the situation as the thermostat is programmed in such a way that enables it to turn itself off immediately there’s an achievement of your required room temperature level - usually within 10 minutes from the time it was switched on. As a result of this, the running cost per hour of electric radiators will be greatly reduced to just about 1 to 2 pence.

It’s also important to note that enhancing the insulation of your home can go a long way to add to the heat retention value of each room. Consequently, the duration at which the electric radiator calls more heating will be significantly reduced, which in turn, implies a lower electricity bill.

Another key factor that can play a huge role in saving on your heating bills is the programming as well as usage of your electric radiators. Every radiator comes with an independent digital thermostat with a number of 24/7 programming options to help achieve maximum efficiency. When the radiator is properly set according to your lifestyle, you can save as much as 50 percent on your heating bills.