Find an Electrician you can trust in Loughborough.

The OLEV Grant, also known as Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) can reduce the cost of your home charger by up to £350. If you're eligible, you'll be able to claim it when you buy an EV charger.

If you’re looking to install a solar thermal system in your home, this is usually one of the first concerns several homeowners have. Being fully aware that solar water heating systems are usually more expensive than their counterparts - the conventional water heating systems, the question arises whether or not you’ll be able to save some money from your solar water heating system in the long run. In this article, we aim provide an answer to this important question. Let’s take a closer look!

When it comes to solar thermal systems, the money you’ll be able to save in the long run depends on a wide range of factors. These factor includes:

✓ Your system’s performance.

✓ Your geographical location and solar resource

✓ Your household’s hot water demand

✓ Financing and incentive options that are available.

✓ The cost of fuel that’s being used for your alternative or backup water heating system, if you own one.

✓ The cost of conventional fuels such as oil, electricity or natural gas.

There are several benefits, however, that comes with the installation of a solar water heating system. Since the sun is absolutely free, future fuel shortages and price hikes will have little impact on you. Also, on the average if you decide to fit a solar thermal system your water heating bills is expected to drop about 50 percent to 80 percent. What’s more? The economics are even a lot more attractive when you’re just about to build a new home or refinancing. When you include the price of a solar water system in a 30 year mortgage, it’ll normally amount to very low price per month. Therefore, on a monthly basis you’ll be saving more and paying less.

There are a range of variables that will determine which heating system is best for your home, such as the level of insulation and size of rooms. However, electric heating is suitable for many homes. Electric boilers are very compact and do not need a flue. Underfloor heating is effective at heating rooms of any size.

With each year that passes, the amount of electric cars on the road keeps rising and with them comes a necessity to develop new infrastructures and also accessories like charging cables as well as connectors for easy sustainability. This concept is still pretty much new to the general public as most people still use vehicles that are fuelled by petrol and diesel. There are also some differences in design which asides from the lack of an engine underneath the vehicle’s bonnet, the way in which an electric car is filled up largely varies petrol or diesel powered vehicles. There’s a lot that people will have to learn about electric cars and even more so when it comes to their everyday use. One of the most common questions a lot of individuals ask about electric cars is whether all electrical vehicle chargers are the same. If you’re also looking for an answer to this question, then you’ve come to right place!

If you’re interested in getting an electric car, charging your vehicle at home may not generate any major concern but what about making use of the public charging system? This is when it gets a bit confusing because if you’ve never had to do it before you may worried about making use of the wrong charger on your car. So the question is, does every electric vehicles have the same plug? The answer is simple - there are different plugs and cables for varying electric vehicle brand as well as points of use. In general, you’d have to choose most suitable charging level for your electric vehicle.

How Many Solar Panels And Batteries Do I Need?

Are you presently considering adding a solar system to your home? With several homeowners in the UK using solar now, many more are realizing the numerous benefits they stand to derive by getting one. Therefore, if you’re thinking about adding the system to your home but do not know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

Here, we’ll help you calculate the number of solar panels and batteries you’ll need to power your home. Starting from the panels, you can begin by taken into account everything that makes use of power in your home to get a good idea of how many you’ll need.

• Firstly, you’ll have to determine the number of watts you use. Simply go through your utility bill for kilowatt-hours (kWh). This varies amongst homes and being able to identify your daily average energy usage will assist you in getting your solar needs.

• Secondly, you have to determine the peak sunlight hours - having in mind that the solar panels only work when under direct sunlight. Once determined, you can then multiply the figure in hours by your home’s hourly energy usage and divide by your selected solar panel’s wattage.

Generally for a 1500 square foot house, you might need around 15 to 18 solar panels to cover the house’s electricity.

Meanwhile for batteries, there are also some factors to be considered to determine the number of batteries you’ll need for your house. These factors include your home’s power or electricity usage, the period of time in which the battery will be used as well as the battery’ specifications. Once done, you’ll be able to calculate the number of batteries required by your home.

Fuse box prices will vary and a periodic inspection should be carried out first. However, domestic fuse boxes cost an average of £460. A qualified electrician will advise if yours needs to be replaced and it's always a good idea to obtain a number of quotes before committing to this.

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.